---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm a survivor. I'm a messenger."
description: "\"I'm a survivor. I'm a messenger.\" — Mona Eltahawy"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/279/mona-eltahawy-4721_messenger_i-m-a-survivor-i-m-a-messenger-2786797_2786797.jpg"
---

#  I'm a survivor. I'm a messenger.

![“I'm a survivor. I'm a messenger.” quote by Mona Eltahawy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/279/mona-eltahawy-4721_messenger_i-m-a-survivor-i-m-a-messenger-2786797_2786797.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/279/mona-eltahawy-4721_messenger_i-m-a-survivor-i-m-a-messenger-2786797_2786797.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/279/mona-eltahawy-4721_messenger_i-m-a-survivor-i-m-a-messenger-2786797_2786797.jpg)

> “I'm a survivor. I'm a messenger.”

[Mona Eltahawy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-eltahawy/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Survival and messaging are intertwined; personal experience fuels advocacy.

**In simple terms:** Survivor becomes messenger.

Key Takeaway

Share your story to empower others.

Themes

survival activism voice

Mood

courageous empathetic

Type

inspirational motivational

When to use this quote

- activism
- public speaking
- mental health

Key Concepts

empowerment storytelling

Questions to Reflect On

- What story can you share to help?
- How do you protect yourself while speaking out?

A Different Perspective

Stories can be triggering for some audiences.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Messenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/messenger/) [Survivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survivor/) [Survivor Messenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survivor-messenger-3350562/)

## Related quotes

> [I'm an imperfect messenger, but the message is perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/i-m-an-imperfect-messenger-but-the-message-is-perfect/)

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> [If you let the image of the messenger get in the way of whatever message there may be, however large or small, that's your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-ellison/if-you-let-the-image-of-the-messenger-get-in-the-way-of-whatever/)

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> [Businesses succeed when societies themselves succeed. When countries are affected by violence and the absence of the rule of law, business can and must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-ki-moon/businesses-succeed-when-societies-themselves-succeed-when-countries/)

[Ban Ki-moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ban-ki-moon/)

> [When the messenger arrives and says 'Don't shoot the messenger,' it's a good idea to be prepared to shoot the messenger, just in case.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-tayler/when-the-messenger-arrives-and-says-don-t-shoot-the-messenger-it-s-a/)

[Howard Tayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-tayler/)

> [“If the Medium can master the pathway beginning with his or her Conscious Mind, leading to the Unconscious Mind and finally from there into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-galian/if-the-medium-can-master-the-pathway-beginning-with-his-or-her/)

[Laurence Galian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-galian/)

> [I became the messenger who had to be killed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-hill/i-became-the-messenger-who-had-to-be-killed/)

[Anita Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-hill/)

> [I don't want to be labeled a star, or billed as a star. I'm a messenger, really, and when I get work to do,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-marley/i-don-t-want-to-be-labeled-a-star-or-billed-as-a-star-i-m-a-messenger/)

[Rita Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-marley/)

> [Why cant Facebook just make ONE app that works? No need for camera, messenger and whatever else.. AM I ASKING TOO MUCH??!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justine-ezarik/why-cant-facebook-just-make-one-app-that-works-no-need-for-camera/)

[Justine Ezarik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justine-ezarik/)

> [I worked a little as a messenger on a bicycle and then decided to study photography and film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ori-gersht/i-worked-a-little-as-a-messenger-on-a-bicycle-and-then-decided-to/)

[Ori Gersht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ori-gersht/)

> [“Love is a challenge with an illusion emanating an aura of otherness. Through their unrelenting attention, two smitten people can arouse a to and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/love-is-a-challenge-with-an-illusion-emanating-an-aura-of-otherness/)

[Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/)

> [“only a fool blames the messenger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-archer/only-a-fool-blames-the-messenger/)

[Jeffrey Archer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-archer/)

> [On 'The Messenger,' just imagining playing the part of a soldier in that movie was kind of hard for me. And in 'Rampart,' the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-harrelson/on-the-messenger-just-imagining-playing-the-part-of-a-soldier-in-that/)

