Jimmy Carter rails against worldwide 'abuse of women and girls' in new book

A Call to Action sees 39th US president blame false religious interpretations for female genital mutilation and child marriage

Jimmy Carter is making a "call to action" over discrimination and violence against women, addressing issues from female genital mutilation to child marriage in a new book out in the US this week.

The 39th US president writes in A Call to Action of his belief that "the most serious and unaddressed worldwide challenge is the deprivation and abuse of women and girls", which he says is "largely caused by a false interpretation of carefully selected religious texts and a growing tolerance of violence and warfare, unfortunately following the example set during my lifetime by the United States".