There's a group of people in Kenya. People cross oceans to go see them. These people are tall. They jump high. They wear red. And they kill lions. You might be wondering, who are these people? These are the Maasais. And you know what's cool? I'm actually one of them.
Kenian pertsona talde bat dago eta jendeak ozeanoa zeharkatzen du haiek ikusteko. Pertsona hauek altuak dira. Salto handiak egiten dituzte. Gorriz janzten dira. Eta lehoiak hiltzen dituzte. Galdetuko duzue: nor dira pertsona hauek? Masaiak dira. Eta badakizue zer den hoberena? Horietako bat naizela.
The Maasais, the boys are brought up to be warriors. The girls are brought up to be mothers. When I was five years old, I found out that I was engaged to be married as soon as I reached puberty. My mother, my grandmother, my aunties, they constantly reminded me that your husband just passed by. (Laughter) Cool, yeah? And everything I had to do from that moment was to prepare me to be a perfect woman at age 12. My day started at 5 in the morning, milking the cows, sweeping the house, cooking for my siblings, collecting water, firewood. I did everything that I needed to do to become a perfect wife.
Masai etniako mutilak gerlariak izateko hezten dituzte. Neskak, berriz, amak izateko. Bost urte nituenean, pubertarora iritsi bezain laster ezkondu beharko nuela esan zidaten. Nire amak, nire amonak eta nire izebek etengabe gogorarazten zidaten: "Zure senarra etxetik pasa da". (Barreak) Primeran, ezta? Eta handik aurrera nire eginbeharreko bakarra 12 urterekin emakume perfektu bat bihurtzea zen. Nire eguna goizeko bostetan hasten zen, behiak jetzi, etxea erraztu, nire neba-arrebentzat janaria prestatu ura, abarrak biltzeko. Emazte perfektua bihurtzeko egin beharreko guztia egin nuen.
I went to school not because the Maasais' women or girls were going to school. It's because my mother was denied an education, and she constantly reminded me and my siblings that she never wanted us to live the life she was living. Why did she say that? My father worked as a policeman in the city. He came home once a year. We didn't see him for sometimes even two years. And whenever he came home, it was a different case. My mother worked hard in the farm to grow crops so that we can eat. She reared the cows and the goats so that she can care for us. But when my father came, he would sell the cows, he would sell the products we had, and he went and drank with his friends in the bars. Because my mother was a woman, she was not allowed to own any property, and by default, everything in my family anyway belongs to my father, so he had the right. And if my mother ever questioned him, he beat her, abused her, and really it was difficult.
Eskolara joaten nintzen ez masai etniako neskak eskolara joaten zirelako, baizik eta nire amak eskolara ezin izan zuelako joan, eta etengabe gogorarazten zigun bai niri eta baita nire neba-arrebei ere ez zuela inolaz ere nahi berak bizitakoa guk bizitzea. Zergatik esaten zuen hori? Nire aita polizia zen hirian. Urtean behin bakarrik etortzen zen. Batzuetan ez genuen bi urtean behin ere ikusten. Eta etxera etortzen zenean, dena ezberdina izaten zen. Amak baserrian oso gogor egiten zuen lan uzta bildu eta gu elikatzeko. Ahuntza eta behiak hazten zituen gutaz arduratzen zelako. Baina nire aita zetorrenean, behiak saldu, gure produktuak saldu eta tabernara joaten zen lagunekin mozkortzera. Amak, andrea zenez, ezin zuen inolako ondasunen jabea izan. eta familian geneukan guztia aitarena zen, beraz eskubidea zuen horretarako. Eta amak inoiz ezer esaten bazion, jo egiten zuen, oso gogorra zen guretzat.
When I went to school, I had a dream. I wanted to become a teacher. Teachers looked nice. They wear nice dresses, high-heeled shoes. I found out later that they are uncomfortable, but I admired it. (Laughter) But most of all, the teacher was just writing on the board -- not hard work, that's what I thought, compared to what I was doing in the farm. So I wanted to become a teacher.
