It seems to me that violence against women has been tolerated for so long that the world has become numb to it.

Everything can be taken from you in a second, but the human spirit is so strong. War can teach you so much about evil, and so much about good.

While women may look different, as some wear suits and others wear saris, or some cover their hair while others wear their hair loose, women need to stand together because they all face the central point of discrimination, although the extremity of which may be different from Kigali to Kabul.

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.

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

The single thing all women need in the world is inspiration, and inspiration comes from storytelling.

I believe that there is an urgent need to restructure the discussion of war to include the impact it has on women.