Who are your favourite heroines in real life? The women of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran who risk their lives and their beauty to defy the foulness of theocracy. Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Azar Nafisi as their ideal feminine model.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the bravery of women in oppressive regimes who fight against theocratic systems.
Christopher Hitchens commends the courage and resilience of women in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran who face significant dangers while standing up against theocratic oppression. He draws attention to figures like Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Azar Nafisi, who embody the fight for freedom and represent the strength and beauty of women defying oppressive regimes. This quote serves as a reminder of the sacrifices made by these women in pursuit of their rights and dignity in the face of adversity.
In practice
During a speech on gender equality, one could cite this quote to emphasize the role of women in fighting oppression.
In a public dialogue with Salman in London he [Edward Said] had once described the Palestinian plight as one where his people, expelled and dispossessed by Jewish victors, were in the unique historical position of being 'the victims of the victims': there was something quasi-Christian, I thought, in the apparent humility of that statement.
What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.
Never ask while you are doing it if what you are doing is fun. Don't introduce even your most reliably witty acquaintance as someone who will set the table on a roar.
[E]xceptional claims demand exceptional evidence.
The worst days are when you feel foggy in the head - chemo-brain they call it. It's awful because you feel boring. As well as bored. And stupid. And resigned.
Let me tell you something: for hundreds of thousands of years, this kind of discussion would have been impossible to have, or those like us would have been having it at the risk of our lives. Religion now comes to us in this smiley-face, ingratiating way — because it’s had to give so much more ground and because we know so much more. But you’ve got no right to forget the way it behaved when it was strong, and when it really did believe that it had God on its side.
There is one good thing about reaching the bottom. When you get there, there's nothing left to do but fight your way back up or die.
I believe that one of life's greatest risks is never daring to risk.
Freedom is a hard-bought thing and millions are in chains, but they strain toward the new day drawing near.
We began a contest for liberty ill provided with the means for the war, relying on our patriotism to supply the deficiency. We expected to encounter many wants and distressed we must bear the present evils and fortitude
A hero does for others. He would do anything for people he loves, because he knows it would make their lives better. I am not that kind of person, but I want you to be. You could give something to her, to me, to those children in the quarter. You could give something I never could ... The white people out there are saying you don't have it-that you're a hog, not a man. But I know they are wrong.
The work of anti-racism can only take place inside each individual soul, where we all try to grow into better people. There is no national tonic or instant cure.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.