To learn is to be free | Shameem Akhtar

A room full of boys.

Translator: Mariazell-Eugènia Bosch Fábregas Reviewer: Daniela Rivera Flaquer

Una classe plena de nens.

A girl child, hardly nine or ten years old,

Una nena, amb prou feines, de nou o deu anys,

she is sitting in the center of the room, surrounded by books.

està asseguda al mig de la classe, entre llibres.

She is the only girl among boys,

És l'única nena entre els nois,

and is barely missing her female cousins and friends,

a penes troba a faltar les seves cosines i amigues

who are inside the home instead of the school,

que són a casa en comptes de ser a l'escola,

because they are not allowed to get an education alongside boys.

perquè no se les permet rebre educació amb els nens.

There isn't a single functional girls' school in her village.

No existeix cap escola de nenes funcional en el seu poble.

She was born in a Baloch conservative tribe,

Va néixer en una tribu convervadora Balutxi,

where women and girls are a matter of honor.

on les dones i les nenes són qüestió d'honor.

She is the eldest in her family,

És la més gran de la família,

and when she was about to be born, her parents wanted a baby boy.

i tot just abans de néixer, els pares volien un nen.

But they had bad luck; a baby girl arrived.

Van tenir mala sort i els va néixer una nena.

It was customary in her family to keep girls inside the homes.

Era habitual en la seva família que les nenes es quedessin a casa.

But her uncle, who was a university graduate,

Però el seu oncle, graduat universitari,

he wanted to give her an opportunity to see the world,

volia donar-li la possibilitat de veure el món,

to be part of the society.

de ser part de la societat.

Luckily, she has a name that can be used for both men and women.

Per sort, la nena té un nom que pot ser d'home o de dona.

So he saw a chance to change her course of life.

L'oncle va veure la possibilitat de canviar el curs de la seva vida.

So he decided to raise her as a boy.

Així que la va criar com un nen.

At three months old,

Als tres mesos d'edat,

she went from being a baby girl, to baby boy.

va passar de ser nena a ser nen.

She is given a boy's getup.

Se li dóna roba de nen.

She is allowed to go outside

Se li permet sortir a fora

and get an education alongside boys.

i rebre educació amb els nens.

She is free, she is confident.

És lliure, segura.

She observes, she notes small, everyday injustices

Observa, i nota les petites injustícies de cada dia

faced by women and girls in her village.

que pateixen les altres dones i nenes del seu poble.

When newspapers arrive at her home,

Quan el diari arriva a casa,

she watches as it passes from the eldest man to the youngest man.

veu com es passa de l'home més gran al més jove.

By the time women get hold of the paper,

Quan les dones, per fi, agafen el diari,

it is old news.

ja són notícies passades.

She completes her eighth-grade year.

Acaba el segon curs de secundària.

Now fear starts to come in.

I comença a arribar la por.

This will be the end of her education,

Aquest serà el final de la seva educació,

because the only option for high school for further study

perquè l'única opció de continuar els estudis

is five kilometers away.

és a cinc kilòmetres de distància.

Boys have bicycles, they are free.

Els nens tenen bicicletes. Són lliures.

But she knows

Sap que

her father will not allow her to travel on her own,

el seu pare no li permetrà viatjar sola,

even if she were posing as a boy.

encara que fingeixi ser un noi.

"I can't let you do that.

"No t'ho puc permetre.

And I don't have the time to walk you there and back.

I no tinc temps de portar-te amunt i avall.

Sorry, it is impossible."

Ho sento. No és possible."

She gets very upset.

Ella s'entristeix.

But a miracle happened.

Però ocorre un miracle.

A long-distance relative offers to teach her

Un parent llunyà s'ofereix a fer-li les classes

ninth- and tenth-grade curricula

dels dos cursos següents

during summer vacations.

durant les vacances d'estiu.

This is how she completed her matriculation.

I així va poder completar els estudis.

The girl whom I am talking about to you

La nena de qui us estic parlant

is me, Shameem, who is talking before you now.

sóc jo, Shameem, qui us parla ara a vosaltres.

(Applause)

(Aplaudiments)

Throughout centuries, people have been fighting for their identity.

Al llarg dels segles, la gent ha lluitat per la seva identitat.

People have been loved, privileged, because of their identity,

La gent ha estat estimada, privilegiada gràcies a la seva identitat,

their nationality, their ethnicity.

nacionalitat, etnicitat.

Again, people have been hated, denied,

Una vegada més, s'ha odiat i negat a gent

because of their nationality, their identity,

degut a la seva nacionalitat, identitat,

their race, their gender, their religion.

raça, gènere i religió.

Identity determines your position in society, wherever you live.

La identitat determina la teva posició a la societat, no importa on visquis.

So if you ask me, I would say I hate this question of identity.

