Som en arabisk kvindelig fotograf har jeg altid fundet rigelig inspiration til mine projekter i personlige oplevelser Passionen, jeg udviklede for viden, der tillod mig at bryde barrierer mod et bedre liv, var motivationen til mit projekt Jeg Læser Jeg Skriver.
As an Arab female photographer, I have always found ample inspiration for my projects in personal experiences. The passion I developed for knowledge, which allowed me to break barriers towards a better life was the motivation for my project I Read I Write.
Skubbet af min egen erfaring, i og med at jeg oprindeligt ikke var tilladt at forfølge min højere uddannelse, besluttede jeg at udforske og dokumentere historierne fra andre kvinder, der ændrede deres liv gennem uddannelse, og samtidig afsløre og sætte spørgsmåls- tegn ved de barrierer, de står imod. Jeg dækkede en bred vifte af emner omkring kvinders uddannelse, når man overvejer forskellene blandt arabiske lande på grund af økonomi og sociale faktorer. Disse problemer inkluderer kvindelig analfabetisme, hvilket er høj i regionen; uddannelsesreformer; programmer for frafaldne studerende; og politisk aktivisme blandt universitetsstuderende. Da jeg startede arbejdet, var det ikke altid nemt, at overbevise kvinderne om at deltage. Først efter at have forklaret dem hvordan deres historier kunne påvirke andre kvinders liv, hvordan de ville blive rollemodeller for deres samfund, gik nogle med til det. I et ønske om en kollaborativ og refleksiv tilgang bad jeg dem skrive deres egne ord og idéer på udprintede versioner af deres billeder. De billeder blev så delt i nogle af klasselokalerne, til inspiration og motivation af andre kvinder, der går igennem lignende uddannelser og situationer. Aisha, en lærer fra Yemen, skrev: "Jeg søgte uddannelse for at blive uafhængig og ikke behøve mænd til at klare alt."
Pushed by my own experience, as I was not allowed initially to pursue my higher education, I decided to explore and document stories of other women who changed their lives through education, while exposing and questioning the barriers they face. I covered a range of topics that concern women's education, keeping in mind the differences among Arab countries due to economic and social factors. These issues include female illiteracy, which is quite high in the region; educational reforms; programs for dropout students; and political activism among university students. As I started this work, it was not always easy to convince the women to participate. Only after explaining to them how their stories might influence other women's lives, how they would become role models for their own community, did some agree. Seeking a collaborative and reflexive approach, I asked them to write their own words and ideas on prints of their own images. Those images were then shared in some of the classrooms, and worked to inspire and motivate other women going through similar educations and situations. Aisha, a teacher from Yemen, wrote, "I sought education in order to be independent and to not count on men with everything."
En af mine første motiver var Umm El-Saad fra Egypten. Da vi først mødtes, var hun knapt i stand til at skrive sit navn. Hun deltog i et 9-måneders læsefærdighedsprogram drevet af en lokal NGO i Kairos forstæder. Måneder senere jokede hun, at hendes mand havde truet med at tage hende ud af timerne, da han opdagede, at hans nu læsekyndige kone gik gennem hans sms'er. Frække Umm El-Saad. Selvfølgelig var det ikke derfor, hun deltog i programmet. Jeg så, hvordan hun længtes efter at få kontrol over sine simple daglige rutiner, små detaljer, vi tager for givet, fra at tælle penge ved markedet til at hjælpe sine børn med deres lektier. På trods af sin fattigdom og sit samfunds mentalitet, som nedgør uddannelse af kvinder, var Umm El-Saad sammen med sine egyptiske klassekammerater ivrige efter at lære at læse og skrive.
One of my first subjects was Umm El-Saad from Egypt. When we first met, she was barely able to write her name. She was attending a nine-month literacy program run by a local NGO in the Cairo suburbs. Months later, she was joking that her husband had threatened to pull her out of the classes, as he found out that his now literate wife was going through his phone text messages. (Laughter) Naughty Umm El-Saad. Of course, that's not why Umm El-Saad joined the program. I saw how she was longing to gain control over her simple daily routines, small details that we take for granted, from counting money at the market to helping her kids in homework. Despite her poverty and her community's mindset, which belittles women's education, Umm El-Saad, along with her Egyptian classmates, was eager to learn how to read and write.
