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.

Living in war is a co- existence with death.

Unfortunately, violence against women is not the only injustice women face globally; it is one of the many inequalities that impede the full development of socially excluded women globally.

Since war often enters homes through the "kitchen door," we need to understand women's attempts to keep life going in the face of shortage of food, closing of schools and reduced freedoms.

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

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