Eskolara joaten nintzenean, amets bat nuen. Irakasle izan nahi nuen. Irakasleak atseginak zirela ematen zuen. Soineko politak eta takoidun zapatak janzten zituzten. Geroago deserosoak zirela ikasi nuen, baina miretsi egiten nituen. (Barreak) Baina gehienbat, irakasleek arbelean idazten zuten, lan erraza zela uste nuen, nire baserriko lanarekin alderatura behintzat. Beraz, irakasle izan nahi nuen.
I worked hard in school, but when I was in eighth grade, it was a determining factor. In our tradition, there is a ceremony that girls have to undergo to become women, and it's a rite of passage to womanhood. And then I was just finishing my eighth grade, and that was a transition for me to go to high school. This was the crossroad. Once I go through this tradition, I was going to become a wife. Well, my dream of becoming a teacher will not come to pass. So I talked -- I had to come up with a plan to figure these things out. I talked to my father. I did something that most girls have never done. I told my father, "I will only go through this ceremony if you let me go back to school." The reason why, if I ran away, my father will have a stigma, people will be calling him the father of that girl who didn't go through the ceremony. It was a shameful thing for him to carry the rest of his life. So he figured out. "Well," he said, "okay, you'll go to school after the ceremony."
Eskolan oso gogor egiten nuen lan. Zortzigarren mailan faktore erabakitzaile bat zegoen. Gure tradizioan bada zeremonia bat, neskek emakume bihurtzeko jasan behar dutena, emakume bihurtzeko erritu bat da. Zortzigarren maila amaitzear nengoen, institutura joateko trantsizio puntu bat zen. Gurutzagunea zen. Tradizio hau jasan ondoren, emazte bihurtuko nintzen. Irakasle izateko ametsa ez zen egi bilakatuko. Beraz, plan bat bilatu beharra neukan arazo hauek konpontzeko. Aitarekin hitz egin nuen. Neska gutxik egindako zerbait egin nuen. Aitari esan nion: "Zeremonia hori pairatuko dut eskolara itzultzen uzten badidazu". Hanka egiten banuen, aitak izen txarra izango zuen, jendeak ezizena jarriko zion, zeremoniara joan ez zen neskaren aita deituko zuten. Bizitza osoan eraman beharko zuen zama lotsagarria zen. Pentsatu eta esan zidan: "Ondo da, zeremonia eta gero eskolara joango zara".
I did. The ceremony happened. It's a whole week long of excitement. It's a ceremony. People are enjoying it. And the day before the actual ceremony happens, we were dancing, having excitement, and through all the night we did not sleep. The actual day came, and we walked out of the house that we were dancing in. Yes, we danced and danced. We walked out to the courtyard, and there were a bunch of people waiting. They were all in a circle. And as we danced and danced, and we approached this circle of women, men, women, children, everybody was there. There was a woman sitting in the middle of it, and this woman was waiting to hold us. I was the first. There were my sisters and a couple of other girls, and as I approached her, she looked at me, and I sat down. And I sat down, and I opened my legs. As I opened my leg, another woman came, and this woman was carrying a knife. And as she carried the knife, she walked toward me and she held the clitoris, and she cut it off.
Eta hala egin nuen. Zeremonia iritsi zen. Asaldurazko aste oso bat da. Zeremonia bat. Jendeak ongi pasatzen du. Eta zeremoniaren bezperan denok dantzan aritu ginen, asaldatuta eta ez genuen lorik egin gau osoan. Eguna iritsi zen eta dantza egiten egondako etxetik atera ginen. Dantza eta dantza egin genuen. Patiora atera ginenean, jende mordoa zegoen zain. Denak zirkuluan zeuden jarrita. Dantzan ari ginela zirkulura hurreratu ginen, emakumez, gizonez eta umez egindako zirkulura. Denak zeuden han. Emakume bat zegoen erdian eserita eta gure zain zegoen. Ni izan nintzen lehena. Nire ahizpak eta beste neska batzuk ere han zeuden eta hurbildu nintzaionean, begiratu zidan eta eseri egin nintzen. Eseri eta hankak ireki nituen. Ireki nituenean beste emakume bat etorri zen. Aizto bat zeraman. Aiztoa eskuetan zuela, niregana hurreratu, klitoria heldu eta moztu egin zidan.
