"The persecution of homosexuals belongs to the same sad chapter of history in which the persecutions of witches and heretics is inscribed... Only with the French Revolution did a complete change come about. Everywhere where the Code Napoléon was introduced, the laws against homosexuals were repealed, for they were considered a violation of the rights of the individual... In Germany, however, despite more than fifty years of scientific research, legal discrimination against homosexuals continues unabated... May justice soon prevail over injustice in this area, science conquer superstition, love achieve victory over hatred!"

"Since July, we've prevented fourteen early marriages"

"People tell my father, 'You've lost your daughter; she's fighting against tradition and religion!' He's scared but supports me"

"Men already had an issue with women accessing the public space, but now they are forced to remain in a space typically reserved for women, many men are struggling to accept it"

"The question is whether this will continue and become normal or whether it is just temporary"

"They call me the girl with the headscarf who breaks marriages"

"Our struggle must become everyone's: parents, neighborhood leaders, judges, imams... We are not fighting for money or fame, but because we have experienced this violence. Women deserve to have a pure and complete body, not to be deprived of their rights"

"I am shocked that in Tunisia or elsewhere, violence against women would be an issue to be relegated to the minister of women"

"It's not very feminist of me but I've realised it's a pleasure and not an obligation. Today men are sewing and cooking, we can't have complexes about these things. If it's done for pleasure, it's a luxury"

"Citizens must take charge"

"Children are always excited to go on vacation, but here, many parents take their daughters to stay with their grandmothers or aunts and tell them how fun it will be. Instead, they cut them or amputate them. I say “amputate” because that’s what it is. Some genital mutilation also takes place in the city, in Conakry. You see little girls dressed in red for the ceremony. Little girls are not protected during the holidays and that terrifies us"

"We lack the collective will to redefine the family and review our priorities"

"allowed people to say: 'Guess what, women can be just as effective as political leaders as their male counterparts"

"This year, we are trying to raise awareness among mothers and aunts, who are complicit in the ritual and whom we feel often don’t understand the repercussions. Many didn’t have the opportunity to go to school or learn about their rights"

"There has been absolutely no addition in terms of rights secured for women"

"I have experienced harassment, smear campaigns, defamation, death threats and calls for my assassination"

"In the morning, I start with the gardening. And I've discovered I still know how to crochet"

"We didn't see a drastic shift in public opinion on women's rights, prior to this appointment"

"Some women think that genital mutilation is a religious requirement, which is not true. We explain to them that traditions today are based on positive, not negative practices"

"Every day, I receive calls from women who have been abused by their husbands. This encourages me to continue the fight, because, by talking to me, they demonstrate that something is changing in Guinea. Today, women dare to speak out"

"We must denounce violence; it's the only way to stop this cycle," the young activist chanted at the time. "The shame of rape must change sides"

"The rights of Guinean children are in an alarming situation because they are neglected, and every day we participate in the violation of their rights, despite the efforts made by Guinean child rights advocates, ratified conventions, and adopted laws"

"There are many unwanted pregnancies among young people"

"They say that the environment makes the man, but in my neighborhood, everyone does whatever they want"

"All these girls take care of their children and no longer go to school, or their parents reject them"

"I found myself face to face with an old woman who circumcised me"

"The authorities need to stop supporting tradition and instead support the law. Everyone needs to wake up, including religious leaders, community leaders and other influential public figures"

"It’s also important for us to go and talk to the fathers, even if the topic is taboo and hard to talk about. Sometimes it’s clear that we are unwelcome. We get chased out of some neighbourhoods by residents who are angry at us"

"In marriage, woman is a serf. In public instruction, she is sacrificed. In labor, she is made inferior. Civilly, she is a minor. Politically, she has no existence. She is the equal of man only when punishment and the payment of taxes are in question. I claim the rights of woman, because it is time to make the nineteenth century ashamed of its culpable denial of justice to half the human species; Because the state of inferiority in which we are held corrupts morals, dissolves society, deteriorates and enfeebles the race; Because the progress of enlightenment, in which woman participates, has transformed her in social power, and because this new power produces evil in default of the good which it is not permitted to do; Because the time for according reforms has come, since women are protesting against the order which oppresses them; some by disdain of laws and prejudices; others by taking possession of contested positions, and by organizing themselves into societies to claim their share of human rights, as is done in America; Lastly, because it seems to me useful to reply, no longer with sentimentality, but with vigor, to those men who, terrified by the emancipating movement, call to their aid false science to prove that woman is outside the pale of right; and carry indecorum and the opposite of courage, even to insult, even to the most revolting outrages."

"Gaddafi left behind a heavy burden — a legacy of tyranny and corruption. For four decades, Gaddafi’s tyrannical regime destroyed the infrastructure, as well as the culture and moral fabric, of Libyan society"

"It’s about time we had either a commission of enquiry or a panel of experts that monitors the situation and ends impunity in all of Libya"

"I was keen — along with many other women — to rebuild Libyan civil society, calling for an inclusive and just transition to democracy"

"However, bit by bit, the euphoria of the elections — and of the revolution as a whole — was fading out, for every day we were waking up to the news of violence"

"We need to end the unilateral interference in Libya… Libya is not a piece of cake"

"Our society, shaped by a revolutionary mindset, became more polarized and driven away from the ideas and principles — freedom, dignity, social justice — that we first held. Intolerance, exclusion and revenge became the post-math of the revolution."

"We need to have a fair representation in terms of gender, a fair representation in terms of generation, a fair representation in terms of culture, a fair representation in terms of all Libyans of diaspora and inside of Libya, a fair representation as well of urban and rural areas… of the capital and more disenfranchised regions and cities. I cannot only focus on women’s empowerment; I need to address the other issues as well"

"By that I mean, addressing the humanitarian crisis in Libya, addressing the human rights violations, addressing the lack of justice in Libya, the lack of a rule of law in Libya"

"We’ve been appeasing warlords"

"actually caused a further divisiveness and polarization in society"

"It’s only created a weak centralised government that is not addressing any other issues"

"Nobody attacked the issue in Libya from a holistic approach"

"focuses on rushing to elections and having a multi-party system when you don’t have real constituencies or comprehension of the idea of political parties and programmes"

"These are just some of the issues that have not become better, but in many parts of the world have become worse including in our own country …so this suggest that we are not at the stage where we can rest, we need to continue."

"If we are still using the old method we shall continue to get the same results as we did in the past."

"This demonstrates the importance of being united …we realise that sisterhood matters… it actually does not matter what political party you represent, what matters is standing for the truth."

"We had… congressmen who were either affiliated with militias or who were themselves militias… We started seeing that congresswomen were threatened and bullied physically and verbally by other representatives"

"I have a responsibility towards the next generation, not just an African American but for all of humanity who need someone’s shoulders to lift themselves up."

"The root cause… it’s the unchecked militarization, it’s the flow of arms, it’s the arms anarchy"

"The need to demilitarize, demobilize, and to have a rehab programme for those who are traumatized by war has not been addressed by the UN-led peace process"

"To those who would like to burden me, I would say that my action, as a volunteer in the Rabita, for almost ten years had no other ambition than to serve my country and to promote this third way, that of a peaceful Islam, contextualized and in tune with universal humanist values compatible with our cultural values."