Si se'm pregunta, diria que odio aquesta qüestió d'identitat.

Millions of girls in this world are being denied their basic rights

A milions de nenes en aquest món se'ls neguen els seus drets bàsics

because of being female.

pel fet de ser dones.

I would have faced the same, if I hadn't been raised as a boy.

M'hi hauria trobat jo mateixa si no m'haguessin criat com un nen.

I was determined to continue my studies, to learn, to be free.

Estava convençuda de continuar els estudis, aprendre, ser lliure.

After my schooling, even enrolling in college was not easy for me.

Després de l'escolarització, entrar a l'institut no va ser fàcil.

I went on a three-day hunger strike.

Vaig fer una vaga de fam de tres dies.

(Laughter)

(Riures)

Then, I got permission for college.

I se'm va donar permís per anar a l'institut.

(Laughter)

(Riures)

(Applause)

(Aplaudiments)

In that way, I completed my college.

D'aquesta manera, vaig completar els meus estudis.

Two years later, when the time came for me to go to university,

Dos anys més tard, quan va arribar el moment d'anar a la universitat,

my father turned his eyes, his attention, to my younger brothers.

el meu pare va posar tota l'atenció als meus germans petits.

They need to be in school, secure jobs and support the family.

Necessiten anar a l'escola, trobar feina, ajudar a la familia.

And as a woman, my place was to be home.

Com a dona, el meu lloc era a casa.

But, I don't give up.

Però no em rendeixo.

I sign up for a two-year program to become a lady health visitor.

M'apunto a un programa de dos anys per ser assistenta sanitària.

Then I hear about Thardeep Rural Development Program,

Em vaig assabentar del programa de desenvolupament rural Thardeep,

a non-profit organization working to empower rural communities.

una organització sense ànims de lucre que empodera comunitats rurals.

I sneak away.

Em vaig escapar.

I travel five hours to interview for a position.

Vaig viatjar 5 hores per l'entrevista.

It is the first time I am the farthest from my home I have ever been.

És la primera vegada que sóc tan lluny de casa.

I am closest to my freedom I have ever been.

Mai he estat tan a prop de la meva llibertat.

Luckily, I got the job,

Per sort, em van donar la feina,

but the hardest part is facing my father.

però la dificultat és encarar-me al meu pare.

(Laughter)

(Riures)

Relatives are already scaring him

Els parents ja l'espanten

about his daughter wandering off,

dient que la seva filla marxarà,

teasing him with talk of his daughter crossing the border.

bromegen dient que creuarà la frontera.

When I return home,

Quan arribo a casa,

I want nothing more than just to accept the position in Thardeep.

no vull res més que acceptar la plaça a Thardeep.

So that night, I packed all my things in a bag,

Aquella mateixa nit, vaig fer les maletes,

and I walked into my father's room and told him,

vaig anar a l'habitació del meu pare i li vaig dir,

"Tomorrow morning, the bus is going to come in.

"Demà al matí arribarà el bus.

If you believe in me,

Si creus en mi,

if you believe in me,

si creus en mi,

you will wake me up and take me to the bus station.

em despertaràs i em portaràs a l'estació de bus.

If you don't, I'll understand."

Si no, ho entendré."

Then I went to sleep.

Vaig anar a dormir.

The next morning, my father was standing beside me

Al matí, el meu pare estava al meu costat

to take me to the bus stop.

per portar-me a l'estació.

(Applause)

(Aplaudiments)

That day, I understood the importance of words.

Aquell dia vaig entendre la importància de les paraules.

I understood how words affect our hearts,

Vaig entendre com les paraules poden afectar els nostres cors,

how words play an important role in our lives.

com les paraules tenen un paper important a les nostres vides.

I understood words are more powerful than fighting.

Vaig entendre que les paraules poden ser més fortes que les lluites.

At TRDP, I saw there was a Pakistan which I didn't know,

En el programa, vaig veure un Pakistan que no coneixia,

a country much more complex than I had realized.

un país molt més complexe del que m'havia pensat.

Until that, I thought I had a difficult life.

Fins llavors, pensava que havia tingut una vida difícil.

But here, I saw what women in other parts of Pakistan were experiencing.

Però allí vaig veure el que patien les dones d'altres parts de Pakistan.

It really opened my eyes.

Em va fer obrir els ulls.

Some women had 11 children but nothing to feed them.

Algunes dones tenien 11 criatures i no les podien alimentar.

For getting water, they would walk three hours every day to wells.

Havien de caminar tres hores diàries per aconseguir aigua dels pous.

The nearest hospital was at least 32 kilometers away.

L'hospital més proper estava a 32 kilómetres.

So if a woman is in labor,

Si una dona va de part,

she travels by camel to get to the hospital.

viatja en camell per arribar a l'hospital.

