President Johnson-Sirleaf is determined to make good on the promises she made to the people who put her in office. But she says implementing reform after years of civil war is a long and difficult process. "[I'm] trying to change attitudes—habits in discipline, lawlessness—that have characterized the country for so many years and trying to get people to appreciate an education."

In many parts of the world, women who are victims of rape have little or no protection. To address this shocking reality, one of the first things President Johnson-Sirleaf did for the Liberian women was to pass a law that makes rape illegal. She says rapists will no longer go unpunished under her watch. "We're not going to have that anymore," says President Johnson-Sirleaf. "We are going to enforce the law."