As you can imagine, I bled. I bled. After bleeding for a while, I fainted thereafter. It's something that so many girls -- I'm lucky, I never died -- but many die. It's practiced, it's no anesthesia, it's a rusty old knife, and it was difficult. I was lucky because one, also, my mom did something that most women don't do. Three days later, after everybody has left the home, my mom went and brought a nurse. We were taken care of. Three weeks later, I was healed, and I was back in high school. I was so determined to be a teacher now so that I could make a difference in my family.
Irudikatu dezakezuen bezala, odola zeridan. Odoletan une batez egon ondoren, zorabiatu egin nintzen. Neska asko - nik zortea izan nuen, ez nintzen hil, baina asko bai. Anestesiarik gabe, aizto zahar, herdoildu bat da. Oso gogorra izan zen. Zortea izan nuen, nire amak egin zuelako ia inork egiten ez duen zerbait. Hiru egun beranduago, guztiek alde egin ondoren, nire amak erizain bat ekarri zuen. Zaindu egin gintuen. Hiru aste beranduago sendatuta nengoen eta institutura itzuli nintzen. Inoiz baino ziurrago nengoen irakasle izan nahi nuela nire familia aldatu ahal izateko.
Well, while I was in high school, something happened. I met a young gentleman from our village who had been to the University of Oregon. This man was wearing a white t-shirt, jeans, camera, white sneakers -- and I'm talking about white sneakers. There is something about clothes, I think, and shoes. They were sneakers, and this is in a village that doesn't even have paved roads. It was quite attractive.
Zerbait gertatu zen institutuan nengoenean. Herriko gizon gazte bat ezagutu nuen Oregoneko unibertsitatean egondakoa. Gizon honek kamiseta zuri bat, bakeroak, argazki-kamera eta kirol-oinetakoak zeramatzan. Kirol-oinetako zuriak. Uste dut badagoela zerbait arropa eta zapatekin. Kirol-oinetakoak ziren, eta gure herrian ez zegoen asfaltatutako biderik. Nahiko erakargarria zen.
I told him, "Well, I want to go to where you are," because this man looked very happy, and I admired that.
Esan nion: "Zu zauden lekura joan nahi dut". gizon hura pozik zegoela iruditzen baitzitzaidan, eta hori miretsi egiten nuen.
And he told me, "Well, what do you mean, you want to go? Don't you have a husband waiting for you?"
Berak hau esan zidan: "Zer diozu? "Alde egin? Ez al duzu senar bat zain?"
And I told him, "Don't worry about that part. Just tell me how to get there."
Erantzun nion: "Ez kezkatu, Esadazu hara nola irits naitekeen".
This gentleman, he helped me. While I was in high school also, my dad was sick. He got a stroke, and he was really, really sick, so he really couldn't tell me what to do next. But the problem is, my father is not the only father I have. Everybody who is my dad's age, male in the community, is my father by default -- my uncles, all of them -- and they dictate what my future is.
Gizon gazte hark asko lagundu zidan. Institutuan nengoenean aita gaixorik zegoen. Apoplexia bat izan zuen, oso gaixorik zegoen, ezin zidan esan zer egin behar nuen. Baina arazoa zen neure aita ez zela nik nuen aita bakarra. Nire aitaren adineko komunitateko gizon guztiak nire aita bezala ziren. Osabek eta beste guztiek esaten zuten nola izango zen nire etorkizuna.
