When we criticize in Iran the actions of the government, the fundamentalists say that we and the Bush Administration are in the same camp. The funny thing is that human rights activists and Mr. Bush can never be situated in the same group. – Shirin Ebadi
We must not enable anyone to impose his personal view regarding religion on others by force, oppression, or pressure. – Shirin Ebadi
Women are the victims of this patriarchal culture, but they are also its carriers. Let us keep in mind that every oppressive man was raised in the confines of his mothers home. – Shirin Ebadi
Human rights is a universal standard. It is a component of every religion and every civilization. – Shirin Ebadi
The friend within the man is that part of him which belongs to you and opens to you a door which never, perhaps, is opened to another. Such a friend is true, and all he says is true; and he loves you even if he hates you in other mansions of his heart. – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Wisdom of the Sands, translated from French b