0:00:01.425,0:00:06.991 I have never, ever forgotten the words of my grandmother 0:00:06.991,0:00:09.391 who died in her exile: 0:00:09.391,0:00:14.256 "Son, resist Gaddafi. Fight him. 0:00:14.256,0:00:17.463 But don't you ever turn 0:00:17.463,0:00:23.586 into a Gaddafi-like revolutionary." 0:00:23.586,0:00:25.740 Almost two years have passed 0:00:25.740,0:00:28.556 since the Libyan Revolution broke out, 0:00:28.556,0:00:33.306 inspired by the waves of mass mobilization 0:00:33.306,0:00:38.106 in both the Tunisian and the Egyptian revolutions. 0:00:38.106,0:00:43.206 I joined forces with many other Libyans inside and outside Libya 0:00:43.206,0:00:45.406 to call for a day of rage 0:00:45.406,0:00:51.890 and to initiate a revolution against the tyrannical regime of Gaddafi. 0:00:51.890,0:00:55.923 And there it was, a great revolution. 0:00:55.923,0:00:59.623 Young Libyan women and men were at the forefront 0:00:59.623,0:01:02.807 calling for the fall of the regime, 0:01:02.807,0:01:08.023 raising slogans of freedom, dignity, social justice. 0:01:08.023,0:01:11.063 They have shown an exemplary bravery 0:01:11.063,0:01:15.130 in confronting the brutal dictatorship of Gaddafi. 0:01:15.130,0:01:18.645 They have shown a great sense of solidarity 0:01:18.645,0:01:22.129 from the far east to the far west to the south. 0:01:22.129,0:01:28.045 Eventually, after a period of six months of brutal war 0:01:28.045,0:01:33.513 and a toll rate of almost 50,000 dead, 0:01:33.513,0:01:38.896 we managed to liberate our country and to topple the tyrant. 0:01:38.896,0:01:45.145 (Applause) 0:01:45.145,0:01:49.579 However, Gaddafi left behind a heavy burden, 0:01:49.579,0:01:56.914 a legacy of tyranny, corruption and seeds of diversions. 0:01:56.914,0:02:01.215 For four decades Gaddafi's tyrannical regime 0:02:01.215,0:02:09.664 destroyed the infrastructure as well as the culture and the moral fabric of Libyan society. 0:02:09.664,0:02:13.364 Aware of the devastation and the challenges, 0:02:13.364,0:02:20.147 I was keen among many other women to rebuild the Libyan civil society, 0:02:20.147,0:02:23.639 calling for an inclusive and just transition 0:02:23.639,0:02:26.706 to democracy and national reconciliation. 0:02:26.706,0:02:30.523 Almost 200 organizations were established in Benghazi 0:02:30.523,0:02:33.422 during and immediately after the fall of Gaddafi -- 0:02:33.422,0:02:36.323 almost 300 in Tripoli. 0:02:36.323,0:02:42.273 After a period of 33 years in exile, I went back to Libya, 0:02:42.273,0:02:44.490 and with unique enthusiasm, 0:02:44.490,0:02:46.972 I started organizing workshops 0:02:46.972,0:02:51.804 on capacity building, on human development of leadership skills. 0:02:51.804,0:02:54.339 With an amazing group of women, 0:02:54.339,0:02:58.121 I co-founded the Libyan Women's Platform for Peace, 0:02:58.121,0:03:02.989 a movement of women, leaders, from different walks of life, 0:03:02.989,0:03:07.590 to lobby for the sociopolitical empowerment of women 0:03:07.590,0:03:09.740 and to lobby for our right 0:03:09.740,0:03:14.857 for equal participation in building democracy and peace. 0:03:14.857,0:03:20.573 I met a very difficult environment in the pre-elections, 0:03:20.573,0:03:24.557 an environment which was increasingly polarized, 0:03:24.557,0:03:34.025 an environment which was shaped by the selfish politics of dominance and exclusion. 0:03:34.025,0:03:38.107 I led an initiative by the Libyan Women's Platform for Peace 0:03:38.107,0:03:42.241 to lobby for a more inclusive electoral law, 0:03:42.241,0:03:46.706 a law that would give every citizen, no matter what your background, 0:03:46.706,0:03:49.790 the right to vote and run, 0:03:49.790,0:03:53.941 and most importantly to stipulate on political parties 0:03:53.941,0:03:58.656 the alternation of male and female candidates 0:03:58.656,0:04:02.040 vertically and horizontally in their lists, 0:04:02.040,0:04:04.873 creating the zipper list. 0:04:04.873,0:04:11.218 Eventually, our initiative was adopted and successful. 