So on my way here, the passenger next to me and I had a very interesting conversation during my flight. He told me, "It seems like the United States has run out of jobs, because they're just making some up: cat psychologist, dog whisperer, tornado chaser."
Na putu ovamo, putnik pored mene i ja smo vodili vrlo zanimljiv razgovor za vreme mog leta. Rekao mi je: "Izgleda da su SAD ostale bez poslova, jer samo izmišljaju nove: psiholog za mačke, terapeut za pse, lovac na tornado."
A couple of seconds later, he asked me, "So what do you do?"
Par sekundi kasnije, upitao me je: "A čime se vi bavite?"
And I was like, "Peacebuilder?" (Laughter)
Odgovorila sam: "Borac za izgradnju mira?" (Smeh)
Every day, I work to amplify the voices of women and to highlight their experiences and their participation in peace processes and conflict resolution, and because of my work, I recognize that the only way to ensure the full participation of women globally is by reclaiming religion.
Svakog dana, ja radim na pojačanju ženskih glasova i naglašavanju njihovih iskustava i njihovog učešća u mirovnim procesima i rešavanju konflikata, i zbog mog posla, prepoznajem da je jedini način da se osigura puno učešće žena u svetu povratak religiji.
Now, this matter is vitally important to me. As a young Muslim woman, I am very proud of my faith. It gives me the strength and conviction to do my work every day. It's the reason I can be here in front of you. But I can't overlook the damage that has been done in the name of religion, not just my own, but all of the world's major faiths. The misrepresentation and misuse and manipulation of religious scripture has influenced our social and cultural norms, our laws, our daily lives, to a point where we sometimes don't recognize it.
Ovo pitanje je od vitalnog značaja za mene. Kao mlada muslimanka, veoma sam ponosna na svoju veru. Daje mi snagu i uverenje da radim svoj posao svakoga dana. Ona je razlog zbog kojeg mogu da budem ovde pred vama. Ali ne mogu da zaobiđem štetu koja je učinjena u ime religije, ne samo moje, već svih većih svetskih religija. Pogrešno tumačenje, zloupotreba i manipulacija verskim spisima uticali su na naše društvene i kulturne norme, naše zakone, naše svakodnevne živote, do te mere da ih ponekad ne prepoznajemo.
My parents moved from Libya, North Africa, to Canada in the early 1980s, and I am the middle child of 11 children. Yes, 11. But growing up, I saw my parents, both religiously devout and spiritual people, pray and praise God for their blessings, namely me of course, but among others. (Laughter) They were kind and funny and patient, limitlessly patient, the kind of patience that having 11 kids forces you to have. And they were fair. I was never subjected to religion through a cultural lens. I was treated the same, the same was expected of me. I was never taught that God judged differently based on gender. And my parents' understanding of God as a merciful and beneficial friend and provider shaped the way I looked at the world.
Moji roditelji su se preselili iz Libije, Severne Afrike, u Kanadu ranih 1980-ih godina, i ja sam srednje od ukupno 11 dece. Da, 11. Ali odrastajući, gledala sam svoje roditelje, koji su verski predani i duhovni ljudi, kako se mole i slave boga zbog svojih blagoslova, najviše mene naravno, ali između ostalih. (Smeh) Bili su nežni i duhoviti i strpljivi, neograničeno strpljivi, onakvo strpljenje kakvo vas 11 dece natera da imate. I bili su pravedni. Nikada nisam bila izložena religiji kroz kulturni objektiv. Tretirali su me jednako, isto su očekivali od mene. Nikada me nisu učili da bog sudi različito na osnovu pola. I shvatanje mojih roditelja o bogu kao milostivom i blagotvornom prijatelju i kao onom ko pruža, oblikovalo je način na koji sam posmatrala svet.
Now, of course, my upbringing had additional benefits. Being one of 11 children is Diplomacy 101. (Laughter) To this day, I am asked where I went to school, like, "Did you go to Kennedy School of Government?" and I look at them and I'm like, "No, I went to the Murabit School of International Affairs." It's extremely exclusive. You would have to talk to my mom to get in. Lucky for you, she's here. But being one of 11 children and having 10 siblings teaches you a lot about power structures and alliances. It teaches you focus; you have to talk fast or say less, because you will always get cut off. It teaches you the importance of messaging. You have to ask questions in the right way to get the answers you know you want, and you have to say no in the right way to keep the peace.
