Women have never been a chief negotiator in any UN-sponsored talks.

I have come to understand that in order to effectively advance women's rights, we need to galvanize a global women's movement.

Women are not just victims; they are survivors and leaders on the community-level backlines of peace and stability.

Historically speaking, religious and conservative groups always wanted the control over the private sphere that impacts women most, as reflected by family law and women's access to resources and mobility. And often secular groups traded this for economic incentives and trade.

When war ends, women are the first to pick up the pieces. Where there is no market place, they go door to door. When homes are destroyed, mothers and daughters haul stones to rebuild or plow fields together.

No change can come if those who are impacted the most by discrimination are not willing to stand up for themselves.

I dont want to be someone in my sixties holding on to a group that I created when I was in my twenties.