First ladies

"I'm like Robin Hood. I rob the rich to make these projects come alive... not really rob. It's done with a smile."

"The Philippines is in a strategic position. It is both East and West, right and left, rich and poor. We are neither here nor there."

"The Philippines is where Asia wears a smile. Beautiful products can only be made by happy people."

"If you know how rich you are, you are not rich. But me, I am not aware of the extent of my wealth. That's how rich we are."

"Diligence, hard work, foresight, entrepreneurship and God's blessing."

"When they see me holding fish, they can see that I am comfortable with kings as well as with paupers."

"President Marcos was investing in precious metals long before he entered politics."

"Funny, I never shopped. Even my jewelry — not a piece of my jewelry I bought for me."

"I was born ostentatious. They will list my name in the dictionary someday. They will use 'Imeldific' to mean ostentatious extravagance."

"Ferdinand had foresight and unbelievable luck. His success actually bordered on fiction."

"I have never been a material girl. My father always told me never to love anything that cannot love you back."

"I will not say sorry and be pardoned for doing a godly act."

"My grandchildren are growing up and they could not understand why the Marcoses are still being crucified although we keep on telling them that we did not steal from the Filipino people."

"I would have to ask the public to choose between a culture of hate or a culture of love. I am sure our poor will pick the latter. With the Marcos assets, we could regain this value of sharing love with one another."

"They went into my closets looking for skeletons, but thank God, all they found were shoes, beautiful shoes."

"Filipinos don't wallow in what is miserable and ugly. They recycle the bad into things of beauty."

"It so coincided that Marcos had money. After the Bretton Woods agreement he started buying gold from Fort Knox. Three thousand tons, then 4,000 tons. I have documents for these: 7,000 tons. Marcos was so smart. He had it all. It's funny; America didn't understand him."

"When you reach a certain level of leadership, people cannot be neutral with you. They either love, love, love you, or hate, hate, hate you."

"We never had such a violation of human rights. In fact, we have had no human rights case here in the Philippines, even to this day."

"It is not expensive to be beautiful. It takes only a little effort to be presentable and beautiful. But it takes some effort. And unfortunately people think of beauty as luxury, beauty as frivolity, ... or extravagance. Beauty is a discipline, beauty is art, is harmony, in the ideological sense and in the theological sense, beauty is God and love made real. And the ultimate reach in this world is beauty."

"I seem to be able to only see the positive things in life and the beautiful things in life and when I see, for instance, garbage or ugliness, then I turn my back or I seem to be able to skip it."

"I am my little people's star and slave. When I go out into the barrios, I get dressed because I know my little people want to see a star. Other presidents' wives have gone to the barrios wearing housedresses and slippers. That's not what people want to see. People want someone they can love, someone to set an example."

"’Who is Imelda?’ I come from a third world country, third class province. And I was orphaned—and look, Imelda made it. If Imelda made it everyone can make it. At this age and stage I feel so good I’m still ready to fly.”"

"Thank God I never lost that childlike innocence and the purity of vision and naivete. …That childlike innocence was most useful, because if I was a bit wiser, I wouldn't have been able to do anything, perhaps. So I'm glad I was not smart."

"I've always maintained that the only things to uphold are the good, the true and the beautiful. We have to reject what's ugly."

"The best compliment I ever got in my life came from Chairman Mao of China. When I went there, at a time when nobody wanted to touch China with a 10-foot pole, Mao told me that I'm beautiful because I'm a natural, and he said natural is perfection. So, no character assassination can diminish me and my perfection."

"I'm the Imelda Marcos of sunglasses."

"A cunning child with a remarkable gift for both self-delusion and self-preservation. Marcos, who turned 75 last week, always maintained her childlike sense of entitlement, despite the harsh realities of life."

"She spent money. No question about that...She is a world-class spender. She is a world-class shopper."

"The kind of leaders we have today are not sensitive. Stop exploiting the poor and the hungry. You misuse them during hunger, you misuse them during campaigns. Leave them alone."

"Most importantly, I challenge women to aggressively seek leadership positions – I mean aggressively and I repeat aggressively."

"Mama Lucy Kibaki was different, she spoke her mind freely and honestly and never allowed herself to be held hostage to what society or people wanted her to be."

"Honor the teachers that open the mind."

"Fear history, for it respects no secrets."

"By recognizing the family as the foundation of societal well-being, we acknowledge the critical role families play in shaping the next generation."

"Empowering women is crucial in this endeavor, as they often play a pivotal role in child-rearing"

"Let us seize this moment to prioritize family strengthening and women’s empowerment, paving the way for a brighter future for Sierra Leone"

"Even during our political campaigns, there were people who used to question why was I playing such a leading role. But because of my empowerment, I was focused and determined to support my husband to become our President"

"The greatest achievement is not the number of awards you receive but the number of lives of Africans you have changed"

"If you have heard anything negative, in the past, about Sierra Leone, I am here to confidently inform you that Sierra Leone is the most beautiful country in the world"

"I call on all other African leaders to emulate what my husband has done to introduce free education for children from pre-primary to secondary school"

"This evening is about more than fellowship — it is about shaping a new world together. With partnerships like NBPA, World Shoe, and OAFLAD, we are showing that women and children will no longer be afterthoughts in development, but the very heart of it."

"You cannot take away the fact that you have more women in Africa than men, and if you’re going to deprive women in Africa to be [left] behind, then definitely, nothing is going to grow."

