Shirin Quotes

#1. But he's an untouchable, Shirin.' 'He's my Untouchable Prince Charming, then. Only I am allowed to touch him.

Renita D'Silva

#2. You are a girl, Shirin. Girls don't run around naked.'Why?'They just don't.

Renita D'Silva

#3. In my experience as a director, I think there is obviously something of the way men - maybe that's a common point with Shirin - the way men see women in the film, and the way these two characters see each other.

Abbas Kiarostami

#4. When there is enough oxygen in the air for everyone, no one is going to take to violence in order to access it. But if there were not enough of it for everyone then people would result to violence in order to get it. Therefore we have to improve the conditions to have better human beings.

Shirin Ebadi

#5. Over 60 percent of the university students in Iran are female. The women in Iran are better educated than men.

Shirin Ebadi

#6. No American soldier should be allowed to set foot on Iranian soil, regardless of the criticism we have of the Iranian government.

Shirin Ebadi

#7. Fort somehow turned the symbol of nerdiness into a visual aphrodisiac - Spanish fly in the form of solid black frames.

Shirin Dubbin

#8. The life of a woman is worth half of that of a man [in Iran]. If a terrorist attacks me and my brother on the street and we are both injured the same, the compensation he receives is twice as much as the compensation that I would receive.

Shirin Ebadi

#9. Democracy doesn't recognize east or west; democracy is simply people's will. Therefore, I do not acknowledge that there are various models of democracy; there is just democracy itself.

Shirin Ebadi

#10. Contrary to what certain governments say, human rights are universal. Arbitrary detention, torture and discrimination hurt the human dignity of anybody, whatever his or her country of origin, religion, descent, or any other ground.

Shirin Ebadi

#11. 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 mother's home.

Shirin Ebadi

#12. The condition of women in Islamic societies as a whole is also far from desirable. However, we should acknowledge that there are differences. In certain countries, the conditions are much better and in others much worse.

Shirin Ebadi

#13. Any person who pursues human rights in Iran must live with fear from birth to death, but I have learned to overcome my fear.

Shirin Ebadi

#14. 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.

Shirin Ebadi

#15. We shouldn't just consider the desire of government to do what it wants to do. We should always consider the resistance of people. The culture of Iranian people doesn't let the government drag people into deep trouble or backlash. Maybe government wants it, but the culture doesn't let it go on.

Shirin Ebadi

#16. I have never been convinced throughout my life that one needs to be imitating others. I even tell my daughters not to look at me as a model.

Shirin Ebadi

#17. I believe and support the feminist movement, but I am not generally interested in considering women's rights in relation to equality with men, or in a competition with men, but rather within their own rights and feminine space.

Shirin Neshat

#18. The international community can't trust such a government. If the government of Iran wants the international community to believe in what it says, it should try to bring true, pure democracy into the country. The political solution to the energy issue or the nuclear case is democracy in Iran.

Shirin Ebadi

#19. I have never agreed with President Bush's argument regarding the axis of evil. Unfortunately, fundamentalists in Iran have used this as an excuse to brand us as allies of Mr. Bush.

Shirin Ebadi

#20. The idea of cultural relativism is nothing but an excuse to violate human rights.

Shirin Ebadi

#21. The Iranian government intends to use the nuclear program for peaceful purposes, but must convince international public opinion of that.

Shirin Ebadi

#22. Human rights is the fruit of various civilizations.

Shirin Ebadi

#23. The younger generation is essentially idealistic. This applies to the Iranian youth as well. In addition, the youth in Iran face certain difficulties ... the Iranian youth need more freedom. They are struggling for more freedom and democracy. This commands great respect.

Shirin Ebadi

#24. I think of myself, an Iranian/American artist, and wonder what would I want if I'm ever imprisoned by the Iranian government for the work that I make? I answer: I would hope that the United States government comes to my rescue.

Shirin Neshat

#25. I maintain that nothing useful and lasting can emerge from violence.

