I don’t have a child, so Women for Women is like my child. But I always said I would step down after 20 years. I didn’t want to be a 60-year-old woman holding on to something I created when I was 23. – Zainab Salbi
In every single culture I encountered, there were always women who defied cultural norms to do what they believed was right for them. This phenomenon has never been related to how rich, poor, successful or not successful the woman may be. – Zainab Salbi
There’s a lot of projection that if you’re in service then you shouldn’t look good. I’m no different from anybody else. I like clothes, I like shoes, I like to go have nice dinners, I like to dance. Just because I’ve dedicated myself to serving women, why do you think I need to sacrifice myself? – Zainab Salbi
By accepting what the external structures have told us we need to do, we have given the power of our realities and ourselves to others. It is time to tell a new story for women, and that can only start with women. – Zainab Salbi
The single thing all women need in the world is inspiration, and inspiration comes from storytelling. – Zainab Salbi
Do you know that people fall in love in war and go to school and go to factories and hospitals and get divorced and go dancing and go playing and live life? – Zainab Salbi
Leadership is about encouraging women to break their silence and tell their stories to the world. – Zainab Salbi
In my 20s I was such a serious, boring-looking person. I would never do my nails. I never even danced. But I was taught by the women. They had gone through hell, but they would dance and sing. I came to realise I can’t argue for a happy world if I am not happy myself. – Zainab Salbi
While women may look different, as some wear suits and others wear saris, or some cover their hair while others wear their hair loose, women need to stand together because they all face the central point of discrimination, although the extremity of which may be different from Kigali to Kabul. – Zainab Salbi
As women, we must speak out, speak up, say no to our inheritance of loss and yes to a future of women-led dialogue about women’s rights and value. – Zainab Salbi
No change can come if those who are impacted the most by discrimination are not willing to stand up for themselves. – Zainab Salbi
I don’t want to be someone in my sixties holding on to a group that I created when I was in my twenties. – Zainab Salbi
Being a leader for me is about having the courage to speak the truth, and live the truth, despite attempts to silence our thoughts, feelings, and past experiences. – Zainab Salbi
Like life, peace begins with women. We are the first to forge lines of alliance and collaboration across conflict divides. – Zainab Salbi
I by no means intend to simplify the challenges women face in any culture. Women are marginalized in all cultures in my opinion, some in more extreme ways than others. – Zainab Salbi
I couldn’t find anyone doing something about the astounding injustices women were experiencing, so I decided to do something myself. I cannot tell you how many people ridiculed my efforts. – Zainab Salbi
I grew up with injustice and could do nothing about it. But once in America, I had freedom of choice. – Zainab Salbi
I have come to understand that in order to effectively advance women’s rights, we need to galvanize a global women’s movement. – Zainab Salbi
