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.
Kao Arapkinja i fotografkinja, uvijek sam pronalazila obilje inspiracije za svoje projekte u osobnom iskustvu. Strast za znanjem, koja mi je dopustila da razbijem granice i krenem boljem životu, bila mi je motivacija za projekt "Čitam, pišem".
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."
Potaknuta vlastitim iskustvom, jer mi isprva nisu bili dopušteni viši stupnjevi školovanja, odlučila sam istražiti i dokumentirati priče drugih žena koje su školovanjem promijenile svoje živote, otkrivajući i ispitujući prepreke s kojima se suočavaju. Obuhvatila sam razne teme povezane s obrazovanjem žena imajući na umu različitosti među arapskim zemljama koje su posljedica gopodarskih i socijalnih faktora. To uključuje nepismenost žena, koja je prilično visoka u regiji, reforme obrazovanja, programe za učenike koji su prekinuli obrazovanje i politički aktivizam među studentima. Kad sam počela, nije uvijek bilo lako nagovoriti žene na sudjelovanje. Tek nakon što sam im objasnila kako bi njihove priče mogle utjecati na živote drugih žena, kako bi mogle postati uzori u društvu, neke su pristale. Tražila sam od njih suradnju i refleksivan pristup, zamolila sam ih da napišu svoje riječi i ideje na ispise svojih fotografija. Te su slike zatim podijeljene u nekoliko učionica kako bi inspirirale i motivirale druge žene koje su sličnog obrazovanja i nalaze se u sličnim situacijama. Aisha, učiteljica iz Jemena, napisala je: "Željela sam se obrazovati kako bih bila neovisna i kako ne bih u svemu ovisila o muškarcima."
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.
Jedna od mojih prvih ispitanica bila je Umm El-Saad iz Egipta. Kad smo se upoznale jedva je znala napisati svoje ime. Pohađala je devetomjesečni program opismenjavanja koji je vodila lokalna nevladina udruga iz predgrađa Kaira. Nekoliko mjeseci kasnije šalila se da joj je muž prijetio da će je ispisati jer je saznao da mu njegova, sada pismena, žena pregledava poruke na mobitelu. (Smijeh) Nestašna Umm El-Saad. Naravno, nije radi toga Umm El-Saad krenula na program. Vidjela sam da želi imati kontrolu nad jednostavnim dnevnim rutinama, malim stvarima koje uzimamo zdravo za gotovo, od brojenja novca na tržnici do pomaganja djeci sa zadaćom. Usprkos svojem siromaštvu i stavu okoline, koja podcjenjuje obrazovanje žena, Umm El-Saad, zajedno sa svojim Egipatskim kolegicama, zaista je željela naučiti čitati i pisati.
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.
U Tunisu sam upoznala Asmu, jednu od četiri aktivistice koje sam intervjuirala. Ta sekularna studentica bioinženjerstva aktivna je na društvenim mrežama. Vezano za svoju zemlju, u kojoj se zaista cijeni takozvano Arapsko proljeće, kaže: "Oduvijek sam sanjala da ću otkriti novu bakteriju. Sada, nakon revolucije, svaki dan imamo po jednu novu." Asma je pri tome mislila na porast vjerskog fundamentalizma u regiji, što je još jedna prepreka, posebno ženama.
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.
Od svih žena koje sam upoznala, najviše me dirnula Fayza iz Jemena. Fayza je s osam godina, kad se udala, bila prisiljena prekinuti obrazovanje. Taj brak trajao je godinu dana. S 14 godina postala je treća žena 60-godišnjaka, a s napunjenih 18 godina, bila je razvedena majka troje djece. Usprkos svojem siromaštvu, usprkos svojem statusu razvedene žene u ultrakonzervativnom društvu i usprkos protivljenju svojih roditelja kad se željela vratiti u školu, Fayza je znala da je obrazovanje jedini način da upravlja svojim životom. Sada ima 26 godina. Dobila je subvenciju lokalne nevladine udruge za financiranje studija poduzetništva. Njezin je cilj pronaći posao, unajmiti stan u kojem će živjeti i povesti svoju djecu sa sobom.
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."
Arapske države prolaze kroz goleme promjene, a žene se suočavaju s vrlo ozbiljnim problemima. Baš kao i žene koje sam fotografirala, i ja sam morala svladati mnoge prepreke da bih danas bila fotografkinja, a na tom su mi putu mnogi ljudi govorili što ja mogu ili ne mogu učiniti. Umm El-Saad, Asma i Fayza te mnoge druge žene u arapskom svijetu pokazuju da je moguće svladati prepreke i obrazovati se jer znaju da je to najbolji zalog za bolju budućnost. Željela bih završiti s citatom Yasmine, jedne od četiri aktivistice koje sam intervjuirala u Tunisu. Yasmine je napisala: "Preispitaj svoja uvjerenja. Budi ono što ti želiš biti, a ne ono što oni žele da budeš. Nemoj prihvatiti porobljavanje jer te majka rodila slobodnu."
Thank you.
Hvala vam.
(Applause)
(Pljesak)