The surest way to help improve the lives of children, we have found over these decades, is to improve the lives of their mothers. Save the Children has established a set of principles designed to help women improve their status and effect change for children. These principles are based on nearly seventy years of experience working with millions of women and children in some of the poorest regions of the world. We call upon local and national governments, donors, international agencies, and concerned individuals in the United States to commit fully to these principles and work toward changing the conditions for women and children in the next millennium. If we care about children, then we have a compelling moral imperative to commit to these guiding principles, enact related policies, and implement specific programs for the benefit of women and children.
Girls have the right to equal access to education.
Women's increased access to productive resources, such as land, capital, credit and water, is critical to their and their family's security. Women are considered to be full partners in change and must have a voice in defining their own needs and implementing appropriate solutions to the problems they face. Save the Children has developed a policy framework to make our guiding principles a reality. This framework, based on our practical program experience, commits governments and donors to specific legislative action necessary to effect change. Increase the legal age of marriage to increase girls' chances of completing primary school and support policies that allow pregnant girls to stay in school.