Women Activists

"“The thing is that anybody who is extremely serious about the work that they do and the type of opportunity that they want to bring to their country, probably cannot enjoy an experience because they’re constantly thinking about the way forward. They’re constantly thinking about connecting resources with opportunities. So, though I am in this amazing space with amazing people, I am constantly thinking about how we can leverage this opportunity as much as we can.”"

"Girlythings, she added, redresses imbalance. The reaction to these topics has, Khan said, been “extremely welcoming”, with significant support from Pakistani men. “It made me think: ‘Why haven’t we talked about this earlier?’ I’m only one person and I want to reach every corner, but this response makes me feel hopeful that our society is becoming very progressive.”"

"“So I still need to take a break and enjoy some afternoon tea but before that I have to do a lot of work around this award."

"I think it’s great that I’ve had the opportunity. It’s something I do not take lightly. I believe that my role is unique. In that I also have an opportunity to speak to young people, being communities being in civil society, through national youth councils, through Member States, at the same time, I also have an opportunity to speak to the policymakers and the governments. From the Ministers, the Head of States, other Special Envoys. And it gives an opportunity to make sure that you merge that. That the voices of young people, from what I hear from the ground through my youth townhall meetings through the listening tours, reaches the decision-making table, where I’ve had the privilege of accessing the decision-making table. At the same time, also making sure what comes from the policymakers reaches young people too."

"I got to do a red carpet for the first time in my life! It was great. As a woman with a disability, as someone with a hijab, to be on the red carpet, posing, presenting a fashion sense, presenting my cause and my country. That was exciting and I loved it and I was trying not to get my wheelchair tangled. That’s also something I have to consider all the time!”"

"I run Girlythings, a service that delivers menstrual health products to women across Pakistan. I am the writer, producer and actor behind Pakistan’s first short comedy on disability called Fruit Chaat. I’m also a public speaker and do many other ventures on disability and empowerment.”"

"We are women who are also experiencing poverty, but also want to talk about bullying in schools or the experience of ecological development in the Pacific."

"“When I looked at the world, I didn’t see a space for myself. Not in TV series, not when I read a book … there was nobody who represented people with disabilities. I decided, ‘I’m going to create that space.’”"

"There are many different things we care about as human beings," said Nabulivou, a self-confessed workaholic who says she has drawn fresh inspiration from her young daughter. "I want a world for her that is amazing, in which she can be liberated and free."

"I don’t like sob stories or tragedies,” said Khan, who is a disability and women’s rights campaigner in Pakistan. “I’m not saying they don’t exist – we can all face adversity – but I think we need a more positive approach to solving problems. I wanted to present people with disabilities in a more positive way."

"Eighty-four percent of LBT women and gender non-conforming people (who do not typically behave in traditional male or female roles) have reported intimate partner violence,""

"Ik ben diep verdrietig door het overlijden van mijn dierbare vriend, aartsbisschop Desmond Tutu", schrijft Mabel op de website van Girls Not Brides. "Ik heb de eer en het plezier mogen ervaren om met hem samen te werken. 'Arch' kwam altijd op voor mensen die niet gehoord werden"

"I feel we need to bring Pakistani or South Asian perspective to these platforms because western ideas get more space. This doesn’t mean that women in other countries are not suffering rather many a time they may not be aware of the different platforms where they can raise their voice. Through representation, we can remove confusions about our part of the world as well as call out any organisations which exploit Pakistan for their own gain by constantly painting it as a site of pity.”"

"Through a listening tour, I commit to engaging with youth organisations, youth transformative groups and young Africans across our continent and in the Diaspora with the aim to represent everyone and to tap into all the bright ideas that will propel and accelerate further efforts.“I advocate for inclusion of young people with disabilities in decision-making processes. It is important that no one person is left behind."