Sad, naravno, moje vaspitanje je imalo dodatne pogodnosti. Kao jedno od 11 dece na Uvodu u diplomatiju. (Smeh) I dan danas me pitaju gde sam išla u školu, pitaju: "Jesi li išla u Kenedijevu školu upravljanja?" a ja ih pogledam i kažem: "Ne, išla sam u Murabitovu školu za međunarodne odnose." Izuzetno je ekskluzivna. Morali biste da razgovarate sa mojom mamom da bi vas primili. Srećom po vas, ona je ovde. Ali, kao jedno od 11 dece i imajući 10 braće i sestara, naučite dosta o strukturama moći i savezima. Naučite da se fokusirate; morate da govorite brzo ili kažete manje, jer će vas uvek prekinuti. Uči vas važnosti prenošenja poruka. Morate da pitate na pravi način da biste dobili odgovore koje želite, i morate da kažete ne na pravi način da biste sačuvali mir.
But the most important lesson I learned growing up was the importance of being at the table. When my mom's favorite lamp broke, I had to be there when she was trying to find out how and by who, because I had to defend myself, because if you're not, then the finger is pointed at you, and before you know it, you will be grounded. I am not speaking from experience, of course.
Ali najvažnija lekcija koju sam naučila odrastajući je važnost toga da se bude za stolom. Kada se omiljena lampa moje mame polomila, morala sam da budem tu kada je pokušavala da sazna kako se to desilo i ko je to uradio, jer sam morala da se branim, jer ako se ne braniš, onda je prst uperen u tebe, i kažnjen si dok trepneš. Ne pričam iz iskustva, naravno.
When I was 15 in 2005, I completed high school and I moved from Canada -- Saskatoon -- to Zawiya, my parents' hometown in Libya, a very traditional city. Mind you, I had only ever been to Libya before on vacation, and as a seven-year-old girl, it was magic. It was ice cream and trips to the beach and really excited relatives.
Kada sam imala 15 godina, 2005. godine, završila sam srednju školu i preselila se iz Kanade - Saskatuna - u Zaviju, rodni grad mojih roditelja u Libiji, vrlo tradicionalan grad. Pazite, pre toga sam bila u Libiji samo na odmoru, kao devojčica od sedam godina, i bilo je čarobno. Tu su bili sladoled, izleti na plaži i jako uzbudljivi rođaci.
Turns out it's not the same as a 15-year-old young lady. I very quickly became introduced to the cultural aspect of religion. The words "haram" -- meaning religiously prohibited -- and "aib" -- meaning culturally inappropriate -- were exchanged carelessly, as if they meant the same thing and had the same consequences. And I found myself in conversation after conversation with classmates and colleagues, professors, friends, even relatives, beginning to question my own role and my own aspirations. And even with the foundation my parents had provided for me, I found myself questioning the role of women in my faith.
Ispostavilo se da nije isto za gospođicu od 15 godina. Vrlo brzo sam upoznata sa kulturnim aspektom religije. Reči "haram" - što znači zabranjeno verom - i "aib" - što znači kulturološki neprikladno - su bile nepromišljeno razmenjivane, kao da označavaju istu stvar i imaju iste posledice. I našla sam se razgovoru za razgovorom sa školskim drugovima i kolegama, profesorima, prijateljima, čak i rođacima, počevši da dovodim u pitanje svoja pravila i svoje težnje. Čak i sa osnovom koju su mi roditelji pružili, počela sam da preispitujem ulogu žene u mojoj veri.
So at the Murabit School of International Affairs, we go very heavy on the debate, and rule number one is do your research, so that's what I did, and it surprised me how easy it was to find women in my faith who were leaders, who were innovative, who were strong -- politically, economically, even militarily. Khadija financed the Islamic movement in its infancy. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for her. So why weren't we learning about her? Why weren't we learning about these women? Why were women being relegated to positions which predated the teachings of our faith? And why, if we are equal in the eyes of God, are we not equal in the eyes of men?
