WASHINGTON, DC I LONDON I BERLIN I PARIS I BRUSSELS I
JOHANNESBURG I ONE.ORG
Dear Chancellor Merkel and Chairwoman Dlamini-Zuma, Thank you
for your leadership and the example you offer all girls and women.
In June this year you will both chair key summits at which you have
placed womens empowerment on the agenda - one in Germany, one in
South Africa. These meetings are just before the historic global
summit on how to finance the new Sustainable Development Goals in
Addis Ababa, which will be followed by the unveiling of these goals
in New York in September. The timing is such that if your summits
reach the right agreements, great financing and momentum around
girls and womens empowerment can be placed at the heart of the new
global goals. That in turn will frame how global policies are
decided, and trillions of dollars spent, over the next 15 years.
For the girl who cant go to a decent primary or secondary school or
access healthcare, or who is forced to marry while still a child;
for the mothers threatened with death when they give life and who
arent allowed to decide when to have their next child; for the
women who cant own or inherit the land she farms, nor open a bank
account, own a phone, access electricity or the legal system; for
the infant girl who doesnt legally exist because her birth wasnt
registered and the government hasnt the capacity to collect data on
her or her village; for the women and girls who cant take those who
are violent towards them to court nor access justice lets make sure
they all count. Put simply, poverty is sexist, and we wont end it
unless we face up to the fact that girls and women get a raw deal,
and until leaders and citizens around the world work together for
real change. Because when we deliver for girls and women, we
deliver for everyone. Realizing womens rights helps deliver
everyones rights. If we get this right, we could help lift every
girl and woman out of poverty by 2030 - and by doing so we will
lift everyone. Get this wrong and extreme poverty, inequality and
instability might spread in the most vulnerable regions, impacting
all our futures. The choice is obvious and we know where you stand
personally. But the course you set as leaders in this historic year
will be critical in either creating momentum or slowing it down. In
2015 lets all have the courage to demand better and follow through
with the resources and policies that it will take to end extreme
poverty by 2030. Millions of girls and women around the world will
applaud your decisiveness and will help ensure the promises made
this year are truly kept into the future.
WASHINGTON, DC I LONDON I BERLIN I PARIS I BRUSSELS I
JOHANNESBURG I ONE.ORG
Signed: Ali Hewson, Founder, Edun and Nude Angelique Kidjo,
Singer, Songwriter and Activist Angellah Kairuki, Member of
Parliament (Tanzania) Ann Cairns, President, International Markets,
MasterCard Arianna Huffington, Chair, President, and
Editor-in-Chief of the Huffington Post Media Group Beyonc
Knowles-Carter, Entertainer and Entrepreneur Charlize Theron,
Actress, UN Messenger of Peace, Founder of Charlize Theron Africa
Outreach Project Christy Turlington Burns, Founder, Every Mother
Counts Cindi Leive, Editor-in-Chief, Glamour Magazine Danai Gurira,
Actress, Playwright and Activist Gesine Schwan, Professor and
Former Presidential Candidate Helene Gayle, President and CEO, CARE
Jude Kelly, CBE, Artistic Director, Southbank Centre Jutta
Allmendinger, Professor and Ph.D., President of the
Wissenschaftszentrum Karen Kornbluh, Senior Fellow, Council on
Foreign Relations* Karen Ruimy, Musician, Performer and Author Lady
Gaga, Singer and Songwriter Lauren Bush Lauren, Founder and CEO,
FEED Mabel van Oranje, Initiator and Chair, Girls Not Brides: The
Global Partnership to End Child Marriage Dr. Maria Furtwngler,
Actress and Physician (Germany) Marian Salzman, CEO, Havas PR
Mariella Frostrup, Journalist and Cofounder of GREAT Initiative
Meryl Streep Michele Sullivan, President and Director of Corporate
Social Innovation, The Caterpillar Foundation Mimi Alemayehou,
Development Finance Executive Monica Musonda, CEO and Founder of
Java Foods (Zambia) Mpule Kwelagobe, Activist Naisula Lesuuda,
Senator (Kenya) Rita Wilson, Actress, Producer and Singer Rosamund
Pike, Actress Sabine Christiansen, Journalist, Producer and
UNICEF-Ambassador Sarah Silverman, Comedian, Actress and Activist
Sheryl Sandberg, COO, Facebook Sheryl WuDunn, Banker and Author
Susan Shabangu, Minister of Womens Affairs (South Africa) Yvonne
Chaka Chaka, President of the Princess of Africa Foundation,
Activist and Singer *Affiliation stated for identification purposes
only
