Women's Initiative to Empower Girls

Eleven women (including Hillary Clinton, Sheryl Sandberg, Keren Yarhi-Milo, and Sierra Leone First Lady Bio) smile and pose on stage at a Columbia University Institute of Global Politics event.

March 20, 2026

Global leaders and scholars joined the Women’s Initiative at SIPA's Institute of Global Politics to mark the launch of a new report, Accelerating Efforts to End Child Marriage. The discussion reinforced the urgent need for stronger policies, global collaboration, and sustained investment in girls’ education and protection. H.E. First Lady of Sierra Leone Fatima Maada Bio emphasized that “It takes a village to bring up a child. It should also take a village to protect that child.” 

Read the report, written by Professors Rachel Vogelstein and Jennifer Klein, which looks at the real cost of child marriage with new analysis from the Center for Global Development and outlines evidence-based solutions.


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