U Murabitovoj školi međunarodnih odnosa se naporno debatuje, i prvo pravilo je obaviti istraživanje, stoga sam to i uradila, i iznenadilo me je koliko je lako bilo pronaći žene u mojoj veri koje su lideri, koje su inovativne i jake - politički, ekonomski, čak i vojno. Hatidža je finansirala islamski pokret u njegovim ranim danima. Ne bismo bili ovde da nije nje. Pa zašto ne učimo o njoj? Zašto ne učimo o ovim ženama? Zašto su žene potisnute na položaje koji su prethodili učenjima naše vere? I zašto, ako smo jednaki u očima Boga, nismo jednaki u očima muškaraca?
To me, it all came back to the lessons I had learned as a child. The decision maker, the person who gets to control the message, is sitting at the table, and unfortunately, in every single world faith, they are not women. Religious institutions are dominated by men and driven by male leadership, and they create policies in their likeness, and until we can change the system entirely, then we can't realistically expect to have full economic and political participation of women. Our foundation is broken. My mom actually says, you can't build a straight house on a crooked foundation.
Vratile su mi se lekcije koje sam naučila kao dete. Onaj ko donosi odluke, osoba koja upravlja porukama, sedi za stolom, i nažalost, u svakoj svetskoj religiji, to nije žena. Verskim institucijama dominiraju muškarci i muško rukovodstvo upravlja njima, a oni postavljaju pravila u skladu sa sobom, i dok god ne budemo mogli da taj sistem u potpunosti promenimo, ne možemo realno očekivati da dobijemo puno učešće žena u ekonomiji i politici. Naš temelj je srušen. Moja mama kaže da se ne može izgraditi prava kuća na krivom temelju.
In 2011, the Libyan revolution broke out, and my family was on the front lines. And there's this amazing thing that happens in war, a cultural shift almost, very temporary. And it was the first time that I felt it was not only acceptable for me to be involved, but it was encouraged. It was demanded. Myself and other women had a seat at the table. We weren't holding hands or a medium. We were part of decision making. We were information sharing. We were crucial. And I wanted and needed for that change to be permanent.
2011. godine je izbila revolucija u Libiji, a moja porodica je bila na prvim linijama. A nešto neverovatno se dešava u ratu, gotovo kulturološki preokret, veoma privremen. I to je bio prvi put da sam osetila da ne samo da je bilo prihvatljivo da se uključim, već su me i podsticali. To se zahtevalo. Ja i druge žene smo sedele za stolom. Nismo se držele za ruke ili bile medijum. Bile smo deo procesa donošenja odluke. Razmenjivale smo informacije. Bile smo od ključnog značaja. I želela sam i bilo mi je potrebno da ta promena bude trajna.
Turns out, that's not that easy. It only took a few weeks before the women that I had previously worked with were returning back to their previous roles, and most of them were driven by words of encouragement from religious and political leaders, most of whom cited religious scripture as their defense. It's how they gained popular support for their opinions.
Ispostavilo se da to nije tako lako. Trebalo je samo nekoliko nedelja da se žene sa kojima sam prethodno radila vrate u svoje ranije uloge, a većina njih je bila pod uticajem reči podstreka verskih i političkih vođa, od kojih je većina citirala verske spise u svoju odbranu. Tako su stekli podršku naroda za svoje mišljenje.
So initially, I focused on the economic and political empowerment of women. I thought that would lead to cultural and social change. It turns out, it does a little, but not a lot. I decided to use their defense as my offense, and I began to cite and highlight Islamic scripture as well.
Prvobitno sam se fokusirala na ekonomsko i političko osnaživanje žena. Mislila sam da će to dovesti do kulturnih i društvenih promena. Kako se ispostavilo, dovodi u manjoj meri, ali ne mnogo. Odlučila sam da njihovu odbranu koristim kao svoj napad, i počela sam i ja da citiram i naglašavam islamske svete spise.
In 2012 and 2013, my organization led the single largest and most widespread campaign in Libya. We entered homes and schools and universities, even mosques. We spoke to 50,000 people directly, and hundreds of thousands more through billboards and television commercials, radio commercials and posters.
2012. i 2013. godine, moja organizacija je vodila najveću i najšire rasprostranjenu kampanju u Libiji. Ušli smo u domove, škole i univerzitete, čak i džamije. Direktno smo govorili sa 50 000 ljudi, i sa još stotine hiljada preko bilborda i reklama na televiziji, na radiju i preko postera.
