Salma waves at me as she comes out of the Swahili house she lives in with her husband and in-laws. She is my age, 21 years old. She is very heavy with child, and has two beside her, one and a half and three. I know she has already made dinner for her husband. He must be at the mosque, a truck driver home from a long road trip. He has been very angry with Salma. She tested HIV-Positive when she went for post-natal clinic. He blames her, so do his folks. She is being brave. The clinic gave her medication and advice. She hopes this little one will be spared. The other two are HIV- Positive. Age is lining her eyes.  

Terri Njeri Mumo*. She was 19 years old the day I first wrote this piece. She sat her Kenya Certificate of Secondary School Exams in 2007. I thought she had a lot of potential. From her essays, my guess is she was a girl with a lot going on in her head. She could have been a great statesperson someday. But did she have a chance?  

Regardless of ethnicity, nationality, religion, immigration status, identity, social, cultural or political ideology, women can relate to each other by a unity of gender experience. Women have the power of many. Women are the source of strength that their children feed from. We are empowering ourselves to defend our rights--through struggle and through democratic venues when possible.

Many contemporary women artists use their body to make a political statement. Artist Ingrid Mwangi is one of them, creating work that is innovative, visually striking and often shocking. She spent the first 15 years of her life in Kenya and has been living in Germany ever since. Through photography, performance, sound, installation and video, she's created a "body of work" that questions both social and political conventions. Mwangi writes: My body is the only thing that I own... I react, interpret and question the clichés and stereotypes with which I am faced... I use art to awaken consciences.

Around the world, women have been at the leading edge of environmental activism, helping ensure a healthier planet for their families and future generations. The women profiled here are a just small sample of thousands of others who have put their lives on the line to restore and protect the environment. These women were chosen because each has an important story to tell. If you know of other women environmental warriors, we invite you to share their stories, or your stories, with us.