 The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights shared a message with us on International Women's Day. There is no peace, security or development without the full participation of women in all their diversity and organizations and movement they lead. We asked some of our regional specialists to add their own thoughts about why this is so important now and what gives them hope. High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet's message has come at a really important time to highlight the roles that women can play at the local level and at the national, international level. It's important, particularly where conflicts have a religious dimension, it's important to include religious women because religious women's presence in those spaces can also help in them being able to speak to their interests within the religious frameworks that that conflict may be defined within or has conflict dimensions in it and they'll be able to contribute and defend their own rights and spaces within those agreements. Michelle Bachelet's statement comes at a very critical time for women peace builders and human rights defenders all around the world. This is especially true in Pakistan where women are facing both physical violence and threats of violence online through social media and other digital technologies. This is most unfortunate because historically Pakistan and their women have been forced to be reckoned with. Pakistan has produced some amazing leaders from Asma Jhangir, human rights defender and lawyer to Benazir Bhutto, the first female head of state from the Muslim world. On International Women's Day this year, the Pakistani government announced its new national gender policy framework. I laud their efforts but its successful implementation is a key factor in ensuring that women's voices are heard and represented at all levels of government and society. Some things that give me hope are really the initiatives that women on the ground are playing. One example that comes to mind is one of our partners in Ukraine. She has decided not to leave the country, she's decided to stay and work to coordinate efforts and media and negotiate among the various religious institutions that are trying to work to provide humanitarian aid within the country and to negotiate humanitarian corridors both for people to be able to escape to safety but also for humanitarian aid to get to places that need it. Another example that gives me hope is seeing women on the streets in Afghanistan and Kabul who are actually trying to interact whether it be through protesting or whether it be through actually having conversations with Talib soldiers on the streets. For example on Women's Day some of them went up to some of the soldiers and said you know what day it is and told them about International Women's Day and actually gave them gifts to take home to their wives and mothers. This sort of interaction gives me hope. They're building peace on the ground, they're building, they're trying to make initiatives to humanize their roles on the ground as they're defending their rights and showing their importance in society.