Ilwad Elman

"I’m a fighter. I’m the kind of person that for better or worse runs towards a problem and tries to solve it even if it’s in a burning house."

"To achieve success in creating more peaceful, just and inclusive societies, we must create a world, an environment where every girl can choose her future"

"Traditional practices that go hand in hand with gender-based violence is an issue that women human rights defenders have met with unified opposition."

"Women human rights defenders in Somalia are reprised against, threatened, unlawfully arrested, privy to sexual and gender-based violence, kidnapped and even killed as a result of their work."

"Over the years it has become very clear to me that a range of actors in Somali society want to sweep sexual and gender-based violence issues under the rug."

"Human rights, now more than ever, are very much on the political agenda in Somalia. However moving beyond the proverbial international commitments and declarations has not yet been realized."

"So if you want to change the world, you need to first know and search within yourself with deep humility, zero egos, and profound clarity."

"When considering how to engage and empower women for countering violent extremism, policy makers must understand the varied roles women play in this space."

"There are a lot of young women now occupying spaces and challenging stereotypes every single day, from sport to technology to business to leadership, and all of this is necessary."

"And with more and more women present in these spaces, it is creating an atmosphere and acceptance for more to join as well."

"It's encouraging to see that women are fighting against so many different barriers to participate because they know what their participation means for other girls that are marginalised."

"[In Somalia] it’s considered weak or even ungrateful to ‘complain’ or speak of the trauma that one has encountered."

"Instead, people are encouraged to be thankful to have survived and are expected to simply move on"

"The concept of mental health and wellbeing are not ones that are mainstreamed, and that's what we are trying to make a culture around – not just for beneficiaries of the different services and programmes that we offer but also for frontline workers"

"A society that holds governments to account, and preaches and advocates for its own peace, is what gives me the most hope, and we're starting to see that."

"Peacebuilding is a long-term investment, and we’re just at the beginning"

"Peace is Possible when women have a Power"

"They walked so I could run, and I will run so that the next generation of Somalis can soar."