Feminists

"(How do you advise women who want to be part of the system making changes in present-day Israel? What can you say to women who want to enter politics?) YD: They have to work within the party system — every party — and on the national level with other parties. It cannot be only an effort within the party. The power of women has to be expressed by sheer numbers. It must be mobilization — whether it’s academic or grassroots."

"I finished working, satisfied with my new role as a victim, feeling slightly sorry for myself, somehow heroic. I wasn't just anybody, I was a betrayed woman. (chapter 4)"

"As I have become involved with the rights of all groups living in Israel, I’ve become more involved with women’s rights, too. Still, I think that women who are involved only in women’s rights are missing the point."

"...for me, doing means contributing, doing for others."

"In her 2014 memoir, Dayan wrote that during her lifetime, she witnessed Israel transform from “a beloved, admired, victorious and just homeland, via an unbearable regression, to the dangerous sphere of ethno-theocratic messianic existence, which is so far removed from a peace- and justice-seeking society."

"Though the predominant ethos of the Zionist movement and the State of Israel has been enlightened — in both the liberal and socialist senses — large sections of the Israeli society, whether Jewish or Arab, are still strongly patriarchal in their social structure and traditional in their attitudes, with strong religious influences."

"The country woke up on October 24, 1973, a Wednesday, as if it were a wedding day. Cease-fire was expected at any moment, and the words, "The war is over," though not yet uttered by anybody, were ringing in every heart. (beginning of chapter 7)"

"Given the level of education, professional talents and human qualities of Israeli women, it is difficult to understand why their presence is so sparse in the vital crossroads of Israel’s political life without taking into account the heterogeneity and complexity of Israeli society — a society, we shouldn’t forget, that is also struggling to attain peace and security. This social complexity forces those of us struggling to attain full gender equality in Israel to adopt a policy of compromise, bridging of gaps and patient educational work — rather than one of radical feminism, for which many of us may wish. The reality is that today in Israel, human and women’s rights are not yet fully accepted as normative, and are thus not adequately protected."

"The word “prostitution” was not allowed to be mentioned in proper company.... How often have I tried in vain to throw down that wall of prejudice and routine! I am thinking, among other things, of a dispute with one of my professors. Completely in good faith, "Professor" proclaimed the position held by almost everyone at the time, that for a man satisfying his sex drive was a requirement of health and that it was therefore in the community's interest to ensure that by satisfying that drive no or minimal damage was done to his health. “If that is really your opinion,” I replied, “you are morally obliged to make your daughters available for this purpose.”"

"I would like to tell you about a not unpleasant experience that I had in the first years of my career... After prolonged treatment, I was able to assure the wife of an Amsterdam patrician that she was cured of a serious gynecological ailment, which she had suffered for many years. As was customary in those years, I submitted my account at the start of the new year. A few days later I received a visit from the husband of my ex-patient.... “What gave you the idea!” he shouted, full of indignation. “You must surely know that no one thinks of paying women's work as highly as work done by men.”.... “Did you then,” I asked very calmly, “when your wife was indeed seriously ill, seek inferior and therefore cheap medical help for her? I suspect that it was primarily good help you sought. I thought that was why you turned to me, the only female doctor in the Netherlands.” “Are you,” I asked further, “are you really seriously complaining about a bill based on the rates set by my male colleagues? You should rather appreciate that I adhere to this, instead of relying on the privileged position of being the only female doctor in the country for the time being and therefore being paid more expensively than the other Amsterdam physicians.” ....his wife came to pay the bill a few days later...."

"I spend a lot of time dreaming of and trying to imagine a feminist future. My utopia has happy woman."

"Feminism to me, is an ideology of love."

"Society has for long dictated what platforms are right for women to express their views on specific issues. This belief is slowly changing as a result of an increasingly boarder blurred global community."

"If your belief system disagrees with my humanity then we can’t be friends. How can I expect you to love someone you don’t see as a human being?"

"My feminism is rooted in love for Woman and love for myself. Love for humanity as well because feminism for me is directed not just at the ending of sexist oppression, but at ending all oppression including homophobic, transphobic, racist, capitalist oppression, etc."

"All that matters is who you are at the end of the day."

"Creativity should not have limits or boundaries. You should be able to push beyond what you think you can do or what you’ve done before."

"The only thing that can limit you is yourself at the end of the day."

"The only way to get what you really want is to let go of what you don't want."

"When you need to be loved, you take love wherever you can find it. When you are desperate to be loved, feel love, know love, you seek out what you think love should look like. When you find love, or what you think love is, you will lie, kill, and steal to keep it. But learning about real love comes from within. It cannot be given. It cannot be taken away. It grows from your ability to re-create within yourself, the essence of loving experiences you have had in your life.thumb|Visit of Iyanla Vanzant to HUD (cropped)"

"241 quotes from Iyanla Vanzant: 'Everything that happens to you is a reflection of what you believe about yourself. We cannot outperform our level of sel."