The distance is great; she may die on her way.

Hi ha molta distància; pot morir durant el camí.

So now, this became more than just a job for me.

Per mi, ara això s'ha convertit en més que un treball.

I discovered my power.

He descobert el meu potencial.

Now, as I was getting salary,

Ara que tenia ingressos,

I started sending back money to my home.

enviava diners a casa meva.

Relatives and neighbors were noticing this.

Els familiars i veïns ho van veure.

Now they started to understand the importance of education.

I van començar a entendre la importància de l'educació.

By that time, some other parents started sending their daughters to school.

En aquell moment, alguns pares ja enviaven les filles a l'escola.

Slowly, it became easier and acceptable

A poc a poc, era més fàcil i acceptable

for young women to be in college.

que les noies anessin a l'institut.

Today, there isn't a single girl out of school in my village.

Avui, no hi ha cap nena que no vagi a l'escola al meu poble.

(Applause)

(Aplaudiments)

Girls are doing jobs in health sites, even in police.

Les noies treballen a la sanitat fins i tot a la policia.

Life was good.

Era una bona vida.

But somewhere in my heart,

But en algun lloc del meu cor,

I realized that my region, beyond my village

veia que la meva regió, més enllà del meu poble

needs further change.

necessitava encara més canvis.

This was also the time when I joined Acumen Fellowship.

Va ser el moment que vaig unir-me a l'organització Acumen.

There, I met leaders like me across the country.

Allà vaig conèixer líders com jo d'arreu del país.

And I saw they are taking risks in their lives.

I vaig veure que arriscaven les seves vides.

I started to understand

Vaig començar a entendre

what leadership really means.

què significa realment el lideratge.

So I decided to go back to my region

Vaig decidir tornar a la meva regió

and take a position as a teacher in a remote school,

i vaig començar com a professora en una escola llunyana,

a school that I have to reach by bus --

hi he d'anar amb bus,

two hours traveling, every morning and evening.

dues hores de viatge, matí i tarda.

Though it was hard, on my first day I knew

Tot i que era dur, el primer dia vaig veure

I made the right decision.

que havia pres la decisió correcta.

The first day I walked into the school,

El primer dia que vaig entrar a l'escola,

I saw all these little Shameems staring back at me --

vaig veure tot de petites Shameems mirant-me

(Laughter)

(Riures)

with dreams in their eyes,

amb somnis als ulls,

the same dream of freedom which I had in my childhood.

el mateix somni de llibertat que tenia de petita.

So the girls are eager to learn, but the school is understaffed.

Les nenes volen aprendre, però falta personal a l'escola.

Girls sit hopeful,

Les nenes s'asseuen esperançades,

learn nothing,

no aprenen res,

and they leave.

i marxen.

I can't bear to see this happening.

No puc suportar que passi això.

There was no turning back.

No hi havia marxa enrere.

I found my purpose.

Vaig trobar el meu objectiu.

I enlisted a few of my friends to help me to teach.

Vaig aconseguir que alguns amics meus m'ajudessin amb les classes.

I'm introducing my girls to the outside world

Introdueixo a les meves nenes al món exterior

by extracurricular activities and books.

amb activitats extracurriculars i llibres.

I share with them the profiles of the world's best leaders,

Els ensenyo els perfils dels millors líders mundials,

like Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela.

com Martin Luther King i Nelson Mandela.

Last year, a few of our students went to college.

L'any passat, algunes de les estudiants van anar a l'institut.

For me, I never stop studying.

Jo mai he acabat d'estudiar.

Today, I'm working to complete my PhD in education --

Avui, estic fent un doctorat en educació

(Applause)

(Aplaudiments)

which will allow me to gain a management position

que em permetrà tenir una funció directiva

in the school system,

en el sistema escolar,

and I will be able to make more decisions

i podré prendre més decisions

and play a pivotal role in the system.

i tenir un paper clau en el sistema.

I believe that without educating the girls,

Crec que sense educar les nenes,

we may not make world peace.

no hi haurà pau mundial.

We may not reduce child marriage.

No reduirem el matrimoni infantil.

We may not reduce infant mortality rate.

No reduirem la taxa de mortalitat infantil.

We may not reduce maternal mortality rate.

No reduirem la taxa de mortalitat maternal.

For this, we have to continuously

Per això, continuament

and collectively work together.

i de manera col·lectiva, hem de treballar junts.

At least I am playing my role,

Almenys faig el meu paper,

though the destination is not close.

tot i que la destinació és llunyana.

The road is not easy.

El camí no es fàcil.

But I have dreams in my eyes,

Però tinc somnis als meus ulls,

and I am not going to look back now.

i ara no miraré enrere.

Thank you.

Gràcies.

(Applause)

(Aplaudiments)