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

It is the diversity of views that stems from different experiences and different backgrounds that lead to healthy decision-making and not the unified experiences and unified views.

I find it amazing that the only group of people who are not fighting and not killing and not pillaging and not burning and not raping, and the group of people who are mostly — though not exclusively — who are keeping life going in the midst of war, are not included in the negotiating table.

Only 1 in 13 participants in peace negotiations since 1992 has been a woman.

As women, we must speak out, speak up, say no to our inheritance of loss and yes to a future of women-led dialogue about women's rights and value.

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

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