So the news came, I applied to school and I was accepted to Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia, and I couldn't come without the support of the village, because I needed to raise money to buy the air ticket. I got a scholarship but I needed to get myself here. But I needed the support of the village, and here again, when the men heard, and the people heard that a woman had gotten an opportunity to go to school, they said, "What a lost opportunity. This should have been given to a boy. We can't do this."
Berriak iritsi ziren, unibertsitaterako eskabidea egin nuen eta Virginiako Randolph-Macon Emakumeen Unibertsitatean hartu ninduten. Ezin nuen herriaren laguntzarik gabe joan, hegazkin txartela erosteko dirua behar bainuen. Diru-laguntza lortu nuen, baina dirua behar nuen hara joateko. Herriaren babesa behar nuen. Gizonek entzun zutenean emakume batek unibertsitatera joateko aukera zuela, esan zuten: "Galdutako aukera bat da. Mutil bati eman beharko zioten. Ezin dizugu lagundu."
So I went back and I had to go back to the tradition. There's a belief among our people that morning brings good news. So I had to come up with something to do with the morning, because there's good news in the morning. And in the village also, there is one chief, an elder, who if he says yes, everybody will follow him. So I went to him very early in the morning, as the sun rose. The first thing he sees when he opens his door is, it's me.
Tradizioari jarraitu behar nion. Gure herrian bada sinismen bat, goizak berri onak dakartzala. Goizarekin zerikusia zuen zerbait asmatu behar nuen, berri onak goizean datozelako. Gure herrian badago buruzagi zahar bat, eta berak baietz esanez gero, guztiek onartzen dute bere erabakia. Eguzkia irten bezain laster berarengana joan nintzen. Goizean atea ireki zuenean, ni ikusi ninduen.
"My child, what are you doing here?"
"Maitea, zertan zabiltza hemen?"
"Well, Dad, I need help. Can you support me to go to America?" I promised him that I would be the best girl, I will come back, anything they wanted after that, I will do it for them.
"Aita, laguntza behar dut. Lagunduko al didazu Amerikara joaten?" Munduko neskarik onena izango nintzela agindu nion, itzultzean berak nahi zuena egingo nuela, beraientzat edozer egiteko prest nengoela.
He said, "Well, but I can't do it alone." He gave me a list of another 15 men that I went -- 16 more men -- every single morning I went and visited them. They all came together. The village, the women, the men, everybody came together to support me to come to get an education.
"Bai, baina ezin dizut nik bakarrik lagundu", Beste 15 gizonen izenak eman zizkidan, beste 16 gizon, eta goizero bisitan joaten nintzaien. Azkenean ados etorri ziren. Herria, emakumeak, gizonak, denak ados etorri ziren hezkuntza lortzeko niri laguntzeko.
I arrived in America. As you can imagine, what did I find? I found snow! I found Wal-Marts, vacuum cleaners, and lots of food in the cafeteria. I was in a land of plenty.
Amerikara iritsi nintzen. Eta zer aurkitu nuen? Elurra! Waltmart dendak, xurgagailuak eta kafetegietan janari mordoa. Ugaritasunezko lurralde batean nengoen.
I enjoyed myself, but during that moment while I was here, I discovered a lot of things. I learned that that ceremony that I went through when I was 13 years old, it was called female genital mutilation. I learned that it was against the law in Kenya. I learned that I did not have to trade part of my body to get an education. I had a right. And as we speak right now, three million girls in Africa are at risk of going through this mutilation. I learned that my mom had a right to own property. I learned that she did not have to be abused because she is a woman. Those things made me angry. I wanted to do something. As I went back, every time I went, I found that my neighbors' girls were getting married. They were getting mutilated, and here, after I graduated from here, I worked at the U.N., I went back to school to get my graduate work, the constant cry of these girls was in my face. I had to do something.
