Asma Jahangir Quotes
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When the Bangladesh war happened, people in Pakistan who did not support it were called unpatriotic. My father was in the jail at that time, and a lot of those who knew my family used to call us children of a traitor.
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I have noticed encouraging signs in the fight against religious intolerance, and I am impressed by the outstanding degree of human rights activism in India.
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Even when we talked about child labor, we were frowned upon. But then you know that you have to speak the truth irrespective of the repercussions.
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I have no illusions about our elected politicians. Pakistani democracy is anything but perfect.
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I've been jailed once, put in police lock-up twice, and was under house arrest twice.
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We are so resilient as a people. I have so much respect for their dignity and courage. I hope the world sees this side of Pakistan, one where professionals want a democracy. The spirit of our intelligentsia cannot be broken.
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Fortunately, when Benazir Bhutto was prime minister, she banned public whipping of women - banned whipping of women, period, which is a marvelous thing she did.
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Terrorism does not disappear with revenge tactics but through making justice and equality before law a reality.
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Even before his detention, my father was fighting many cases. He remained in jail in Multan. He remained in jail in Bannu. But we were not allowed to go see him there. We always saw him in courts. So for me, the courts were a place where you dressed up to see your father. It had a very nice feeling to it.
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Religiosity is suffocating in Pakistan. It invariably stokes the fire in driving society to religious extremism.
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People send their kids to law school to uphold the rule of law - not to fight in the streets for justice and not to be beaten up.
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The world has to have zero tolerance for naked dictatorship.
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When there is oppression and dictatorship, by not speaking out, we lose our dignity.
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The interaction between human rights campaigners from Pakistan and India was a big taboo in the 1980s. When we started traveling to India to increase people-to-people contact between the two nations, we knew that we would face serious repercussions back home.
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Organized groups claiming roots in religious ideologies have unleashed an all-pervasive fear of mob violence in many parts of the country.
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I don't care what America and Africa think; I am only concerned that the people of this country should be saved from its Army.
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We believe that when there is a democratic setup, we have a greater voice.
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The state has not only the obligation to stay neutral in matters of religion but also to ensure that freedom of thought and conscience of all individuals is protected.
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While speaking in the NA, one must maintain respect.
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Women's rights was thought of as a Western concept. Now people do talk about women's rights - political parties talk about it, even religious parties talk about it.
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Every fair-minded person holding a position of authority must support the few who have stood up against the injustice being perpetrated in the name of blasphemy.
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I am so proud of Pakistanis and specifically of our lawyers for speaking out and getting their heads bashed in for a better Pakistan.
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We never learnt the right lessons. We never went to the root of the problem. Once you start politicising religion, you play with fire and get burnt as well. Another lesson we did not learn is that Muslims are not homogenous.
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My father was jailed off and on for seven years.