post-conflict

As the world looks on in horror at the bloodshed in Gaza, Mary Gahonzire brings a unique perspective to the role of women in peacemaking and reconciliation. Gahonzire is deputy commissioner of the Rwanda Correctional Service, which runs prisons in the country that 20 years ago was torn apart by 100 days of killing.

One evening, in a conversation with a group of impressive Afghan women activists in Kabul, the first participant started the conversation by making a simple but profound statement. She said, “Stop looking at us as victims, and look at us as the leaders that we are.” She was right. All too often when we look at women struggling for their rights in Afghanistan, we see them solely as victims. To be sure, many have been victimized, but they are also on the front lines of progress, working to create a better future for their country.

While al-Shabaab loses ground and progress and development spread throughout Somalia, women are seeking a larger role in re-constructing the country.

They are helping rebuild Somalia in many fields, such as education, health, politics and even security. Out of the many Somali women leaders across the country, Sabahi profiled three women -- Asli Ismail Duale, Sadiya Abdisamad Abdullahi and Dunia Mohamed Ali -- who are using their knowledge to educate and heal the public, and promote gender equality.

Not a week goes by without reports of fresh fighting in the eastern areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Violence and destruction have ravaged the Great Lakes region of Africa for two decades, claiming more than 5 million lives. Yet the situation rarely makes the headlines.