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

Translator: Kaja Kren Reviewer: Nika Kotnik

As an Arab female photographer,

Kot ženska arabska fotografinja

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

sem navdih za projekte vedno iskala v svojih izkušnjah.

The passion I developed for knowledge,

Strast za znanjem mi je dovolila, da podiram meje do boljšega življenja,

which allowed me to break barriers towards a better life

was the motivation for my project I Read I Write.

je bila motivacija za moj projekt Jaz berem, jaz pišem.

Pushed by my own experience,

Gnale so me moje izkušnje,

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

saj na začetku nisem smela študirati,

I decided to explore and document stories of other women

sem se odločila, da bom raziskala in dokumentirala zgodbe drugih žensk,

who changed their lives through education,

ki so spremenile svoja življenja skozi izobrazbo,

while exposing and questioning the barriers they face.

in izpostavila ter se spraševala o ovirah, ki so jih morale premagati.

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

Pokrila sem več tem, ki zadevajo izobrazbo žensk,

keeping in mind the differences among Arab countries

in še vedno imela v mislih razlike v arabskih državah

due to economic and social factors.

zaradi ekonomskih in družbenih dejavnikov.

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

Ti problemi vključujejo nepismenost žensk, ki je v teh regijah visoka,

educational reforms; programs for dropout students;

reforme v izobrazbi, programi za tiste, ki niso končali šole,

in politični aktivizem med univerzitetnimi študenti.

and political activism among university students.

As I started this work,

Ko sem pričela z delom,

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

včasih ni bilo lahko prepričati žensk k sodelovanju.

Only after explaining to them

Šele ko sem jim razložila,

how their stories might influence other women's lives,

kako lahko njihove zgodbe vplivajo na življenja drugih žensk,

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

kako lahko postanejo vzor v svoji skupnosti, so se nekatere strinjale.

Seeking a collaborative and reflexive approach,

Iskala sem skupen in refleksiven pristop,

I asked them to write their own words and ideas

prosila sem jih, da napišejo svoje besede in ideje na svoje fotografije.

on prints of their own images.

Those images were then shared in some of the classrooms,

Te slike smo potem delili v nekaterih učilnicah

and worked to inspire and motivate other women

in s tem navdihnili in motivirali druge ženske,

going through similar educations and situations.

ki se enako izobražujejo in so postavljene v podobne situacije.

Aisha, a teacher from Yemen, wrote,

Aisha, učiteljica iz Jemna, je napisala:

''Izobrazbo sem iskala, da bi postala neodvisna

"I sought education in order to be independent

and to not count on men with everything."

in da ne bi za vse potrebovala moških.''

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

Ena od mojih prvih oseb je bila Umm El-Saad iz Egipta.

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

Ko sva se prvič srečali, je komaj znala napisati svoje ime.

She was attending a nine-month literacy program

Hodila je na devetmesečni program pismenosti,

ki ga je vodila nevladna organizacija v predmestju Kaira.

run by a local NGO in the Cairo suburbs.

Mesece pozneje se je šalila, da ji je njen mož

Months later, she was joking that her husband

had threatened to pull her out of the classes,

grozil, da jo bo izpisal iz programa,

as he found out that his now literate wife

saj je ugotovil, da njegova, zdaj pismena žena,

was going through his phone text messages.

bere njegova sms sporočila.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Poredna Umm El-Saad.

Naughty Umm El-Saad.

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

Seveda to ni bil razlog, da se je Umm El-Saad pridružila programu.

Videla sem, kako se je trudila dobiti nadzor nad preprosto dnevno rutino,

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

small details that we take for granted,

majhnimi samoumevnimi podrobnostmi,

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

od štetja denarja v trgovini do pomaganja otrokom pri domači nalogi.

Despite her poverty and her community's mindset,

Kljub svoji revščini in miselnosti njenega okolja,

which belittles women's education,

ki podcenjuje izobrazbo žensk,

Umm El-Saad, along with her Egyptian classmates,

je bila Umm El-Saad skupaj z egipčanskimi sošolkami

was eager to learn how to read and write.

zagnana za učenje branja in pisanja.

In Tunisia, I met Asma,

V Tuniziji sem spoznala Asmo,

one of the four activist women I interviewed.

eno izmed štirih aktivistk, ki sem jih intervjuvala.

The secular bioengineering student is quite active on social media.

Študentka sekularnega bioinženiringa je aktivna na družbenih omrežjih.

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

Njena država je vedno cenila nekaj, kar se imenuje arabska pomlad,

in povedala je: ''Vedno sem si želela odkriti novo bakterijo.

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

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

Zdaj, po revoluciji, najdemo novo čisto vsak dan.''

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

Asma se je sklicevala na vstajo verskega fundamentalizma v regiji,

which is another obstacle to women in particular.

ki je še ena ovira, posebej za ženske.

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

Od vseh žensk, ki sem jih spoznala, me je Fayza iz Jemna najbolj ganila.

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

Fayzo so prisilili, da se izpiše iz šole pri osmih letih, ko se je poročila.

That marriage lasted for a year.

Ta zakon je trajal eno leto.

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

Ko je bila 14, je postala tretja žena 60-letnemu moškemu

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

in ko je dopolnila 18 let, je bila ločena mama trem otrokom.

Despite her poverty,

Kljub njeni revščini

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

in kljub družbenemu statusu ločenke v izjemno konzervativni družbi

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

in kljub nasprotovanju njenih staršev, da se vrne nazaj v šolo,

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

je Fayza vedela, da je edina možnost, da kontrolira svoje življenje, izobrazba.

She is now 26.

Danes je stara 26.

She received a grant from a local NGO

Prejela je štipendijo nevladne organizacije,

to fund her business studies at the university.

da si plača poslovne študije na univerzi.

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

Njen cilj je najti službo, najeti stanovanje

and bring her kids back with her.

in s seboj vzeti otroke.

The Arab states are going through tremendous change,

Arabske države preživljajo velike spremembe

and the struggles women face are overwhelming.

in težave, s katerimi se ženske srečujejo, so neizmerne.

Just like the women I photographed,

Tako kot ženske, ki sem jih fotografirala,

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

sem tudi jaz morala premagovati ovire, da sem postala takšna fotografinja,

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

na moji poti so mi ljudje govorili, kaj lahko in kaj ne morem početi.

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

Umm El-Saad, Asma in Fayza in številne ženske v arabskem svetu

show that it is possible to overcome barriers to education,

kažejo, da je mogoče premagati ovire na poti do izobrazbe,

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

saj vedo, da izobrazba omogoča boljšo prihodnost.

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

In tukaj bi rada zaključila s citatom Yasmine,

ene izmed štirih žensk, ki sem jih intervjuvala v Tuniziji.

one of the four activist women I interviewed in Tunisia.

Yasmine wrote,

Yasmine je napisala:

"Question your convictions.

''Dvomite v svoja prepričanja.

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

Bodite to, kar vi želite postati in ne to, kar drugi želijo, da postanete.

Ne sprejmite zasužnjenja, saj vas je vaša mati rodila, da ste svobodni."

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

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplavz)