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" We need more courageous individuals who will defy the structures of power, whether political, economic, or intimate, but we also need it to be safe for people to feel their power and to be able to express their ideas and imagine without fear. "

Deeyah Khan

Ideas

People

Political

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" As a girl, I abandoned a promising singing career due to violent harassment by Islamists. "

" Self-expression should not be a challenge that demands extraordinary talent but should be a right accessible to all. "

" I come from a Muslim family. The label 'Muslim' is one aspect of me, but it's not the only part of me. "

" Left to the mercies of their communities, Muslim women and children remain in abusive households and face losing their financial security over issues like child maintenance and inheritance through the judgments of 'sharia' courts. "

" Our freedoms are shared freedoms: they are bound up in each other. The ability to confront oppression in the guise of religion is linked to our ability to worship as we choose: both are acts of expression. "

" Old, deeply engrained systems take time to change, but we can't leave it to time. "

" Attacking racism and discrimination is a very important way to work against radicalisation. "

" I know some women's rights activists have seen so much abuse that they can't stand men, but I have a sense of empathy with the men. Without excusing the abuse they are capable of, many of them are trapped within these communities and bound by expectations they didn't necessarily ask for. "

" Freedom of speech is a human right and the foundation upon which democracy is built. Any restriction of freedom of speech is a restriction upon democracy. "

" Censorship in all its forms must be challenged. "

" Britain has supported theocrats and dictators as long as it served British business interests, whether under Tory or Labour rule. "

" People at risk of 'honour'-based violence require long-term support, often years past the closure of a case, for continuing culturally-sensitive psychological support and the development of long-term protection plans. "

" We need to be able to guarantee the safety of all artists and activists for human rights so that it no longer takes extraordinary courage to call for a better world - so that every person with the ability to imagine peace, equality, progress, and justice can express their dreams and hopes without fear. "

" Like Theresa May, I regularly find myself infuriated by the rantings of Anjem Choudary and other hate preachers. "

Deeyah Khan

May

Myself

" The self-proclaimed Islamic State cannot tolerate diversity, which is why we must celebrate it. "

" We must defend democracy using its own mechanisms, through explaining and exemplifying its merits rather than through the heavy-handed and arbitrary silencing of its critics. This is how we will build a sustainable alternative to the contorted worldview of extremists. "

" Having more than one legal system running is not a sign of a healthy or inclusive society. It is just one less thing that people have in common. "

" The proportion of women attracted to the Islamic State is likely to be less than that in other militant organisations, such as the Tamil Tigers, the PKK, and the IRA. Undoubtedly, their roles within the Islamic State are much more confined by the rigid gender divisions under their ultraconservative rulings. "

Deeyah Khan

Women

Gender

" Our media provides a continuing message that for men, heroism is defined through association with control, independence, and the ability to commit violence, from superheroes to crime dramas. "

" For many young men, joining in a radical movement is a way of feeling powerful, which is particularly intoxicating for men who feel their masculinity has been called into question, whether through victimisation or a failure to achieve the status that they feel they are entitled to. "

" Many Muslim parents are authoritarian, which leaves young men and women with limited spaces to express themselves. Self-expression and autonomy are regarded as symptoms of 'Westernisation.' "

" Women's empowerment, whether through legal, financial, or cultural routes, will tend to increase their agency and their ability to take part in activism. "

" Freedom of expression is essential for feminists and dissidents in the Muslim world. "

" As someone who grew up between two cultures, I have been fascinated with the question of why men and women with similar backgrounds to mine were drawn towards radical messages of hate and violence. "

" The problem with Muslim women is less that we cannot speak the language, but that no one listens to us. "

Deeyah Khan

Speak

Women

" Some Muslim children, both male and female, have little choice in who to marry, what to study, what their careers will be, and who they can socialise with. Their lives are constrained under the expectations of family 'honour.' "

" People do the most remarkable things in the most difficult of circumstances. "

" Extremist movements are driven by their inability to tolerate the basic human fact of pluralism. They refuse to accept the natural cultural and religious diversity of our world, seeking to impose their own beliefs and behaviours as a universal pattern for humanity. "

Deeyah Khan

Diversity

Humanity

" We need to defend principles like democracy, freedom of speech, gender equality, and the rule of law through exemplifying these on a global scale, not through the same cynical, isolationist policies which have eroded these so-called 'British' values across the rest of the world. "

" The thing is, what most people don't understand is that there are so many of us growing up in Europe who are not free to be ourselves. We're not allowed to be who we are. We are not free to marry or to be in relationships with people that we choose. We can't even pick our own career. This is the norm in the Muslim heartlands of Europe. "