Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.

They often lack simple and fundamental information that is crucial to their safety. As we know, in the world of Aids, silence is death.

If information and knowledge are central to democracy, they are the conditions for development.

If information and knowledge are central to democracy, they are conditions for development.

There are now 11 women heads of state or government, in countries on every continent. And three countries -- Chile, Spain and Sweden -- now have gender parity in government.

The balance must be redressed.