I'll tell you, when you have wounds that are as deep as were caused by the genocide, the first thing you do is try to create some way to pull the wound together. And it may be artificial until the skin grows back.

The capacity to forgive is not just about Rwandan women. It is about a willingness of women all over the world to work across conflict lines, to say, "Yes, I'm a Serb. Or yes, I'm a Muslim. Or yes, I'm a Croat. But I'm also a mother."

Women are less corruptible. There's plenty of research to show that they are less inclined to take bribes and they are more trustworthy. And so it's all the more important to have them in large percentages.

I think the women in the political positions will push very, very hard to see that there are loans and banks for women in Rwanda.

The United States is the lone superpower of the world. We have a stake in Rwanda's success because we have a stake in the world's stability.And we have got to understand the need for a paradigm shift. This is not about "might makes right." This is about a democratic movement that pulls out the voices of all of the people so that they come up with a fair and healthy and stable and sustainable society. And if we can learn those lessons in a place like Rwanda, then we can apply them around the world.

Women ten years ago were much more of the household property than is the case now. It's not to say that if you go backcountry you don't also find that. And there's a tremendous education campaign that is needed to apprise women of their rights.

Women tend to be more interested in reconciliation. A Kenyan woman leader said to me, "You know, in a war, men and women want different things. The men care a lot about territory. And they care where the borders are. And they want this whole state. The women," she said, "they want a safe place." And she put her fingers like this, "They want a safe place for their children to go to school without being shot, for their daughters to not be raped."