"The emotion is not about feeling somebody else’s pain — it’s about feeling my own pain"

"I know what it means to be a victim, and it is only by the grace of God that you find yourself in a situation like that and get out of it, and get out and become somebody"

"[At that time], the law still gave the power to the family or a guardian to give consent. So where the child says no, an adult could say yes — and they could still go ahead and marry that child off,For that reason, I decided that I’m not going to wait for policies and government."

"When you bring [this topic] up in Africa, it could immediately cost your husband his next election"

"If the people want to vote for my husband, they’ll vote for him. If they don’t want to vote for him, don’t vote for him. But what we need to say is … it’s better to be remembered for doing a good thing than to be remembered for protecting a political seat"

"I’ve said this and I continue to say it: The reason why we have the situations we have in Africa today is because of the silence,We cover our ears to what is happening to women."

"Until people can show me what FGM is doing in Sierra Leone, I’m not part of the conversation"

"As a proud daughter of the soil, I joined my brothers and sisters working at the Koidu Limited Mining Company in Kono Town to peacefully protest"

"Our collective action aimed to urge Koidu Limited to enhance working conditions and provide better services for all employees"

"This protest is a call to action for the company to improve the working conditions and provide better services. We believe that these demands are reasonable and essential for maintaining the well-being and dignity of workers"

"Since the beginning of the struggle, women have demonstrated an unparalleled capacity for resistance and courage. They were protagonists in the construction of a free and sovereign country, breaking stereotypes and showing that their participation was essential for Angola's independence."

"The struggle of women continues to this day, for a fair, egalitarian and inclusive society."

"The growth and strengthening of female participation in Angolan society is undeniable."

"Today, we see women in leadership positions, such as the Vice-Presidency of the Republic,in the Presidency of the Constitutional Court and in the National Assembly,which demonstrates the progress we have achieved over the years."

"Although most of the leaders during the liberation were men, some women reached leading positions within the organisations in which they had duties. They were important in the armed struggle and in the construction of a movement of Angolan female emancipation."

"It is a unique opportunity for us to celebrate and recognise the undeniable value of women in the construction of our country."

"I would like to reiterate my commitment to keep our girls in school, our women with access to decent work and families free from violence."

"It is a platform with a symbolic name to demonstrate love for children by providing them with care, access to education, and healthcare for their holistic development during our mandate."

"Education on gender equality and the fight against violence against children and youth should not just be a slogan, but a fundamental pillar of a future where no girl or boy is forced to endure the pain and scars of violence."

"It is great initiative by Merck Foundation to empower girls in education. This is Very critical for our countries to eliminate child marriage. We welcome the initiatives for Merck Foundation to our country."

"We need to exhaust our every potential of influence to uplift vulnerable group of our society"

"I touched every button, I knocked every door collaborated with many and never gave up when things were hopeless. I cannot give the details of the achievements at this juncture but can share my experiences to whoever interested if the need be in the future"

"My husband and I are committed to serve the people of Ethiopia using our organization; like wise we are committed to support with our capacity OAFLAD and our continent Africa in whatever way you want us"

"Joint efforts are needed to redirect our interventions towards high-burden regions and geographical hotspots in view of changing the epidemic trends in Ethiopia"

"It is high time that African nations put in place favourable policies and increase youth targeted investments"

"We need to lift and break the barriers faced by African youth in accessing and utilizing reproductive health information and services"

"Ethiopia is suffering from drought and water shortage, this high-tech, zero waste, no-plastic-bottle-waste water purification solution, will directly help schools and communities"

"With a collective multisectoral collaboration among all stakeholders, prevention, control and treatment of cancer is within reach and under our control"

"Ethiopia is proud of being a member of BRICS and considers the platform beyond just political engagements as it mainly involves economic development, trade and investment exchanges, technology transfer, cultural and people-to-people ties"

"Women are more concerned about nutrition than anybody else. We are happy that it is now a concern for all in the world, including men and women"

"Because of previous efforts we have made, our roles are more visible now than any other time before. To date, many initiatives are in place to deal with issues of women from global level to the grassroots. More resources are being allocated and better coordination of programmes, such as UN WOMEN and the universalisation of rights, are more evident"

"These statistics, in a nutshell, informs us that gaps remain in so many areas. In their totality, they call for more efforts to address the structural imbalances that hinder the realisation of women rights and welfare"

"I believe the report will give a befitting profile to the women and development agenda."

"We recognise, with admiration, its participation [the government] on the World Commission on Information and Accountability for Children’s and Women’s Health and the African Leaders Initiative Against Malaria (ALMA). These efforts altogether deserve special mention and our support"

"I believe you are all here today celebrating your graduation because you avoided pregnancy during your time in primary and secondary school. I therefore urge you to use the skills and experience you acquired to make sure that early pregnancies are no longer a problem that prevent your younger sisters from fulfilling their dreams"

"As a former first lady of this nation and a mother, i am proud to witness these achievements because it proves that our efforts towards provision of education are not futile."

"It saddens me to see sometimes even children under-five forced into labour, many of them are from poor families, so they do this for a living"

"Language has no borders. We need to take a front row position and become pioneers of our respective language across borders to facilitate communication."

"We need to feel pride in our language. We need to acknowledge the fact that Kiswahili bare the same value as any other language and never should we demean our language or any other culture whatsoever."

"He will tell you that he sees only you in his dreams, but when he impregnates you he will vanish, not to be seen again...Don't rush things, there is never too late in this world, we were all like you some time ago but we managed to stay focused and here we are."

"This is what some of us can afford to do, bring you here and offer you with quality education. It remains with you to make full use of it, and you shouldn't let go of it. Your families and country needs your services, pull up your socks and take your rightful positions in the society when you finish with your education."