Religion, as an ingredient of culture, has always been part of the business of human development. In the last decade or so, especially after the even… - Azza Karam

it doesn’t matter whether I’m actively asking people to work together. It’s the mere fact that I sit in this space that means people perceive me as someone who will hold them accountable. And because I am who I am—a woman, Arab, Muslim, Egyptian, North African, the “other” in so many ways—it’s hard for a lot of leaders, both male and female, to embrace me as the head of the organization.

In a way, religions are the last bastions of patriarchy. And so, to be a leader of an endeavor like this—where my role, essentially, is to ask people to be of good conscience and do the right thing by working together—that can be met with resistance.

Our power is measured not in our ability to have the most mighty armies, our power as humanity is measured in our ability to standing defense of the most vulnerable among us, that includes our planet.