Changes don't happen in the world by playing it safe, taking risks is the way to change the world.

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.

Where has change ever been clean and nice? It has always been messy and painful.

Like life, peace begins with women. We are the first to forge lines of alliance and collaboration across conflict divides.

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

I believe that leadership acts should be manifested by engaging in external work that can be observed and shared with everyone else.

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.