Rula Ghani

The Western media has depicted the Afghan woman as a helpless, weak individual. I have said it before, and I shall repeat it: The Afghan woman is strong. The Afghan woman is resourceful. The Afghan woman is resilient.

If you have a harmonious society where people within the family are living in harmony... knowing what their responsibilities and duties are, and knowing how to resolve their issues and their conflicts without violence, then violence against women will be reduced, and women will feel they have a voice.

We exist in this weirdly schizo culture, where sex is everywhere in the media, and yet, at the same time, you don't sit down and have a conversation about what you did in bed last night with your friends. Despite the ubiquity of sex, it's still a taboo when it comes to day-to-day conversation.