Men should be playing a more active role in empowering women, and helping to end the scourge of gender-based violence.

That’s one of the messages being expressed on the International Day of the Elimination of Violence against Women, by Inna Modja, a Malian singer and activist, who suffered female genital mutilation, or FGM, when she was just 4-years-old.

FGM is internationally recognized as a human rights violation, and more than 200 million girls and women alive today have been cut, in 30 countries, across Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Her song “Water”, highlights the importance of education for girls so that they can achieve better working conditions and gain economic independence.

Inna spoke to Cristina Silveiro, a few weeks ago, during the launch of the Spotlight initiative to eliminate violence against women and girls, at UN Headquarters in New York.

Duration: 4’00”