Shirin Ebadi Quotes

Shirin Ebadi shares a reflective, historic voice that invites readers to ponder ancient ideas of leadership.

13 quotes

1. I am an Iranian. A descendent of Cyrus The Great. The very emperor who proclaimed at the pinnacle of power 2500 years ago that...he would not reign over the people if they did not wish it. And [he] promised not to force any person to change his religion and faith and guaranteed freedom for all. The Charter of Cyrus The Great is one of the most important documents that should be studied in the history of human rights.

2. The government of Iran claims that every two years there are elections. But none of them are free.

3. Contrary to what certain governments say, human rights are universal. Arbitrary detention, torture and discrimination hurt the human dignity of anybody, whatever his or her country of origin, religion, descent, or any other ground.

4. Iran, the Iranian government, has mentioned several times that it wouldn't attack Israel.

5. The condition of women in Islamic societies as a whole is also far from desirable. However, we should acknowledge that there are differences. In certain countries, the conditions are much better and in others much worse.

6. Akbar Ganji is a human rights activist in Iran and he works on freedom of expression and he does his job very well.

7. I hope the example of Saddam Hussein will give a lesson to leaders of other countries where human rights are not respected.

8. Sixty-three percent of our university students are female. But you still see violations of women's rights in Iran. A Muslim man can have up to four wives. He can divorce his wife without offering any reason, while it is quite difficult for a woman to get a divorce.

9. It's perfectly OK that there are certain people who do not accept Islam at all. Therefore, to announce that I am a Muslim can rub some people the wrong way. But my aim is to show that those governments that violate the rights of people by invoking the name of Islam have been misusing Islam. They violate these rights and then seek refuge behind the argument that Islam is not compatible with freedom and democracy. But this is basically to save face. In fact, I'm promoting democracy. And I'm saying that Islam is not an excuse for thwarting democracy.

10. When you vote, vote for those who are not warmongers, and vote for those who respect human rights. When you see a president who doesn't respect human rights, don't vote for that person.

11. Whenever Muslim women protest and ask for their rights, they are silenced with the argument that the laws are justified under Islam. It is an unfounded argument. It is not Islam at fault, but rather the patriarchal culture that uses its own interpretations to justify whatever it wants. It utilizes psychology to say that women are emotional. It utilizes medical science to say that men's brains are formed in such a way that they are better able to understand concepts. These are all hypotheses. None of this has been proven.

12. I am the voice of the people in Iran whose voices are silent and whose demands cannot be heard by the rest of the world.

13. Israel is a country and should exist. And a country by the name of Palestine should be made. Two different governments of Palestine and Israel can live beside each other happily and both of them should recognize each other.