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Zulaikha Patel Quotes

born 2002 South Africa

Zulaikha Patel (born 2002), is a South African anti-racism activist, black radical feminist and a writer. She became the symbol of the fight against institutionalized racism and decolonization of policies in schools at Pretoria Girls High School at the age of 13.

South Africa
Activists
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Random Zulaikha Patel quote

55 quotes

I've realised that a big part of fighting racism deals with the mind — and the only way to unlock and liberate the mind is through access to knowledge

The hair policy is a symptom of a greater diagnosis of institutionalised racism and systemic racism

So I believe that there is power in choosing to select your thoughts in the same manner that you select clothing in the morning

The most urgent thing that needs to happen to ensure that education is used as a tool to change the world is firstly, it needs to be accessible

I believe in anti-racism so much because I believe it's at the core of us solving so many other social issues 12 May, 2025

I was 13, 14 years old, a child basically, [and] I was receiving death threats from old white adults

The fight against racism is a fight for the betterment of all of humanity, because it determines how we will live amongst each other, and how resources will be shared

Small acts begin in your home

One of the things that the apartheid regime was very successful at was making all schools in rural areas and townships environments in which it's difficult to come out and be a leader in society

As long as we have not won the war on racism in this country, we have not won the war on hair policies

I was being forced to assimilate to whiteness and being forced to assimilate to an image that I did not fit into

I then began to see my hair as not just hair but a central core element of identity

When we demand change for the future that we’re going to inherit, we’re told we’re overly radical or that people at the [decision-making] table speak for us

Bravery can co-exist with fear

the 1956 march continues to remain a “source of inspiration for me on the power that women’s voices hold and a source of inspiration to continue advocating for justice and human rights.

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Zulaikha Patel (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.