Thank you Sarah for your warm words of welcome and for the kind invitation to co-patron this important event. I have been very much looking forward to this evening and most importantly, to honouring, together with you all, this years’ outstanding Champions for Change.

I was first introduced to Sarah Kambou and the International Center for Research on Women by Søren Elbech, a member of the Board of Directors.

And I am thankful to Søren for this introduction because ICRW’s work with the most vulnerable women and girls arms us with insightful and solid evidence that investing in women and girls is a prerequisite for sustainable development and for ending poverty.

2015 is a significant year. It marks the deadline of the promise of all member states of the United Nations to improve the world through the achievement of eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

15 years ago our ambitions were unprecedented – and the good news is that much has been achieved. A decade ago we could hardly have imagined the progress that we are witnessing today.

However, significant gaps continue to persist. The achievement of the MDGs proves to be uneven among and within countries. Large inequities and inequalities continue to persist and, in some places, are even increasing.  

And disturbingly, those MDGs that are lagging the most are those that have women and girls at their core. Look at MDG five (5) for the reduction of maternal mortality – despite a significant reduction, every single day 800 women continue to die due to pregnancy and child-birth related complications.

A true tragedy as the means to prevent many of these deaths is well known and cost-effective solutions are available.  

So, we have not yet achieved what we set out to. We now stand at the beginning of the next leg of that long and challenging journey. Later this year, the international community will adopt a new global framework for sustainable development that will set the course for the years to come.

This journey is also one full of hope and aspiration. Ending poverty is within reach for the first time in history. It is truly a historical opportunity for our generation. Today, 70 percent of those living in extreme poverty are women. So, if we are to succeed in realising this opportunity, persistent inequalities must be addressed.

And the greatest inequality, as I see it, is gender inequality. Being born a girl should not prevent one from reaching their full potential, but unfortunately in many countries with restricted opportunities and choices, being born a girl does just that.

The number speaks for themselves when we talk about teenage pregnancies, early and forced marriages, maternal mortality, gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS.

I strongly believe that gender equality is the single most important thing that can be done to improve the world. It is a fundamental human right and the foundation for building sustainable, healthy and prosperous societies and communities.

On an evening such as this; where we are celebrating change and the champions that make change happen, I am happy for the opportunity to talk about the change that is taking place.

Imagine the typical life of a five year old girl; a happy and carefree life of a girl loved by her family and protected by her community.

For millions of girls this carefree life comes to a sudden end.

Every day more than 8,000 girls are at the risk of being subjected to female genital mutilation/cutting – a painful, irreversible and age-old tradition that will change their lives forever.

That adds up to more than three million girls every year and it is estimated that 125 million women have been cut and are living with the consequences.

In all its forms, FGM/C is a violation of the human right to health, including sexual and reproductive health, and of the human right to be free of violence.  And it is a strong manifestation of inequality.

In order to end FGM/C it is important we understand the reasons behind it. FGM/C is perceived as a given by the communities that practice this – it is not questioned and it is not talked about. And if the alternative to FGM/C is that your daughter will be stigmatized, will be a social outcast with no prospect of ever having a family of her own, then there is, from their perspective, no choice but to follow the deeply entrenched tradition.

But that choice can change….

And change is already taking place at the global level, where the UN General Assembly in 2012 called for elimination of FGM/C, and where last year the Human Rights Council of the General Assembly agreed on a resolution on intensifying global efforts and sharing good practices to effectively eliminate female genital mutilation.

Change is also taking place at the national level where most countries have now banned FGM/C and formulated policies to pave the way for elimination.

And we are seeing change taking place in the communities where FGM/C is practiced.

A few weeks ago, I travelled with the Danish Minister for Trade and Development to Ethiopia, a country with one of the highest prevalence of FGM/C. At a national level, Ethiopia has committed to eliminate FGM and child marriage by 2025, a commitment declared here in London last year at the ‘Girl Summit’. And they are seeing positive results.

During this trip, we visited the Afar region. Life is hard in Afar. It is possibly the hottest inhabited place on Earth with temperatures passing 50 degrees Celsius in the dry season and much of the region is too barren for agriculture.

But the people of Afar have adapted; they have developed a pastoralist way of life that serve to sustain their livelihood and to protect the fragile ecological balance of the region.

They live by traditional laws to protect the environment against sustained damage and over usage and they see their culture as central to their existence.

But living in accordance with tradition can also have its’ downsides; and in Afar one of those is FGM/C. Here, the harmful practice is widespread and in the particular district I visited the prevalence rate is up to 90 percent.

This visit gave us the chance to witness how change can be brought about, also in very traditional communities – importantly, change with respect for that community and its culture and with its own community members as agents of change.

In Afar, many communities practice the most severe form of FGM/C; infibulation, which leaves the girl with only a tiny hole to pass urine, and later in life, menstrual flow.

The consequences can be life threatening: loss of blood or infection can cause immediate death, later in life – cysts, liver failure, or complications related to childbirth can again put the woman’s life at risk.  And even if the woman’s life is not at stake, a life with FGM/C can be a life full of pain.  

I had the opportunity to sit in on a ‘community dialogue’ session which was lead by the clan leader. Such sessions form part of the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on the elimination of FGM/C.  This program is now implemented in 17 countries.  

In every community, like those in Afar, it is a long process of informing, knowledge building and discussion at community level; discussions led by local authorities like religious and clan leaders; school teachers and health workers and discussions targeted at circumcisers; parents; young people and girls; and the community at large.

But, it will take time.

The clan leader told me that they have been part of the program for a year and a half and although some of the neighbouring villages have already made declarations to end FGM/C they were still not ready to make a collective agreement.  

He added further, that there was a lot of concern about what it would mean for their culture if they stopped – would it be the beginning of the end for their identity and existence?

At the same time, in this village change is happening at the individual level.

During the same session, a mother and her daughter stood up and explained why she chose another option for her daughter and how today her daughter is an example of how a girl should be; healthy and happy, able to contribute fully to her family and community and has the possibility to realise her full potential.  

She went on to say that her daughter is envied by her peers because she does not have the ongoing pain and problems associated with being ‘cut’.  Significantly, her choice has been accepted and respected and her daughter is also accepted and respected. She, to me, was a true symbol of what can be.

Through the program, village after village now better understand how FGM/C has been the cause of so many health problems and why, for example in Afar, there are significantly fewer women than men.

Real sustainable change requires collective agreement – between the individuals, the neighbouring villages and the larger communities and districts. And of course, a strong political will.

Ending FGM/C, is not only a wonderful goal in itself; it will contribute to giving girls and women more control over their own bodies, better lives and improved possibilities to contribute to development.

Women and girls alike must be viewed as a full half; as 50 percent of any country’s human resource base, as a huge resource that no country can afford to leave untapped – not only because equality is an end goal in itself but, because when you invest in women everybody wins.

I will finish, as I began.

2015 is a significant year. There exists, here and now, a window of opportunity to ensure that the status, rights, importance, value and investment in women and girls are recognised, celebrated and placed in the centre of any global sustainable development agenda of the future.