"I've been spat at; (my wife and I) have had people harass us in public; we've had stones thrown at our roof at night. There have been many things over the years,""

"I had a newspaper out me. I've had to fight the Methodist church on the radio and on TV, which was really hard to do as I'm a very private person,""

"As soon as you start moving around the world, you face challenges. It’s difficult to find a school or a university that is wheelchair-friendly and has an elevator, so I had to pick the institution first, then my degree. Being yourself, out in the world, is the greatest accomplishment,”"

"Zijn toewijding was cruciaal voor de oprichting van Girls Not Brides. 'Arch' was een altijd gepassioneerd pleitbezorger voor gelijke rechten voor mannen en vrouwen. En hij deed dit altijd met een geweldige combinatie van diep geloof en geweldige humor. Hij zei altijd: 'God is niet gek. God creëerde Eva omdat hij wist dat Adam het in zijn eentje niet zou gaan redden'."

"I would say do not ever underestimate the impact that you makein this world. I feel like as young people at times, we underestimate how we’re contributing towards society. But never do so, it could be within a community, within a family, within a country, a continent or globally, but ultimately, we are all contributing, at whichever stage that you are. So, keep that in mind. Always do the best that you can."

"“I am lobbying that come next year the next AU Heads of State Summit should be held in collaboration with an AU Youth Summit, so that young people can get to sit on the same table with Heads of State and be able to drive the agenda in achieving the Africa that we want and engineer the solutions together."

"When we talk about Pakistan, it’s one country but there is a lot of diversity,” Khan said. “There are a lot of women who are empowered and have agency – but in the same country, you can find women who have never left the house or gone to school, so there are challenges across those diversities. For many women who work and go to the office, companies don’t have access to menstrual care, so what does she have to do? She has to quit the meeting,” she said. “It creates a barrier.”"

"So, that is what I am lobbying for and come 2023, I believe that one of my priorities as I am in office is to make sure that we have more young people sitting on the table in these discussions as we deliberate, in terms of Africa, where we are, where we would like to go, and ensure that all the young people are also represented in these conversations.”"

"Even amid the current crisis, women in Gaza are again showing the power of women’s leadership and their centrality to their communities in the most appalling of circumstances. They are working as first responders and volunteers to try and keep people safe. UN Women pledges our continuing support, including to Palestinian women’s organizations in Gaza, where our long-standing relationships are more important than ever”,"

"With the Sustainable Development Goals, the global community has made a strong commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment. However, we can see clearly with these new indices that across countries, women’s full potential remains unrealised, and large gender gaps continue to be commonplace, thereby obstructing and slowing progress in the realisation of all the Goals,”"

"“Gender Equality cannot be achieved without free and open spaces. Spaces that are accessible, spaces that are inviting and inclusive. The Women Deliver Conference is one of those spaces. There are other spaces that need to be accessible for girls and women to live in while pursuing their goals. However, these spaces are often under the control of governments, families, and existing policies. To achieve gender equality it’s important that these spaces remain open and democratic, and remain respectful to every individual despite identity,”"

"A woman is any person who identifies as a woman, has been identified by others as a girl or a woman, and has the lived reality of what it is to be a girl or a woman. This is who we are including in our spaces and that is who we are trying to fight for,”"

"I just returned last night from Egypt and Jordan. There I met with Government, civil society partners, humanitarian workers, and volunteers, all working tirelessly to respond to the suffering of the Gazan people and end the crisis. I commend their efforts to ensure humanitarian aid gets to those in need. I welcome the news that 50 hostages, all women and children, will be released in return for the release of 150 Palestinian women and children, and a much-needed humanitarian pause. I thank the Governments of Egypt, Qatar, and the United States for facilitating this agreement.I hope that this is the beginning of a permanent truce and lasting relief for the people of Gaza and all the hostages held by Hamas.”"

"They have been an incredible host. They have achieved so much in gender equality. Again, we see some differences with them and they see some differences with us, but we've been always approaching this with them over the last year and a half that we've been having these discussions."

"“I am thrilled to join Women Deliver as President and CEO. I am an ardent feminist and have been working to advance the rights of girls and women, and to implement gender transformative initiatives, throughout my career. I am looking forward to continuing Women Deliver’s important role as a champion of gender equality advocates to realize the rights of all girls and women, not least their sexual and reproductive health and rights. This space is more important than ever to bridge the distance and disconnect that the world has faced over the last two years,”"

"That is two mothers killed every hour and seven women every two hours. We mourn them all."