And you're probably wondering how a women's rights organization was able to do this in communities which had previously opposed our sheer existence. I used scripture. I used verses from the Quran and sayings of the Prophet, Hadiths, his sayings which are, for example, "The best of you is the best to their family." "Do not let your brother oppress another." For the first time, Friday sermons led by local community imams promoted the rights of women. They discussed taboo issues, like domestic violence. Policies were changed. In certain communities, we actually had to go as far as saying the International Human Rights Declaration, which you opposed because it wasn't written by religious scholars, well, those same principles are in our book. So really, the United Nations just copied us.
Verovatno se pitate kako je organizacija za ženska prava mogla to da uradi u zajednici koja je prethodno osporavala naše puko postojanje. Koristila sam svete spise. Koristila sam stihove iz Kurana i prorokove izreke, hadise, njegove izjave, kao na primer: "Najbolje u tebi je najbolje za tvoju porodicu". "Ne dozvoli da se tvoja braća ugnjetavaju." Po prvi put, propovedi petkom koje su vodili imami mesnih zajednica promovisali su prava žena. Razgovarali su o tabu temama, poput nasilja u porodici. Pravila su izmenjena. U određenim zajednicama smo stigli toliko daleko da kažemo za Međunarodnu deklaraciju o ljudskim pravima, koja je osporavana jer je nisu napisali verski stručnjaci, pa, ti isti principi su u našoj knjizi. Tako da su nas Ujedinjene nacije zapravo kopirale.
By changing the message, we were able to provide an alternative narrative which promoted the rights of women in Libya. It's something that has now been replicated internationally, and while I am not saying it's easy -- believe me, it's not. Liberals will say you're using religion and call you a bad conservative. Conservatives will call you a lot of colorful things. I've heard everything from, "Your parents must be extremely ashamed of you" -- false; they're my biggest fans -- to "You will not make it to your next birthday" -- again wrong, because I did. And I remain a very strong believer that women's rights and religion are not mutually exclusive. But we have to be at the table. We have to stop giving up our position, because by remaining silent, we allow for the continued persecution and abuse of women worldwide. By saying that we're going to fight for women's rights and fight extremism with bombs and warfare, we completely cripple local societies which need to address these issues so that they're sustainable.
Izmenivši poruku, mogli smo da obezbedimo alternativni narativ koji je promovisao prava žena u Libiji. To je nešto što je sada ponovljeno internacionalno, mada ne kažem da je lako - verujte mi, nije. Liberali će reći da koristite religiju i nazivati vas lošim konzervativcem. Konzervativci će vas nazivati mnoštvom slikovitih imena. Čula sam sve počevši od: "Tvoji roditelji mora da se veoma stide zbog tebe" - netačno; oni su moji najveći obožavaci - do: "Nećeš doživeti svoj sledeći rođendan" - još jednom pogrešno, jer jesam. I ostajem pri snažnom uverenju da ženska prava i religija nisu međusobno isključivi. Ali moramo da budemo za stolom. Moramo prestati da se odričemo svoje pozicije, jer ćutanjem dozvoljavamo dalji progon i zlostavljanje žena širom sveta. Rekavši da ćemo se boriti za prava žena i boriti se protiv ekstremizma bombama i ratom, potpuno onesposobljavamo lokalna društva koja treba da se bave ovim pitanjima da bi bila održiva.
It is not easy, challenging distorted religious messaging. You will have your fair share of insults and ridicule and threats. But we have to do it. We have no other option than to reclaim the message of human rights, the principles of our faith, not for us, not for the women in your families, not for the women in this room, not even for the women out there, but for societies that would be transformed with the participation of women. And the only way we can do that, our only option, is to be, and remain, at the table.
To nije lako, osporavanje iskrivljenih verskih poruka. Slede vam uvrede i ismevanja i pretnje. Ali moram to da radimo. Nemamo drugu opciju nego da povratimo poruku o ljudskim pravima, principe naše vere, ne za nas, ne za žene u vašim porodicama, ne za žene u ovoj prostoriji, čak ni za žene tamo negde, već za društva koja mogu biti transformisana učešćem žena. A jedini način na koji to možemo da uradimo, naša jedina opcija, je da budemo, i ostanemo, za stolom.
Thank you.
Hvala vam.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)