Wangari Maathai sums it up well: “Finally, I was able to see that if I had a contribution I wanted to make, I must do it, despite what others said. That I was OK the way I was. That it was all right to be strong.”

The battle for peace continues to rage on, but with three women warriors—Wangari, Shirin, and Mother Theresa—we come one step closer to winning. And the strength needed to win this war? It doesn’t come from guns and bombs…but from the human heart. May we all have the courage …to love!