Jenny Shipley

Peace is a fragile thing. It takes courage to secure it. It takes wisdom to maintain it.

I was brought up in a family of leaders, and I think leadership is a life sentence. I like changing things that will shape the future.

By and large, women in New Zealand are fortunate compared with some other countries, including many in our own region. But there is still progress to be made.

NGOs have a significant role to play, alongside governments, in improving the status of women.

The serious problems facing the world today will never be solved until women are able to use their full potential on behalf of themselves, their families, and their global and local communities, as the World Bank and others have discovered.

The Platform for Action gives due emphasis to the fact that women globally have continued to have insufficient access to the resources necessary to achieve economic independence.

Every second, every day, every year, we fail to address demand for reproductive health and family planning services. Lives are lost, and girls' opportunities to thrive and contribute to their country's development shrink. These are real people.

Equality and development will not be achieved however if peace is not understood from women's' point of view.