It is all too easy to draw conclusions and make sweeping judgments about millions of Muslim women based on fleeting television images. That is not right.

Values are the shields that you carry throughout life and it protects you from whatever life throws at you.

I don't believe that there is fair enough understanding of either our status as women or the total context of our lives, which is very rich and multi-faceted.

I'd rather be dealt with as a person than a persona.

I work in areas related to child protection and family safety, women's empowerment, the creation of opportunities for youth, and culture and tourism. Daunting? Yes. Impossible? No. In fact, such challenges energize me.

A woman caring for her children; a woman striving to excel in the private sector; a woman partnering with her neighbors to make their street safer; a woman running for office to improve her country - they all have something to offer, and the more our societies empower women, the more we receive in return.

I really feel that political will is born out of popular will.