90 Quotes by Shirin Ebadi

Human rights is the fruit of various civilizations.

Democracy is not an incident that happens overnight, nor a gift that America can give to the world. It is a culture which needs peace to evolve.

I know of no civilization that tolerates or justifies violence, terrorism, or injustice. There is no civilization that justifies the killing of innocent people. Those who are invoking cultural relativism are really using that as an excuse for violating human rights and to put a cultural mask on the face of what they're doing.

Lawyers have a dangerous job in Iran.

The people of Iran have been battling against consecutive conflicts between tradition and modernity for over 100 years ... [some have tried] to see the world through the eyes of their predecessors and to deal with the problems and difficulties of the existing world by virtue of the values of the ancients... [others] seek to go forth in step with world developments and not lag behind the caravan of civilization, development and progress.

When more and more people want something, it becomes easier to achieve that goal.

Every time I am fearful I think to myself, the reason they do this is to discourage me from doing what I do. Hence, if I discontinue my work I will have succumbed to my fears.

My hopes for Iran's future lies with women first and foremost. Iran's feminist movement is very strong. This movement has no leader or head quarters. Its place is the home of every Iranian who believes in equal rights. This is currently the strongest women's movement in the Middle East.

Europe clearly is the only place where people can speak up critically, and this is a unique cultural value.