A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has - Margaret Mead.

 Those words of Margaret Mead rang very true in a recent meeting of the Pacific Young Women’s Leadership strategy group in Suva, Fiji  where a powerful new Alliance to support young women's leadership was formed.

For all their talk of empowerment, initiatives by development agencies and donors fail to tackle power imbalances, and do not allow women to realise their own hopes and dreams.

Based in Switzerland and with coordinators in various countries, PeaceWomen Across the Globe is an international network of women who work persistently and courageously for peace, security and justice in many regions of the world – even when their life is in danger and their work is overshadowed by setbacks. In 2005, one thousand women from all over the world were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.  Previously, the creative, yet often dangerous peace work by women had neither been integrated into official peace processes nor acknowledged by the public. This unique campaign sought to make this work visible. The campaign led to the formation of a strong and global women’s peace network. 

Among the most prevalent Western stereotypes about Muslim countries are those concerning Muslim women: doe-eyed, veiled, and submissive, exotically silent, gauzy inhabitants of imagined harems, closeted behind rigid gender roles. So where were these women in Tunisia and Egypt?

Two powerful women standing side-by-side in Liberia's capital place their faith for a better future in the country's women.