Stephenie Foster

U.N. undersecretary Michelle Bachelet wasn't on the recently released Time 100 Most Influential People of 2012, but she's certainly on my list of the most influential people in the world. For those of you who don't know her, Bachelet is the first Executive Director of U.N. Women, and...

Peter Popham, the author of The Lady and the Peacock, a spellbinding biography of Aung San Suu Kyi, has great timing. Burma and Suu Kyi are in headlines, in large part because of Suu Kyi's compelling personal story and her party's electoral sweep in Burma's recent parliamentary by-elections. After the...

March is Women's History Month, so there will be lots of events and celebrations celebrating women. There are so many inspiring stories of great work, often against overwhelming odds, to break down barriers to women's full participation in society, whether those barriers were created by social and cultural norms, laws...

I just returned from Haiti, where I was working with women, convened by the Haitian group Femmes en Democratie, to develop a women's policy platform. In Creole, "nap vanse" means we advance, and it is critical that Haitians move forward together to build a stronger country and a...

Last year, my friend and colleague, Kah Walla, ran for the presidency in Cameroon on the Cameroon People's Party line. I talked to her about that run, the Arab Spring and the challenges Africa faces. In her words, "change is such a simple word... and so difficult to...

We live in complicated times and face a raft of tough and interconnected problems, from making sure that communities prosper to ensuring that people have access to health care and education and live in a clean and safe environment. But, as we all know, solutions at times seem ephemeral and...

Yes, I did eat great sushi in Yemen, while there working on a project to address deficiencies in girls' education. Surprising, I know, because Yemen is not known for sushi. It's known for many other things: gorgeous stained glass windows, an amazing Old City, the bombing of the USS Cole,...

As we begin the Twelve Days of Christmas, and mark the fifth night of Hanukah, here are some organizations I recommend that help create sustainable change for women and girls worldwide. Happy holidays, with many wishes for a better world.

For the first day ("partridge in a pear tree"):

Efforts to combat trafficking are diverse and growing. Businesses, NGOs, academics, politicians, governments and individuals all have a role to play.

It's worth setting out the basics. "Human trafficking" is an umbrella term for the issues of forced labor, sex trafficking, bonded labor, debt bondage among migrant laborers, involuntary domestic...

I just returned from a two week trip to Kabul, Afghanistan, where I was working on a project focusing on reaching women as voters, candidates and election officials as the country plans for its next election in 2013. It was a challenging time for Afghanistan, as the attack on the...

Revolutions have consequences.

Since the beginning of the year, we've seen longstanding and repressive regimes fall in North Africa, and continuing protests across the Middle East and Gulf. In real time, we are watching people struggle with how to structure new institutions, build democratic governments and rebuild (or build)...

Co-authored with Abigail L. Collazo, Editor, www.Fem2pt0.com, contact: Abigail.Collazo@gmail.com, twitter: @abigailcollazo

Last month, the award-winning actress, author and activist Marlo Thomas wrote a great piece on Huffington Post, "Passing the Torch... Who's Going to Run With it?" Afterwards, Thomas was chided a bit by her friend Gloria Steinem...

After seeing (and reviewing) The Whistleblower, I contacted Kathryn Bolkovac, whose story is the basis of the movie, and interviewed her. Her answers speak for themselves, but also give such a sense of her persona, grit and determination.

FOSTER: You were faced with a situation where...

Afghanistan is constantly in the news. The rights and lives of women and girls are at the forefront of many stories, and there is tremendous concern about how women's lives could become even more difficult if the Taliban returns to power.

It is worth reading Land of...

Human trafficking is horrifying and complex: it includes forced labor, sex trafficking, bonded labor, involuntary domestic servitude, forced child labor, child soldiers, and child sex trafficking. It is a crime and a violation of human rights.

In most of the movies and television shows about human trafficking, the villains are...

Young people today are growing up in a complicated and challenging world, and will face the meta-challenges of the 21st century: climate change, economic restructuring, job creation, and resolving conflict at home and around the globe. We need to ensure that we are investing in the most diverse set of...

Earlier this week, I spoke on a panel at the "Democracy the Delivers for Women" Conference sponsored by the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE). CIPE is one of the four core institutions funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) - alongside the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs...

Farishta, Patricia McArdle's first novel, is a compelling and readable book about the challenges faced by soldiers and civilians stationed in Afghanistan -- the constant fear of attack; the unforgiving landscape; the hostile and often corrupt warlords; the uncertain loyalties of Afghan colleagues; the efficacy of their mission; and the...

Women are critical to peace building and conflict resolution. While war affects everyone, women are especially affected.

War and conflict tear away the social fabric that supports women and families, creating instability. When men go to war -- voluntarily or not -- women are either left behind in shattered...

Last week, Ambassador Melanne Verveer delivered the James P. Grant lecture at George Washington University on the topic of Gender, Diplomacy & Development.

Jim Grant was not a household name, but he was a tireless global children's advocate. In fact, Nick Kristof wrote that Jim Grant, "a little-known American...