Oso ongi pasa nuen, baina hemen nengoenean gauza askotaz jabetu nintzen. 13 urterekin jasandako zeremonia hura klitori ablazioa zela jakin nuen, eta Kenian legearen aurka doala. Ez nuela nire gorputzeko atal batekin tratuan ibili beharrik hezkuntza lortzeko. Horretarako eskubidea nuela. Momentu honetan hiru milioi neska daude Afrikan ablazioa jasateko arriskuarekin. Jakin nuen amak ondasunak izateko eskubidea zuela. Emakumea izateagatik ez zuela kolpatua izan beharrik. Gauza hauek haserrearazten ninduten. Zerbait egin nahi nuen. Herrira itzultzen nintzen bakoitzean nire bizilagunen alabak ezkontzen ikusten nituen, ablazioa jasaten zutela eta hemen, graduatu eta Nazio Batuetan lan egin ondoren, eskolara itzuli nintzen nire graduazio lana hartzera, neska horien negarrak nituen beti gogoan. Zerbait egin behar nuen.
As I went back, I started talking to the men, to the village, and mothers, and I said, "I want to give back the way I had promised you that I would come back and help you. What do you need?"
Bueltatu eta gizonekin hitz egiten hasi nintzen, herriarekin eta amekin. "Agindutakoa egin nahi dut, itzultzean lagunduko nizuela esan nuen. Zer behar duzue?"
As I spoke to the women, they told me, "You know what we need? We really need a school for girls." Because there had not been any school for girls. And the reason they wanted the school for girls is because when a girl is raped when she's walking to school, the mother is blamed for that. If she got pregnant before she got married, the mother is blamed for that, and she's punished. She's beaten. They said, "We wanted to put our girls in a safe place."
Emakumeek hau esan zidaten: "Neskentzako eskola bat behar dugu". Ez baitzegoen neskentzako eskolarik. Arrazoia zera zen, neska bat bortxatzen bazuten eskolarako bidean, bere ama zelako erruduna. Ezkondu baino lehen haurdun geratzen bazen, amaren errua zen, eta horregatik zigortzen zuten. Kolpatu egiten zuten. Amek zioten: "Neskak babespean eduki nahi ditugu".
As we moved, and I went to talk to the fathers, the fathers, of course, you can imagine what they said: "We want a school for boys."
Aitekin hitz egitera joan nintzen, eta badakizue zer esan zuten aitek: "Guk mutilentzat eskola bat nahi dugu".
And I said, "Well, there are a couple of men from my village who have been out and they have gotten an education. Why can't they build a school for boys, and I'll build a school for girls?" That made sense. And they agreed. And I told them, I wanted them to show me a sign of commitment. And they did. They donated land where we built the girls' school. We have.
Esan nien: "Nire herriko mutil batzuk atzerrira joan eta hezkuntza jaso dute. Zergatik ez dute haiek mutilen eskola eraikitzen eta nik nesken eskola?" Zentzuzkoa zen. Nirekin bat etorri ziren. Esan nien konpromisoaren seinale bat ikusi behar nuela. Eta hala egin zuten. Nesken eskolarako lurrak eman zizkiguten. Egin dugu.
I want you to meet one of the girls in that school. Angeline came to apply for the school, and she did not meet any criteria that we had. She's an orphan. Yes, we could have taken her for that. But she was older. She was 12 years old, and we were taking girls who were in fourth grade. Angeline had been moving from one place -- because she's an orphan, she has no mother, she has no father -- moving from one grandmother's house to another one, from aunties to aunties. She had no stability in her life. And I looked at her, I remember that day, and I saw something beyond what I was seeing in Angeline. And yes, she was older to be in fourth grade. We gave her the opportunity to come to the class. Five months later, that is Angeline. A transformation had begun in her life. Angeline wants to be a pilot so she can fly around the world and make a difference. She was not the top student when we took her. Now she's the best student, not just in our school, but in the entire division that we are in. That's Sharon. That's five years later. That's Evelyn. Five months later, that is the difference that we are making.
