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 fotografkinja arapskog porekla, oduvek sam pronalazila obilnu inspiraciju za svoje projekte u ličnim iskustvima. Strast za obrazovanjem, koja mi je omogućila da srušim prepreke do boljeg života, je motivisala moj projekat: 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."
Podstaknuta sopstvenim iskustvom, kako mi na početku nisu dozvoljavli da pohađam više škole, odlučila sam da istražim i dokumentujem priče drugih žena kojima je obrazovanje promenilo život, razotkrivajući i dovodeći u pitanje prepreke s kojima se suočavaju. Pokrila sam niz tema koje se bave obrazovanjem žena, imajući u vidu razlike među arapskim zemljama zbog ekonomskih i društvenih faktora. Neki od problema su: nepismenost kod žena, koja je izuzetno visoka u regionu; reforme obrazovanja; programi za ispisane đake i politički aktivizam kod studenata. Na početku mog rada, nije uvek bilo lako nagovoriti žene da učestvuju. Tek nakon što bih im objasnila kako njihove priče mogu da utiču na živote drugih žena, kako mogu da postanu uzori u svojoj zajednici, poneke bi pristale. Tragajući za pristupom koji uključuje saradnju i uzajamnost, tražila sam od njih da ispišu sopstvene reči i misli na svojim odštampanim fotografijama. Ove slike su potom podeljene u pojedinim učionicama i služile su kao inspiracija i motivacija drugim ženama koje su imale slično obrazovno iskustvo. Ajša, učiteljica iz Jemena, je napisala: "Težila sam obrazovanju kako bih bila nezavisna i da ne moram da se obraćam muškarcima za sve."
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.
Jedan od mojih prvih subjekata je bila Um El-Sad iz Egipta. Kada sam je upoznala, jedva da je znala da se potpiše. Pohađala je devetomesečni program opismenjavanja koji je vodila jedna lokalna NVO u predgrađu Kaira. Nekoliko meseci kasnije, šalila se kako joj muž preti da će da je ispiše sa časova jer je otkrio da njegova, sada pismena žena, proverava njegove poruke na telefonu. (Smeh) Nevaljala Um El-Sad. Naravno da se Um El-Sad nije zbog toga pridružila programu. Videla sam kako je žudila da ima kontrolu nad prostim svakodnevnim rutinama, malim detaljima koje uzimamo olako, od brojanja novca na pijaci do pomaganja deci kod domaćeg. Uprkos siromaštvu i mentalitetu kolektiva, koji omalovažava obrazovanje žena, Um El-Sad, zajedno sa svojim egipatskim kolegama, žudila je da nauči da čita i piše.
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 aktivistkinje koje sam intervjuisala. Sekularna studentkinja bioinženjeringa je prilično aktivna na društvenim mrežama. Misleći na svoju zemlju, za čije blago se smatra Arapsko proleće, rekla je: "Oduvek sam sanjala da ću otkriti novu bakteriju. Sada, nakon revolucije, svakoga dana pronalazimo po jednu." Asma misli na uspon religijskog fundamentalizma u regionu, koji je još jedna prepreka, naročito za žene.
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, Fajza iz Jemena me je najviše ganula. Fajza je bila prinuđena da napusti školu sa osam godina, kada je udata. Brak je trajao godinu dana. Sa 14 godina postala je treća žena šezdesetogodišnjem čoveku, a do osamnaeste, bila je razvedena majka troje dece. Uprkos siromaštvu, uprkos društvenom statusu razvedene žene u izuzetno konzervativnom društvu i uprkos protivljenju njenih roditelja da se vrati u školu, Fajza je znala da je obrazovanje jedini način da upravlja svojim životom. Sada ima 26 godina. Dobila je stipendiju od lokalne NVO kojom će da finansira poslovne studije na univerzitetu. Njen cilj je da nađe posao, iznajmi stan u kom će da živi i da povede decu 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 ogromne promene, a problemi sa kojima se žene suočavaju su poražavajući. Baš kao i žene koje sam fotografisala, i ja sam morala da savladam mnoge prepreke da bih postala fotograf kakav jesam, mnogi su mi usput dobacivali šta mogu, a šta ne mogu da uradim. Um El-Sad, Asma, Fajza i mnoge druge žene širom arapskog sveta, pokazuju da je moguće savladati prepreke na putu do obrazovanja, za koje znaju da je najbolje sredstvo do bolje budućnosti. A sad bih volela da zaključim Jasmininim citatom, to je jedna od četiri aktivistkinje koje sam intervjuisala u Tunisu. Jasmina je napisala: "Preispitaj svoja ubeđenja. Budi ono što želiš da budeš, ne ono što drugi žele. Ne prihvataj ropstvo, jer te je majka rodila slobodnu."
Thank you.
Hvala.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)