If the rosebud is opened by the breeze in the garden The key to our heart’s lock is the beloved’s smile The heart of one held captive by beauty and coquetry Knows neither roses, nor colour, nor face, nor tresses…

The beauty of mathematics only shows itself to more patient followers – Maryam Mirzakhani Maryam Mirzakhani was an Iranian mathematician, and the first woman to be awarded the prestigious Fields Medal for her work in the field of mathematics. She…

When I paint, I am in another world. I forget everything. My painting is not the reflection of the exterior world, but of my own inner world. – Baya Mahieddine Baya, an avant garde artist who inspired Picasso, was born…

Cups of crimson wine are circling in rounds of dance If the beloved is glimpsed this party abounds in dance God has made this believed peerless in my view Everything before my eyes resounds in dance – Ma Laqa Bai…

This week there has occurred in this city a most extraordinary event, one absolutely unprecedented in the history of the Sultans. The Grand Signior Suleiman has taken himself as his Empress a slave woman from Russia. There is great talk…

With a royal blow, she tore away the veil; She showed her face’s sun from behind the screen. The lioness showed so much force that brave men bent low before her. — Amir Khusrau Raziya Sultan was the Sultan of…

There is no community in which the rays of civilisation have shone forth – in whatever era this may be – where women did not have the greater hand and the greater due, as is perfectly obvious to anyone who…

Men claim they have superior intelligence, saying there have been more men of genius than women. They forget that only when people use their gifts do they develop. That is why poor men who have spent their lives as cooks…

You need courage to do vulnerability. But research shows the rewards are huge: compassion, self-respect, assertiveness, laughter, deeper connections, less isolation, oh, and inner peace – Tazeen Ahmad Farah Tazeen Ahmad was a journalist, presenter and writer, and one of…

We are the ones who raised the flag on high God gave it to us, and we were the agents But we will lose it if we do not stand up in its defence. Awake, Sisters! A long struggle awaits…

Human beings are like parts of a body, created from the same essence. When one part is hurt and in pain, the others cannot remain in peace and be quiet. – Motto of the Tehran School of Social Work, 1958-1979…

Strange things have happened in the history of the seven Hausa States, and most strange of these is the extent of the possessions which God gave to Aminatu, daughter of the ruler of Zazzau. She waged war in the Hausa…

I am that woman whose works are good. Under my veil is kingly power. – Padishah Khatun Padishah Khatun was the sixth sovereign of the Kutlugh-Khanid dynasty of Mongols, and the ruler of Kerman. She was the first non-Mongol woman…

Hawo Tako (also known as Xawa Taako or Hawa Osman) was a political activist who has become a symbol of Somali nationalism. Although the reality of her life is largely unknown, she is an important figure within the Somalia’s oral…

It was imperative that the peoples of the world should recognize the existence of a code of civilized behaviour which would apply not only in international relations, but also in domestic affairs. – Shaista Ikramullah Begum Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah was…