Since a very young age, my mother made sure to tell me about the plight of women... As she raised my awareness about women's issues, she also made sure to ingrain in me the importance of being strong and independent and not to let anybody define me by their images of what women should be.

I firmly believe today that the only way to stop violence against women is to speak out and refused to be silenced.

I grew up with injustice and could do nothing about it. But once in America, I had freedom of choice.

Every woman must own her story; otherwise we are all part of the silence.

I believe that a lot of progress has been achieved to address gender inequality: We have moved from a time where women in the US could not apply for credit card without their husband's signature to a time where women are the owners of their businesses.

Women are part of peace keeping troops in countries like Liberia.

I don't have a child, so Women for Women is like my child. But I always said I would step down after 20 years. I didn't want to be a 60-year-old woman holding on to something I created when I was 23.