"You can accept or reject the way you are treated by other people, but until you heal the wounds of your past, you will continue to bleed. You can bandage the bleeding with food, with alcohol, with drugs, with work, with cigarettes, with sex, but eventually, it will all ooze through and stain your life. You must find the strength to open the wounds, stick your hands inside, pull out the core of the pain that is holding you in your past, the memories, and make peace with them"

"seemed destined to make a mark in WWE, until plans for her main roster debut kept falling through."

"“I had one more thing I was supposed to go up for. It was when they were doing ECW still. I was supposed to go on a Tuesday to SmackDown because they were doing ECW before Smackdown then, but then the Thursday prior, I got released,”"

"Turning an empty page into stories, making something out of nothing."

"The first thing I figure out is the plot, and as it develops, the characters take shape. I believe the characters tell me their own stories."

"Playing with words, making up new ones, gifting your audience with a well written story is nothing short of magic."

"Fortunately women who have gone before me have made that something I no longer fear."

"Draw inspiration and courage from you own dreams and passions and never slack on them."

"There were so many friends who laughed when they heard about the bamboo bike idea. Some people will definitely discourage you, but one thing I've realised in life is that you have to be focused. People never understand your journey because it is not theirs to understand."

"You have to believe so strongly in what you are doing, to be so dedicated to it that you are willing to make the necessary sacrifices."

"There had been a time when she had regarded Gamila with a touch of disdain. She had considered herself stronger than Gamila, than her aunt, than her father - and stronger than their beliefs, their rules , their traditions. She had laughed with a certain superiority when her mother had said, 'The one who knows the fundamentals does not suffer.' Yes, she had existed for a time in the shadow of this silly illusion. But in truth it was she who was silly, trivial, conceited, and despicable. She was the doormat beneath people's soles."

"I love you, and I want you to love me. But I do not want you to lose yourself in me, or in anyone. Nor do I want you to draw your self-confidence and your trust in life from me or from anyone else. I want you to have your own individual, independent self, and the confidence that can only spring from the self, not from others. Then -When you have achieved that - no one will ever be able to crush you."

"In the novel, I aimed at crystallizing three levels of significance. The first one deals with the development of the female protagonist, and its related to the second which deals with developments in Egypt at that period. As for the third level, it incorporates a commentary on the values of the middle class and its practices and how they prevent the country from a take off."

"I trembled with feelings of powerlessness, of misery, of oppression, as the bullets of the police killed fourteen demonstrators that day. I screamed for my inability to act, I screamed for my inability to go down to the street to stop the bullets from coming out of the black guns. I shed the child in me and the young woman came of age — prematurely — for I encountered knowledge that went beyond the home to include all of the homeland. My future fate was decided at that moment."

"My major backlash was the constant rejection because the world labelled me disruptive and at some point, in my life I felt so alone because of it. This is why it’s vital to have human anchors; it’s easy to sink and lose focus hence my commitment to anchor other women today fighting the fight. I’ve learnt to pick my fights and not everything is worth a response or a reaction."

"Feminism gave my work a lot of clarity, grounding and purpose. I knew I always wanted to be a voice for the many injustices around me that were happening without anyone saying much about it. So, I set out to say it and feminism made me realize I wasn’t insane for wanting to speak. It affirmed me. My work at Ukweli Party is centered on building a political institution that doesn’t downplay the role of women in politics, harnessing the scattered voices of women and becoming actual alternatives."

"I am deeply grateful, honoured and humbled to be one of ten phenomenon world leaders chosen to serve as GoalKeepers Advisory Board at Gates Foundation."

"Pan Africanism was essentially supposed to strengthen the bond among African people and create unity. However, how are people supposed to unite if women aren’t yet seen as fully people/humans? This means, even on a continental level, women are still very intentionally made vulnerable and heavily marginalized. Female politicians must come to the understanding that Pan Africanism cannot be fully achieved in dominant patriarchal spaces. Dismantling the patriarchy and its complex power matrix is something they should all be very keen on because its hindrances are too grave."

"When injustice is perceived, young people look upon violent groups as legitimate fighters, not perpetrators of violence."

"Africa has the wealth to invest and the clearest path to reducing inequality is investing in African youth, our most important asset."

"We cannot shrink the future of Africa in accepting its reality."

"We clearly live in an era where we have the most unequal societies of all time. The rich are becoming richer, the poor are becoming poorer."

"It is my duty to make sure that young people hold governments accountable for the implementation of the frameworks they signed up for."

"Find your identity, your true self and live your mission … Your power is your radical self. Find it."

"We have our own voices. We just need you to listen."

"As young people, you do not need permission to participate. You must occupy your space because there is no governance without citizen engagement and youth-led accountability."

"I will always push for progressive, more inclusive and more empowered positions for young people across Africa."

"Maybe you're this or maybe you’re that. I lead with, “You’re African first."

"I approach every character with the intention of making them as complicated as we all are."