Eskola hartako neska bat ezagutzea nahi dut. Angeline eskolan izena ematera etorri zen. Ez zuen genituen irizpideetako bat ere betetzen. Umezurtza da. Bai, horregatik onartuko genuen, baina zaharregia zen. 12 urte zituen eta guk 4. mailako neskak hartzen genituen. Angeline toki batetik bestera zebilen umezurtza delako, ez du ez ama ez aitarik, eta bere amonen etxetik izeben etxeetara zebilen, alde batetik bestera. Ez zuen inolako egonkortasunik. Berari begiratu nionean, egun hartan, une hartan ikusten ari nintzena baino zerbait gehiago ikusi nuen. 4. mailakoak baino zaharragoa zen, baina klasera etortzeko aukera eman genion. Hau da Angeline bost hilabete beranduago. Bere bizitzan transformazio bat hasi berri zen. Angelinek pilotu izan nahi du munduan zehar bidaiatu eta gauzak aldatzeko. Ez zen ikasle onena hartu genuenean, baina orain onena da, eta ez bakarrik gure eskolan, baizik eta gauden sail osoan. Hau Sharon da. Eta hau bera bost urte beranduago. Hau Evelyn da. Bost hilabete beranduago hau da egiten dugun aldaketa.
As a new dawn is happening in my school, a new beginning is happening. As we speak right now, 125 girls will never be mutilated. One hundred twenty-five girls will not be married when they're 12 years old. One hundred twenty-five girls are creating and achieving their dreams. This is the thing that we are doing, giving them opportunities where they can rise. As we speak right now, women are not being beaten because of the revolutions we've started in our community.
Aro berri bat hasi da nire eskolan, eta hasiera berri baten aurrean gaude. Momentu honetan, 125 neskek ez dute ablazioa inoiz jasango. 125 neskek ez dute 12 urterekin ezkondu beharrik izango. 125 neska beren ametsak sortzen eta lortzen ari dira. Hau da egiten ari garena: hazteko aukerak ematen. Momentu honetan, emakumeak ez dira kolpatuak gure komunitatean hasi genituen iraultzengatik.
(Applause)
(Txaloak)
I want to challenge you today. You are listening to me because you are here, very optimistic. You are somebody who is so passionate. You are somebody who wants to see a better world. You are somebody who wants to see that war ends, no poverty. You are somebody who wants to make a difference. You are somebody who wants to make our tomorrow better. I want to challenge you today that to be the first, because people will follow you. Be the first. People will follow you. Be bold. Stand up. Be fearless. Be confident. Move out, because as you change your world, as you change your community, as we believe that we are impacting one girl, one family, one village, one country at a time. We are making a difference, so if you change your world, you are going to change your community, you are going to change your country, and think about that. If you do that, and I do that, aren't we going to create a better future for our children, for your children, for our grandchildren? And we will live in a very peaceful world. Thank you very much.
Erronka jo nahi dizuet gaur. Hemen zaudete niri entzuten, oso optimistak. Oso pertsona grinatsuak zarete. Mundu hobeagoa ikusi nahi duzue. Gudak eta pobrezia amaitzea nahi duzue. Gauzak aldatu nahi dituzue. Gure etorkizuna hobea izatea nahi duzue. Erronka egin nahi dizuet beti lehenak izan zaitezten, zeren modu honetan jendeak jarraitu egingo zaituzte. Izan zaitezte lehenak. Jendeak jarraitu egingo zaituzte. Izan ausartak. Altxa zaitezte. Ez izan beldurrik. Zuengan sinetsi. Mugi. Mundua aldatzen duzunean, zure komunitatea aldatzen duzu, neska bat, familia bat herri bat, herrialde batean eragina dugula pentsatzen dugunean. Aldaketa bat egiten ari gara, eta zure mundua aldatzean zure komunitatea ere aldatzen ari zara, zure herrialdea, eta pentsa ezazue. Hau egiten baduzue, eta hau egiten badut, ez al gara gure umeei, zuen umeei, gure bilobei etorkizun hobea eskaintzen ari? Eta mundu baketsu baten biziko gara. Mila esker.
(Applause)
(Txaloak)