[Woody Harrelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-harrelson/)

> [“Those of us who work in the field of trauma and abuse, whether psychologists, psychoanalysts, social workers, doctors, counselors, or psychotherapists, have been provided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-sinason/those-of-us-who-work-in-the-field-of-trauma-and-abuse-whether/)

[Valerie Sinason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-sinason/)

> [“When the messenger won't tell you what the hell the message is, my trigger finger gets twitchy. Dismissed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/when-the-messenger-won-t-tell-you-what-the-hell-the-message-is-my/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

## More by Mona Eltahawy

> [I defend a woman's right to cover her hair if she chooses, but the face is central to human interaction, and so the ideologues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-eltahawy/i-defend-a-woman-s-right-to-cover-her-hair-if-she-chooses-but-the/)

[Mona Eltahawy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-eltahawy/)

> [My birth at the end of July 1967 makes me a child of the naksa, or setback, as the Arab defeat during the June…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-eltahawy/my-birth-at-the-end-of-july-1967-makes-me-a-child-of-the-naksa-or/)

[Mona Eltahawy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-eltahawy/)

> [Saudi Arabia isn't just a conservative country with different values we shouldn't judge. It is a modern Gilead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-eltahawy/saudi-arabia-isn-t-just-a-conservative-country-with-different-values/)

[Mona Eltahawy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-eltahawy/)

> [I can write about my culture and religion because I am a product of both. Even when I'm accused of giving ammunition to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-eltahawy/i-can-write-about-my-culture-and-religion-because-i-am-a-product-of/)

[Mona Eltahawy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-eltahawy/)

> [“Why were women alone responsible for sheltering men from the sexual desires women supposedly elicited in men? Why could men not control themselves? Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-eltahawy/why-were-women-alone-responsible-for-sheltering-men-from-the-sexual/)

[Mona Eltahawy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-eltahawy/)

> [Saudi authorities must launch a campaign about the safety of female pilgrims and the determination of the authorities to ensure every woman's safety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-eltahawy/saudi-authorities-must-launch-a-campaign-about-the-safety-of-female/)

[Mona Eltahawy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-eltahawy/)

> [For years I looked at the Iranians with envy - not at the outcome of their 1979 revolution, but because it was a popular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-eltahawy/for-years-i-looked-at-the-iranians-with-envy-not-at-the-outcome-of/)

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> [Bashar al-Assad's henchmen stomped on the hands of famed Syrian cartoonist Ali Farzat. Our dictators tailor wounds to suit their victims' occupations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-eltahawy/bashar-al-assad-s-henchmen-stomped-on-the-hands-of-famed-syrian/)

[Mona Eltahawy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-eltahawy/)

> [When Mubarak does die, he will be remembered as the most bland of those military men turned dictators: compare him with Gamal Abdel-Nasser and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-eltahawy/when-mubarak-does-die-he-will-be-remembered-as-the-most-bland-of/)

[Mona Eltahawy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-eltahawy/)

> [As a Muslim woman, I'm all too familiar with the media shorthand for 'Muslim' and 'woman' equaling Covered in Black Muslim Woman. She's seen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-eltahawy/as-a-muslim-woman-i-m-all-too-familiar-with-the-media-shorthand-for/)

[Mona Eltahawy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-eltahawy/)

> [I am horrified by the moral amnesia that develops when a dictator dies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-eltahawy/i-am-horrified-by-the-moral-amnesia-that-develops-when-a-dictator-dies/)

[Mona Eltahawy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-eltahawy/)

> [I left my husband a year after 9/11. Not because he was an American and I an Egyptian, nothing to do with culture or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-eltahawy/i-left-my-husband-a-year-after-9-11-not-because-he-was-an-american/)

[Mona Eltahawy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-eltahawy/)

> [I joke that one of the rare times Egyptians identify as African is when the national soccer squad is playing in the African Cup…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-eltahawy/i-joke-that-one-of-the-rare-times-egyptians-identify-as-african-is/)