I Tunesien mødte jeg Asma, en af de fire kvindelige aktivister, jeg interviewede. Den sekulære bioteknologiske studerende er ret aktiv på de sociale medier. Omkring sit land, som værdsatte det, der er blevet kaldt det arabiske forår, har hun sagt: "Jeg har altid drømt om at opdage en ny bakterie. Nu, efter revolutionen, har vi en ny hver evig eneste dag." Asma refererede til stigningen i religiøs fanatisme i regionen, hvilket er endnu en forhindring for kvinder især.
In Tunisia, I met Asma, one of the four activist women I interviewed. The secular bioengineering student is quite active on social media. Regarding her country, which treasured what has been called the Arab Spring, she said, "I've always dreamt of discovering a new bacteria. Now, after the revolution, we have a new one every single day." Asma was referring to the rise of religious fundamentalism in the region, which is another obstacle to women in particular.
Af alle de kvinder, jeg mødte, var Fayza fra Yemen den,der påvirkede mig mest. Fayza blev tvunget til at droppe ud af skolen af en alder af 8, da hun blev gift. Det ægteskab holdt i et år. I en alder af 14 blev hun den 3. kone til en 60-årig mand, og da hun var 18, var hun en fraskilt mor til tre. På trods af sin fattigdom, på trods af sin sociale status som fraskilt i et ultra-konservativt samfund, og på trods af sine forældres modstand for at hun gik tilbage til skolen, vidste Fayza, at den eneste måde for hende at styre sit liv, var gennem uddannelse. Hun er nu 26. Hun modtog et tilskud fra en lokal NGO som støtte til sine business-studier ved universitetet. Hendes mål er at finde et job, leje et sted at bo, og tage sine børn med sig.
Out of all the women I met, Fayza from Yemen affected me the most. Fayza was forced to drop out of school at the age of eight when she was married. That marriage lasted for a year. At 14, she became the third wife of a 60-year-old man, and by the time she was 18, she was a divorced mother of three. Despite her poverty, despite her social status as a divorcée in an ultra-conservative society, and despite the opposition of her parents to her going back to school, Fayza knew that her only way to control her life was through education. She is now 26. She received a grant from a local NGO to fund her business studies at the university. Her goal is to find a job, rent a place to live in, and bring her kids back with her.
De arabiske stater er ved at gå gennem kolossale ændringer, og de kampe, kvinder må kæmpe, er overvældende . Ligesom kvinderne, jeg fotograferede, skulle jeg overkomme mange barrierer for at blive den fotograf, jeg er i dag, mange folk, der undervejs fortalte mig, hvad jeg kan og ikke kan gøre. Umm El-Saad, Asma, Fayza og mange andre kvinder i den arabiske verden beviser at det er muligt at overkomme barrierer mod uddannelse, som de ved, er det bedste middel for at opnå en bedre fremtid. Og her vil jeg slutte af med et citat af Yasmine, en af de fire kvindelige aktivister, jeg interviewede i Tunesien. Yasmine skrev: "Sæt spørgsmålstegn ved dine overbevisninger. Vær den, du gerne vil være, ikke den, de vil have, du er. Accepter ikke deres undertrykkelse, for din mor fødte dig fri."
The Arab states are going through tremendous change, and the struggles women face are overwhelming. Just like the women I photographed, I had to overcome many barriers to becoming the photographer I am today, many people along the way telling me what I can and cannot do. Umm El-Saad, Asma and Fayza, and many women across the Arab world, show that it is possible to overcome barriers to education, which they know is the best means to a better future. And here I would like to end with a quote by Yasmine, one of the four activist women I interviewed in Tunisia. Yasmine wrote, "Question your convictions. Be who you to want to be, not who they want you to be. Don't accept their enslavement, for your mother birthed you free."
Tak. (Bifald)
Thank you. (Applause)