Laura Boushnak: For these women, reading is a daring act

Translator: Nana Ginnerup Reviewer: Anders Finn Jørgensen

As an Arab female photographer,

Som en arabisk kvindelig fotograf

I have always found ample inspiration for my projects in personal experiences.

har jeg altid fundet rigelig inspiration til mine projekter i personlige oplevelser

The passion I developed for knowledge,

Passionen, jeg udviklede for viden,

which allowed me to break barriers towards a better life

der tillod mig at bryde barrierer mod et bedre liv,

was the motivation for my project I Read I Write.

var motivationen til mit projekt Jeg Læser Jeg Skriver.

Pushed by my own experience,

Skubbet af min egen erfaring,

as I was not allowed initially to pursue my higher education,

i og med at jeg oprindeligt ikke var tilladt at forfølge min højere uddannelse,

I decided to explore and document stories of other women

besluttede jeg at udforske og dokumentere historierne fra andre kvinder,

who changed their lives through education,

der ændrede deres liv gennem uddannelse,

while exposing and questioning the barriers they face.

og samtidig afsløre og sætte spørgsmåls- tegn ved de barrierer, de står imod.

I covered a range of topics that concern women's education,

Jeg dækkede en bred vifte af emner omkring kvinders uddannelse,

keeping in mind the differences among Arab countries

når man overvejer forskellene blandt arabiske lande

due to economic and social factors.

på grund af økonomi og sociale faktorer.

These issues include female illiteracy, which is quite high in the region;

Disse problemer inkluderer kvindelig analfabetisme, hvilket er høj i regionen;

educational reforms; programs for dropout students;

uddannelsesreformer; programmer for frafaldne studerende;

and political activism among university students.

og politisk aktivisme blandt universitetsstuderende.

As I started this work,

Da jeg startede arbejdet,

it was not always easy to convince the women to participate.

var det ikke altid nemt, at overbevise kvinderne om at deltage.

Only after explaining to them

Først efter at have forklaret dem

how their stories might influence other women's lives,

hvordan deres historier kunne påvirke andre kvinders liv,

how they would become role models for their own community, did some agree.

hvordan de ville blive rollemodeller for deres samfund, gik nogle med til det.

Seeking a collaborative and reflexive approach,

I et ønske om en kollaborativ og refleksiv tilgang

I asked them to write their own words and ideas

bad jeg dem skrive deres egne ord og idéer

on prints of their own images.

på udprintede versioner af deres billeder.

Those images were then shared in some of the classrooms,

De billeder blev så delt i nogle af klasselokalerne,

and worked to inspire and motivate other women

til inspiration og motivation af andre kvinder,

going through similar educations and situations.

der går igennem lignende uddannelser og situationer.

Aisha, a teacher from Yemen, wrote,

Aisha, en lærer fra Yemen, skrev:

"I sought education in order to be independent

"Jeg søgte uddannelse for at blive uafhængig

and to not count on men with everything."

og ikke behøve mænd til at klare alt."

One of my first subjects was Umm El-Saad from Egypt.

En af mine første motiver var Umm El-Saad fra Egypten.

When we first met, she was barely able to write her name.

Da vi først mødtes, var hun knapt i stand til at skrive sit navn.

She was attending a nine-month literacy program

Hun deltog i et 9-måneders læsefærdighedsprogram

run by a local NGO in the Cairo suburbs.

drevet af en lokal NGO i Kairos forstæder.

Months later, she was joking that her husband

Måneder senere jokede hun, at hendes mand

had threatened to pull her out of the classes,

havde truet med at tage hende ud af timerne,

as he found out that his now literate wife

da han opdagede, at hans nu læsekyndige kone

was going through his phone text messages.

gik gennem hans sms'er.

(Laughter)

Frække Umm El-Saad.

Naughty Umm El-Saad.

Of course, that's not why Umm El-Saad joined the program.

Selvfølgelig var det ikke derfor, hun deltog i programmet.

I saw how she was longing to gain control over her simple daily routines,

Jeg så, hvordan hun længtes efter at få kontrol over sine simple daglige rutiner,

small details that we take for granted,

små detaljer, vi tager for givet,

from counting money at the market to helping her kids in homework.

fra at tælle penge ved markedet til at hjælpe sine børn med deres lektier.