"Women and girls have just as much right to access the digital world and prosper in it as men and boys. Their creativity, knowledge and perspectives can shape a future where technology contributes to transforming social norms, amplifying women’s voices, pushing forward against online harassment, preventing the perpetuation of algorithmic biases, and distributing the benefits of digitalization as the great equalizer to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals."

"“Sustained efforts are, therefore, needed to deliver on the promise of gender equality, secure the human rights of women and girls and ensure that their fundamental freedoms are fully realised,”"

"If we want to achieve what we want to achieve, we will often have to partner with and talk to people that we don't agree with on many things. Personally, I agree with very little that President Novák, believes in, espouses, or takes forward. I'm sure she agrees with very little that I believe in,"

"“Where they would say, we are going to do this and I would say, oh gosh, I wouldn't and then we say, okay, I understand that's the direction you're going and I will disagree, but I will commit and we will do it together. I will say to their huge credit; they have done the same with us. We have said we are going to bring in global people from all over the world and they said, anyone is welcome a hundred percent we will give them visas."

"During my mission I heard unequivocal calls time and time again that we need an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire” I also heard calls from partners across the region that forced displacement or transfer of Palestinians from their land is a red line, that we must ensure the protection of civilians and that we must facilitate unhindered access to aid. I heard calls for an end to occupation, and for concerted progress towards a peaceful, two-state solution."

"I encourage all donors to increase their allocations, including to UNRWA who remains the only lifeline for thousands of Palestinians."

"I suspect I am not unique in finding this one of the lowest moments for the international community and for peace and security that I can recall. But it is precisely at moments such as this that multilateralism is at its most important. This institution, and others of the United Nations, are where we come together to find peace. Our track record is varied."

"I am confident that there will ultimately be a reckoning for all violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in this conflict. The work of the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israelis is crucial."

"I commend the many female staff and volunteers of the Egyptian Red Crescent for their exceptional service in these challenging circumstances. And I welcome the establishment of a new Jordanian field hospital in Khan Younis, notably including female medical staff, such as doctors and nurses, for the first time. This is a significant milestone."

"I am reassured that SRSG [Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict] Patten has activated the UN Action network that she chairs to proactively share UN-sourced and verified information on incidents, patterns, and trends of conflict-related sexual violence to aid all investigations."

"I welcome last week’s resolution in the Security Council and hope that that will only be the start of greater consensus in the Security Council to find a solution. I call on its immediate implementation. But this resolution, like the more-than 100 resolutions on the so-called Palestinian question since 1948, makes no reference to gender issues. I also welcome the General Assembly resolution passed on October 26th, calling for “an immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities”."

"I hope that this is the beginning of a permanent truce and lasting relief for the people of Gaza and all the hostages held by Hamas."

"The need for sustained efforts to fulfill the promise of gender equality, secure women's and girls' human rights, and ensure the realization of their fundamental freedoms."

"I have been consistent in my briefings to you, in reminding you that women and girls are paying the highest price of conflicts."

"Large gender gaps continue to hinder and impede progress in achieving all goals,""

"I am alarmed by disturbing reports of gender-based and sexual violence. I reiterate my call from when I last spoke in these Chambers in October, that every act of violence against women and girls, including sexual violence, is unequivocally condemned, and must be fully investigated with the utmost priority."

"I urge you to include the voices of Palestinian and Israeli women working for peace, to recognize their leadership and to call for their meaningful participation in any negotiation efforts."

"I call for this truce to be extended to a ceasefire and for the remaining hostages to be released unconditionally. I call for an immediate end to the current siege, beginning with ensuring access to water."

"For the sake of women and girls, I leave you with a call for a return to a genuine and purposeful commitment toward a just peace."

"I realized that my community didn’t have a school that grooms children with Christian values which will enable them to become God-fearing and upright citizens, thus the decision to make it part of the education at my school,"