international women's day readings
TRANSCRIPT
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAYWords of Wisdom and Empowerment
Universal Peace Federation
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People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out,but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealedonly if there is a light from within.~ Elizabeth Kübler-Ross, American psychiatrist
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I'm not afraid of storms,for I'm learning to sail my ship.~ Louisa May Alcott, American novelist
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I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. ~ Maya Angelou, American author and poet
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Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.~ Helen Keller, American author, activist, civil and women's rights campaigner; blind and deaf
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Nothing could be worse than the fear that one had given up too soon, and left one unexpended effort that might have saved the world.
~ Jane Addams, American leader in women’s suffrage and world peace, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931 for her efforts to bring World War I to an end
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A woman is like a tea bag – you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt, American political leader, campaigner for women, human rights, and social justice; former First Lady
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I had applied for a job [at Imperial Chemical Industries] in 1948 and was called for a personal interview. However I failed to get selected. Many years later, I succeeded in finding out why I had been rejected. The remarks written by the selectors on my application were: "This woman is headstrong, obstinate and dangerously self-opinionated!"~ Rt. Hon. Margaret Thatcher, first woman British Prime Minister
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Great events make me quiet and calm; it is only trifles that irritate my nerves.~ Queen Victoria, United Kingdom
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If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again! ~ Sojourner Truth, American advocate for abolition, women's rights, and temperance; she was born a slave
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We want to disarm human hearts and human beings, one by one, country by country. We can choose to do this individually, by seeking truth and living our lives with as much integrity as possible.~ Mairead Maguire, Northern Ireland, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976, with Betty Williams, for their extraordinary actions to end the sectarian violence in Northern Ireland
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Peace is not just the absence of war. It’s a world with justice and equality. It’s a world where the basic needs of the majority of the people on our planet are met. If we stop spending money on war and the weapons of war, we’d have more than enough to invest in these basics of long-term peace. People should have basic housing, access to medical care, education, and work. Everyone should have clean drinking water and food to eat every day.~ Jody Williams, US, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for her work to ban landmines through the International Campaign to Ban Landmines
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We can work together for a better world with men and women of goodwill, those who radiate the intrinsic goodness of humankind. It's the little things citizens do. That's what will make the difference. My little thing is planting trees.~ Dr. Wangari Muta Maathai, Nigeria, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her actions to promote sustainable development, democracy and peace.
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Regardless of whom you pray to, during war our experiences as a community and as mothers are the same. If any changes were to be made in society it had to be by the mothers.~ Leymah Gbowee, Liberia, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 for organizing a peace movement that brought an end to the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003
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Without a revolution of the spirit, the forces which produced the iniquities of the old order would continue to be operative, posing a constant threat to the process of reform and regeneration. It is not enough merely to call for freedom, democracy and human rights. There has to be a united determination to persevere in the struggle, to make sacrifices in the name of enduring truths, to resist the corrupting influences of desire, ill will, ignorance and fear.~ Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 in recognition of her work in the nonviolent struggle for democracy and human rights in Burma
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People are often unreasonable, illogical and selfish. Love them anyway. If you do good, you can be accused for selfish motivation. Do good anyhow. Goodness you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Your sincerity and honesty will hurt you. Be sincere and honest anyway. Your help is truly needed, but people attack you when you help. Help them anyhow. You give to the world your best and they break your teeth. Give the world your best anyway. All of this is not between you and them, but between us and God
~ Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Founder, Missionaries of Charity, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 in recognition of her work in bringing help to suffering humanity
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To be a light to others you will need a good dose of the spiritual life. Because as my mother used to say, if you are in a good place, then you can help others. But if you're not well, then go look for somebody who is in a good place who can help you.
~ Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Guatemala, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992 in recognition of her work for social justice and ethno-cultural reconciliation work based on respect for the rights of indigenous peoples in her native Guatemala
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Establishing lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war.
~ Maria Montessori, Italian educator
Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world. I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves.
~ Harriet Tubman, American abolitionist and humanitarian; escaped from slavery
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History is calling for peace, reconciliation, compassion, love, service and sacrifice. It is an age in which the present problems cannot be solved by the masculine logic of power. This is the age when the present problems must be solved by the more feminine logic of love, and the direction of history must be straightened out.
~ Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, Korea, Co-Founder, Universal Federation for World Peace
