My position attracts a fair amount of rumors and gossip and misperceptions, but I'd rather not focus on that.

I'm amazed by the misconceptions about Muslim women and the Arab world that I hear, and that really does hurt me.

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.

Extremism is not endemic in my region, nor is anti-Western sentiment. No doubt there is discontent and distrust. That is towards more the American and some Western policies, and not toward the American people.

We shouldn't judge people through the prism of our own stereotypes.

When girls are educated, you get effects that cascade throughout society.

Learning to read and write changes lives; it means jobs, money, health, and dreams fulfilled.