[Mona Eltahawy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-eltahawy/)

> [I grew up in the U.K., and my parents are both doctors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-eltahawy/i-grew-up-in-the-u-k-and-my-parents-are-both-doctors/)

[Mona Eltahawy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-eltahawy/)

> [My own feminist revolution evolved slowly, and traveled the world with me. To this day I have no idea what dissident professor or librarian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-eltahawy/my-own-feminist-revolution-evolved-slowly-and-traveled-the-world-with/)

[Mona Eltahawy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-eltahawy/)

[Explore all 107 Mona Eltahawy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-eltahawy/)

## More Messenger quotes

> [I'm an imperfect messenger, but the message is perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/i-m-an-imperfect-messenger-but-the-message-is-perfect/)

[Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/)

> [“Those of us who work in the field of trauma and abuse, whether psychologists, psychoanalysts, social workers, doctors, counselors, or psychotherapists, have been provided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-sinason/those-of-us-who-work-in-the-field-of-trauma-and-abuse-whether/)

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> [On 'The Messenger,' just imagining playing the part of a soldier in that movie was kind of hard for me. And in 'Rampart,' the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-harrelson/on-the-messenger-just-imagining-playing-the-part-of-a-soldier-in-that/)

[Woody Harrelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-harrelson/)

> [“only a fool blames the messenger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-archer/only-a-fool-blames-the-messenger/)

[Jeffrey Archer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-archer/)

> [“Love is a challenge with an illusion emanating an aura of otherness. Through their unrelenting attention, two smitten people can arouse a to and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/love-is-a-challenge-with-an-illusion-emanating-an-aura-of-otherness/)

[Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/)

> [I worked a little as a messenger on a bicycle and then decided to study photography and film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ori-gersht/i-worked-a-little-as-a-messenger-on-a-bicycle-and-then-decided-to/)

[Ori Gersht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ori-gersht/)

> [Why cant Facebook just make ONE app that works? No need for camera, messenger and whatever else.. AM I ASKING TOO MUCH??!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justine-ezarik/why-cant-facebook-just-make-one-app-that-works-no-need-for-camera/)

[Justine Ezarik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justine-ezarik/)

> [I don't want to be labeled a star, or billed as a star. I'm a messenger, really, and when I get work to do,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-marley/i-don-t-want-to-be-labeled-a-star-or-billed-as-a-star-i-m-a-messenger/)

[Rita Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-marley/)

> [I became the messenger who had to be killed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-hill/i-became-the-messenger-who-had-to-be-killed/)

[Anita Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-hill/)

> [“If the Medium can master the pathway beginning with his or her Conscious Mind, leading to the Unconscious Mind and finally from there into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-galian/if-the-medium-can-master-the-pathway-beginning-with-his-or-her/)

[Laurence Galian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-galian/)

> [When the messenger arrives and says 'Don't shoot the messenger,' it's a good idea to be prepared to shoot the messenger, just in case.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-tayler/when-the-messenger-arrives-and-says-don-t-shoot-the-messenger-it-s-a/)

[Howard Tayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-tayler/)

> [Businesses succeed when societies themselves succeed. When countries are affected by violence and the absence of the rule of law, business can and must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-ki-moon/businesses-succeed-when-societies-themselves-succeed-when-countries/)

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[Harlan Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-ellison/)

> [ “As the Tawrat \[Torah\], the Zabur \[The Psalms of David\], the Injil \[Gospel\] and the Quran are divine books, the Veda \[written in about… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/md-ziaul-haque/as-the-tawrat-torah-the-zabur-the-psalms-of-david-the-injil-gospel/)

[Md. Ziaul Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/md-ziaul-haque/)

> [“When the messenger won't tell you what the hell the message is, my trigger finger gets twitchy. Dismissed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/when-the-messenger-won-t-tell-you-what-the-hell-the-message-is-my/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

[Browse all 99 Messenger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/messenger/)

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