107 Quotes by Aysha Taryam

It is hard to imagine that even today while many of us go about our lives freely, hundreds of women cannot fathom the concept of being free. Bound, gagged and suffocating from the cruel societal chains they fight for survival on a daily basis, some succumbing to it, others rebelling against it and paying for it with their lives.

We are here, in an era of the strong, one that rewards a means to an end mentality, where qualities like empathy and compassion have been downgraded to attributes of weakness and gullibility.

George Floyd’s death may have compelled you to post a black image on your social-media accounts but what it should really have done is made you question yourself and find within you those dark places where intolerance might be hiding for who among us can stand tall and proclaim that they have never been prejudiced towards a certain ethnicity, gender, colour or faith?

Pigmentation is not an indication for incarceration and because black or fifty shades of brown complexions can never be a justification for hate or injustice.

Racial discrimination might not be systemic within the Arab governments’ fabric but that does not mean they are devoid of discriminatory laws and the same can be said about their cultural one, for the Arab world can in no way be absolved of the sin that at its core resides many a prejudice.

There is nothing more complex than the idea of prejudice for it defies educational merit, economic background and it does not adhere to a specific age-group or even ethnicity, it is a multi-layered issue that is passed down through generations most of which has been normalised through stories and anecdotes told and retold.

As politicians weigh courses of action against their political agendas the death toll weighs heavy on the conscience of the world. The once vibrant Syrian streets are now haunted by the souls of the innocent and the historic monuments that told of an unrivalled Arab civilisation no longer stand tall.

Women have forever been viewed as the Other: the other sex, the other half, the other option. Always the next best thing, always another part of.

The long-term effect of Hillary’s loss could be more beneficial to the future of America than one might think. For if Obama’s reign placed hope in the hearts of the young and instilled in them a belief that differences must be embraced then Hillary’s crushing defeat has awakened them to the harsh realities of a hopeful indifference and raised their voices in opposition of all those ideals that would not only darken their future but the future of the entire world.