On International Women’s Day, the majority of the more than 60 million child brides around the world will spend their time as they spend every other day of the year: out-of-school, at-risk, marginalized and poor. The theme chosen by the United Nations for International Women’s Day 2012 is “Empower Rural Women – End Hunger and Poverty.” At first glance, this has little to do with child marriage. But rural poverty is at the root of the high prevalence of early marriage (UNICEF, 2006). Within…

Out of the nearly 7 billion people alive today, imagine for a moment what the most powerful individual on the planet might look like. Chances are, you aren’t picturing a 12 year old school girl raising her hand to answer a question in science class. But the truth is that the world’s 700 million adolescent girls may just be the most powerful agents we have to address the urgent challenges facing our crowded planet.

On average, girls with at least seven years of schooling will marry…