Shirin Ebadi

#26. I'm really interested in social justice, and if an artist has a certain power of being heard and voicing something important, it's right to do it. It could still be done in such a way that it's not aggressive or overly didactic. I'm trying to find that form.

Shirin Neshat

#27. When a person is humiliated, when his rights are being violated, and he does not have the proper education, naturally he gravitates toward terrorism.

Shirin Ebadi

#28. Beautiful woman wrapped in chadors, with huge machine guns in their hands. Brilliant, shocking, amazingly contradictory images. They compelled me to deeply investigate these ideas.

Shirin Neshat

#29. What is important is that one utilizes one's intellect and not to be 100 percent sure about one's convictions. One should always leave room for doubt.

Shirin Ebadi

#30. When the gravity of death first touched me, I'd found preoccupation with the minutiae of daily life meaningless. If we ultimately die, and turn to dust in the ground, should it ever truly upset us if the floor hasn't been swept quite recently enough.

Shirin Ebadi

#31. Magical realism allows an artist like myself to inject layers of meaning without being obvious. In American culture, where there is freedom of expression, this approach may seem forced, unnecessary and misunderstood. But this system of communication has become very Iranian.

Shirin Neshat

#32. Human rights is a universal standard. It is a component of every religion and every civilization.

Shirin Ebadi

#33. I am the voice of the people in Iran whose voices are silent and whose demands cannot be heard by the rest of the world.

Shirin Ebadi

#34. In this Western world that we have, culture risks being [only] a form of entertainment.

Shirin Neshat

#35. 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.

Shirin Ebadi

#36. The government of Iran claims that every two years there are elections. But none of them are free.

Shirin Ebadi

#37. The first years of my life in the U.S. were very difficult.

Shirin Neshat

#38. While living in exile I have become the loudspeaker for the people of Iran.

Shirin Ebadi

#39. Usually, in any revolution people are focused on who wants to have the most power. But the most important thing is the laws that are written during that time.

Shirin Ebadi

#40. It's not just about hope and ideas. It's about action.

Shirin Ebadi

#41. How can you defy fear? Fear is a human instinct, just like hunger. Whether you like it or not, you become hungry. Similarly with fear. But I have learned to train myself to live with this fear.

Shirin Ebadi

#42. The people are fed up with corruption and embezzlement. They object to censorship. The first thing that the people of Iran want is free elections.

Shirin Ebadi

#43. I believe we don't need to widen the divide between the West and Islam. Rather, we need to build dialogue to encourage tolerance and respect.

Shirin Neshat

#44. My father was a doctor, but he was what I would call an intellectual - very well-read and very interested in knowledge. He insisted that I get as much education as my brothers.

Shirin Neshat

#45. I have never had a governmental position, and I will never accept such a position.

Shirin Ebadi

#46. Sadly the job security of lawyers has been ruined, so they are less willing to defend political defendants.

Shirin Ebadi

#47. When you vote, vote for those who are not warmongers, and vote for those who respect human rights. When you see a president who doesn't respect human rights, don't vote for that person.

Shirin Ebadi

#48. Art is no crime. It's every artist's responsibility to make art that is meaningful

Shirin Neshat

#49. If you can't eliminate injustice, at least tell everyone about it.

Shirin Ebadi

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

Shirin Ebadi

#51. Whenever women protest and ask for their rights, they are silenced with the argument that the laws are justified under Islam. It is an unfounded argument. It is not Islam at fault, but rather the patriarchal culture that uses its own interpretations to justify whatever it wants.

Shirin Ebadi

#52. 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

#53. My aim is to show that those governments that violate the rights of people by invoking the name of Islam have been misusing Islam.

Shirin Ebadi

#54. Lawyers should not be charged with the same crimes as their clients. Trials related to political charges are not in accordance with human rights.

Shirin Ebadi

#55. Poets use metaphors and symbolism to construct images. I construct my images in the same way, except that I am using a different form.

Shirin Neshat

#56. Terrorism is based on two major pillars: One is injustice, and the other is a certainty of attitude, the notion that their version of the story is the correct one.

