“Women’s loyalty has to be earned with trust and affection, rather than barbaric rituals. The time has come to leave the old ways of suffering behind”

“I feel that God made my body perfect the way I was born. Then man robbed me, took away my power, and left me a cripple. My womanhood was stolen. If God had wanted those body parts missing, why did he create them? I just pray that one day no woman will have to experience this pain. It will become a thing of the past. People will say "Did you hear, female genital mutilation has been outlawed in Somalia?" Then the next country, and the next, and so on, until the world is safe for all women. What a happy day that will be, and that's what I'm working toward. In'shallah, if God is willing, it will happen. ”

“Many friends have expressed concern that a religious fanatic will try to kill me when I go to Africa. After all, I’ll be speaking out against a crime many fundamentalists consider a holy practice. I’m sure my work will be dangerous, and I admit to being scared…. But my faith tells me to be strong, that God led me down this path for a reason. He has work for me to do. This is my mission. And I believe that long before the day I was born, God chose the day I will die, so I can’t change that. In the meantime, I might as well take a chance, because that’s what I’ve done all my life.”

“My mother named me after a miracle of nature: Waris means desert flower. The desert flower blooms in a barren environment where few living things can survive.”

“And Hir replied to her father, ‘As wine-bibbers cannot desert the bottle, as opium-eaters cannot live without opium, so I cannot live without Ranjha. As the stain of mango juice cannot be washed awaj from clothes, so the stain of love cannot be erased when once the heart has fallen a victim. Love is likebaldness. You cannot get rid of it even in twelve years.”

“One day the Five Pirs appeared before him, and Ranjha bowed himself to the ground, and Hir was with him. And the Pirs said, ‘Children, we salute you. Remember God. Do not tarnish the world of love. Ranjha, you are Hir’s and Hir is yours. A pearl and ruby have come together. Your love will cause trouble and strife in the world. The world will taunt you, hut be brave and steadfast. Do not abandon love, and remember God day and night.”

“Repeat business or behavior can be bribed. Loyalty has to be earned.”