Quotes from Asma Jahangir

Look at the world, all the suffering... Being under house arrest is the least I can sacrifice.

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.

Attempts are being made to turn Pakistan into a security state. If they succeed they should better rename it 'ISIstan.'

I have no illusions about our elected politicians. Pakistani democracy is anything but perfect.

It is not easy for the courts to control the intelligence agencies. There has to be concerted and coordinated effort on part of the courts, the parliament, and the government.

We believe that when there is a democratic setup, we have a greater voice.

I don't need a certificate of my patriotism from those in the establishment.

Religiosity is suffocating in Pakistan. It invariably stokes the fire in driving society to religious extremism.

General Zia-ul-Haq, a dictator and unscrupulous political actor, used Islam as a pretext for waging war in Afghanistan and adopting an aggressive stance towards India. By advancing a more orthodox version of Islam, he was able to hold on to a repressive regime and quell any opposition.

I am certainly not a martyr kind of a person. I love my life. But if one has to, then there is nothing more nobler a cause that I can think of.

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.

The United Nations is an organizational body where people, through their Governments, come together; and it can be the only place where there can be a melting pot.

Agencies must know who they are accountable to. If the agencies know who they are accountable to but we cannot say who they are accountable to, then really it is a very sad situation that is bound to be misused. It is bound to affect human rights.

Past experience has shown that the Islamists gain space when civilian authority weakens.

I think I have lived enough in this country where I can say what I think is true and which is the voice of my conscience.

Every religion curbs women rights to some extent. Some countries acted against religions and put a ban on wearing hijab, which was also a violation of human rights.

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.

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.

In bonded labour cases, judges would ask me why I had brought those people to the courts who stank. 'You are here precisely for them,' I would respond.

I suppose anyone who calls a dictator a dictator is 'dangerous' and 'imbalanced.'

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.

There was a time that human rights was not even an issue in this country. Then prisoners' rights became an issue.

There used to be very few women in prisons, but this changed with the introduction of the hudood laws.

Musharraf's government has a civilian face - there are still elections and assemblies - and he has come to believe his own propaganda that he really is a democrat.