Despite her poverty and her community's mindset,

På trods af sin fattigdom og sit samfunds mentalitet,

which belittles women's education,

som nedgør uddannelse af kvinder,

Umm El-Saad, along with her Egyptian classmates,

var Umm El-Saad sammen med sine egyptiske klassekammerater

was eager to learn how to read and write.

ivrige efter at lære at læse og skrive.

In Tunisia, I met Asma,

I Tunesien mødte jeg Asma,

one of the four activist women I interviewed.

en af de fire kvindelige aktivister, jeg interviewede.

The secular bioengineering student is quite active on social media.

Den sekulære bioteknologiske studerende er ret aktiv på de sociale medier.

Regarding her country, which treasured what has been called the Arab Spring,

Omkring sit land, som værdsatte det, der er blevet kaldt det arabiske forår,

har hun sagt:

she said, "I've always dreamt of discovering a new bacteria.

"Jeg har altid drømt om at opdage en ny bakterie.

Now, after the revolution, we have a new one every single day."

Nu, efter revolutionen, har vi en ny hver evig eneste dag."

Asma was referring to the rise of religious fundamentalism in the region,

Asma refererede til stigningen i religiøs fanatisme i regionen,

which is another obstacle to women in particular.

hvilket er endnu en forhindring for kvinder især.

Out of all the women I met, Fayza from Yemen affected me the most.

Af alle de kvinder, jeg mødte, var Fayza fra Yemen den,der påvirkede mig mest.

Fayza was forced to drop out of school at the age of eight when she was married.

Fayza blev tvunget til at droppe ud af skolen af en alder af 8, da hun blev gift.

That marriage lasted for a year.

Det ægteskab holdt i et år.

At 14, she became the third wife of a 60-year-old man,

I en alder af 14 blev hun den 3. kone til en 60-årig mand,

and by the time she was 18, she was a divorced mother of three.

og da hun var 18, var hun en fraskilt mor til tre.

Despite her poverty,

På trods af sin fattigdom,

despite her social status as a divorcée in an ultra-conservative society,

på trods af sin sociale status som fraskilt i et ultra-konservativt samfund,

and despite the opposition of her parents to her going back to school,

og på trods af sine forældres modstand for at hun gik tilbage til skolen,

Fayza knew that her only way to control her life was through education.

vidste Fayza, at den eneste måde for hende at styre sit liv, var gennem uddannelse.

She is now 26.

Hun er nu 26.

She received a grant from a local NGO

Hun modtog et tilskud fra en lokal NGO

to fund her business studies at the university.

som støtte til sine business-studier ved universitetet.

Her goal is to find a job, rent a place to live in,

Hendes mål er at finde et job, leje et sted at bo,

and bring her kids back with her.

og tage sine børn med sig.

The Arab states are going through tremendous change,

De arabiske stater er ved at gå gennem kolossale ændringer,

and the struggles women face are overwhelming.

og de kampe, kvinder må kæmpe, er overvældende .

Just like the women I photographed,

Ligesom kvinderne, jeg fotograferede,

I had to overcome many barriers to becoming the photographer I am today,

skulle jeg overkomme mange barrierer for at blive den fotograf, jeg er i dag,

many people along the way telling me what I can and cannot do.

mange folk, der undervejs fortalte mig, hvad jeg kan og ikke kan gøre.

Umm El-Saad, Asma and Fayza, and many women across the Arab world,

Umm El-Saad, Asma, Fayza og mange andre kvinder i den arabiske verden

show that it is possible to overcome barriers to education,

beviser at det er muligt at overkomme barrierer mod uddannelse,

which they know is the best means to a better future.

som de ved, er det bedste middel for at opnå en bedre fremtid.

And here I would like to end with a quote by Yasmine,

Og her vil jeg slutte af med et citat af Yasmine,

en af de fire kvindelige aktivister, jeg interviewede i Tunesien.

one of the four activist women I interviewed in Tunisia.

Yasmine wrote,

Yasmine skrev:

"Question your convictions.

"Sæt spørgsmålstegn ved dine overbevisninger.

Be who you to want to be, not who they want you to be.

Vær den, du gerne vil være, ikke den, de vil have, du er.

Don't accept their enslavement, for your mother birthed you free."

Accepter ikke deres undertrykkelse, for din mor fødte dig fri."

Thank you.

Tak.

(Bifald)

(Applause)