Shirin Ebadi

#57. Every Iranian artist, in one form or another, is political. Politics have defined our lives.

Shirin Neshat

#58. There is nothing negative about a group of people crying out for democracy - and if my voice counts, I will be vocal.

Shirin Neshat

#59. We must not enable anyone to impose his personal view regarding religion on others by force, oppression, or pressure.

Shirin Ebadi

#60. We adapted to being at war, just as we had adapted to the chaos and upheaval of revolution. How amazing and yet tragic it is, I thought, the human instinct for

Shirin Ebadi

#61. No government can make me wear a veil, no government can force me not to wear it either

Shirin Ebadi

#62. Those who don't understand any language other than the language of force and violence don't respect human dignity. They seek violence because they will be irrelevant without it. We should not go their way.

Shirin Ebadi

#63. Every Iranian artist dreams of the black market. We don't care about making money.

Shirin Neshat

#64. We must acquaint the youth to the realities of the world ... we must tell them that millions of people around the world have no access to drinking water.

Shirin Ebadi

#65. There is no "true Islam," just different interpretations.

Shirin Ebadi

#66. Being political is an integral part of being Iranian. Our lives are defined by politics.

Shirin Neshat

#67. Sixty-three percent of our university students are female. But you still see violations of women's rights in Iran. A Muslim man can have up to four wives. He can divorce his wife without offering any reason, while it is quite difficult for a woman to get a divorce.

Shirin Ebadi

#68. The most important problem in Iran is that the courts have lost their independence, and they are under the influence of the Ministry of Intelligence and their people. This is why we witness a number of journalists and human rights activists, my colleagues, and a number of feminists, in prison.

Shirin Ebadi

#69. People are fundamentally good. But conditions deteriorate them.

Shirin Ebadi

#70. I find that through the study of women, you get to the heart - the truth - of the culture.

Shirin Neshat

#71. The role of Iran has been very destructive. As an Iranian, I apologize to the civilian people of Syria who have been killed as a result of the useless intervention of Iran in Syria.

Shirin Ebadi

#72. Some criticize me, thinking I'm too tolerant of the clerical regime in Iran. In response, I have to say, I have served time in prison, I have lost my position [as a judge]. Do I need to prove that I am brave? Do I need to be killed?

Shirin Ebadi

#73. North Americans do not understand that you do not throw down human rights like bombs on the Iraqis.

Shirin Ebadi

#74. Everyone's condition is different, and the way that each person lives his or her life is different.

Shirin Ebadi

#75. Islam is not an excuse for thwarting democracy.

Shirin Ebadi

#76. Certainly, the fight against terrorism is a legitimate fight. And certainly whoever commits terrorism should be brought to justice.

Shirin Ebadi

#77. Because of our youthful population, we suffer from unemployment in Iran. We need more universities and more job opportunities for the young.

Shirin Ebadi

#78. I have said many times that I wish there was no oil in the Middle East, and more water. People would have been much happier than they are.

Shirin Ebadi

#79. There is a verse [in the Koran] that says God swears by time. Anything you gain in life, you pay for with your time. Time is the most important thing that has been given to man.

Shirin Ebadi

#80. We demand a non-violent world where human security is the basis of our common global security. People have the right to live in a world where the basic needs of all peoples are addressed. No more military attacks. No more war.

Shirin Ebadi

#81. Art is our weapon. Culture is a form of resistance.

Shirin Neshat

#82. Unfortunately, violence begets violence. And this is how the war on terrorism seems to be going at this juncture. A lot of people are losing their lives. Many children are losing their parents. Too many houses are being destroyed. And, unfortunately, the arms industry seems to flourish.

Shirin Ebadi

#83. I hope the example of Saddam Hussein will give a lesson to leaders of other countries where human rights are not respected.

Shirin Ebadi

#84. It is totally unacceptable for a government to interfere in the internal affairs of another government and send aid, money, and weapons, to the people who are against a certain regime in another country.

Shirin Ebadi

#85. I'm an artist, I'm not an activist.

Shirin Neshat