Greg Mortenson Quotes

While the overall goal of any society must be to educate all its members, at this stage in human history the greatest need is to educate women and girls. For over twenty years, studies have consistently documented that, of all possible investments, educating women and girls pays the highest overall dividends in terms of social development, the eradication of poverty and the advancement of community.

Those 62 million girls who are not being educated around the world impact my life in Washington, D.C., in the United States of America. Because if we aren't empowering and providing the skills and the resources to half of our population, then we're not realizing our full potential as a society, as mankind.

We are not going back. Not only are we not going to retreat on women's rights, we are going to expand them. We are going forward, not backward.

A country cannot make progress while leaving half of its population behind.

If more girls are educated, all of India stands to gain. The Girl Rising campaign aims to address that through various innovative initiatives that will not only help create awareness but also create a tangible platform to effect change.

And I think women have come a very, very long way, but they have a long way to go.

Equality and development will not be achieved however if peace is not understood from women's' point of view.

The women's movement was always going to work in two parts. With one part, we'd break open the doors that were closed to women, and with the other part, we'd walk through, transforming society for men and women. Turns out it was a lot easier to open the doors.

There is a reason you keep hearing about the power of educating girls in the developing world. It's a reason so simple that you will probably view it with suspicion, as I once did. It's this: educating girls works. Really works.

We women are going to bring change. We are speaking up for girls' rights, but we must not behave like men, like they have done in the past.

We also have to make sure our children know the history of women. Tell them the rotten truth: It wasn't always possible for women to become doctors or managers or insurance people. Let them be armed with a true picture of the way we want it to be.

Educating our young girls is the foundation for Nigeria's growth and development.

In too many instances, the march to globalization has also meant the marginalization of women and girls. And that must change.

It is the rank and file - the average woman - for whom the world has opened up so astonishingly.

The right to education and to free speech having been gained for woman, in the long run every other good thing was sure to be obtained.

There have always been women who were successful against the odds. Now we need to change the odds so more women can be successful.

I think we've come a long way with women's rights, but we've got a long way to go.

To my mind, the education of children - girl children, specifically - is what really creates an enlightened society. It creates a liberal society.

Education is the only solution. Education first.

I believe 2016 is the Year of the Woman and now more than ever, it is our time to accomplish anything and everything.

A state that does not educate and train women is like a man who only trains his right arm.

One of the most disturbing things I heard was that women's issues weren't "hot." Which is so ironic, because women are constantly being judged on some "hot" level. The conversation is not hot enough for them to do anything about. We have to make it hot, make them feel the fire. Until then, a lot of them aren't going to do anything.

The world is changing. It is no longer a world just for boys and men

As we move into the twenty-first century, women's status in society will become the standard by which to measure our progress toward civility and peace.

The future must not belong to those who bully women. It must be shaped by girls who go to school and those who stand for a world where our daughters can live their dreams just like our sons.