0:04:11.218,0:04:16.990 Women won 17.5 percent of the National Congress 0:04:16.990,0:04:21.255 in the first elections ever in 52 years. 0:04:21.255,0:04:28.006 (Applause) 0:04:28.006,0:04:34.474 However, bit by bit, the euphoria of the elections, 0:04:34.474,0:04:38.206 and of the revolution as a whole, 0:04:38.206,0:04:39.790 was fading out -- 0:04:39.790,0:04:44.256 for every day we were waking up to the news of violence. 0:04:44.256,0:04:46.490 One day we wake up to the news 0:04:46.490,0:04:49.962 of the desecration of ancient mosques and Sufi tombs. 0:04:49.962,0:04:51.757 On another day we wake up to the news 0:04:51.757,0:04:56.258 of the murder of the American ambassador and the attack on the consulate. 0:04:56.258,0:04:58.340 On another day we wake up to the news 0:04:58.340,0:05:01.857 of the assassination of army officers. 0:05:01.857,0:05:07.424 And every day, every day we wake up with the rule of the militias 0:05:07.424,0:05:12.274 and their continuous violations of human rights of prisoners 0:05:12.274,0:05:16.206 and their disrespect of the rule of law. 0:05:16.206,0:05:19.742 Our society, shaped by a revolutionary mindset, 0:05:19.742,0:05:21.703 became more polarized 0:05:21.703,0:05:25.381 and has driven away from the ideals and the principles -- 0:05:25.381,0:05:28.447 freedom, dignity, social justice -- 0:05:28.447,0:05:30.147 that we first held. 0:05:30.147,0:05:34.257 Intolerance, exclusion and revenge 0:05:34.257,0:05:39.289 became the icons of the [aftermath] of the revolution. 0:05:39.289,0:05:43.939 I am here today not at all to inspire you 0:05:43.939,0:05:48.123 with our success story of the zipper list and the elections. 0:05:48.123,0:05:50.324 I'm rather here today to confess 0:05:50.324,0:05:57.106 that we as a nation took the wrong choice, made the wrong decision. 0:05:57.106,0:05:59.929 We did not prioritize right. 0:05:59.929,0:06:07.323 For elections did not bring peace and stability and security in Libya. 0:06:07.323,0:06:12.623 Did the zipper list and the alternation between female and male candidates 0:06:12.623,0:06:15.656 bring peace and national reconciliation? 0:06:15.656,0:06:18.073 No, it didn't. 0:06:18.073,0:06:20.023 What is it, then? 0:06:20.023,0:06:26.206 Why does our society continue to be polarized and dominated 0:06:26.206,0:06:33.507 with selfish politics of dominance and exclusion, by both men and women? 0:06:33.507,0:06:38.026 Maybe what was missing was not the women only, 0:06:38.026,0:06:45.230 but the feminine values of compassion, mercy and inclusion. 0:06:45.230,0:06:49.603 Our society needs national dialogue and consensus-building 0:06:49.603,0:06:51.403 more than it needed the elections, 0:06:51.403,0:06:55.388 which only reinforced polarization and division. 0:06:55.388,0:07:01.653 Our society needs the qualitative representation of the feminine 0:07:01.653,0:07:07.670 more than it needs the numerical, quantitative representation of the feminine. 0:07:07.670,0:07:14.367 We need to stop acting as agents of rage and calling for days of rage. 0:07:14.367,0:07:19.967 We need to start acting as agents of compassion and mercy. 0:07:19.967,0:07:23.601 We need to develop a feminine discourse 0:07:23.601,0:07:27.734 that not only honors but also implements 0:07:27.734,0:07:36.098 mercy instead of revenge, collaboration instead of competition, 0:07:36.098,0:07:39.317 inclusion instead of exclusion. 0:07:39.317,0:07:42.424 These are the ideals that a war-torn Libya 0:07:42.424,0:07:45.899 needs desperately in order to achieve peace. 0:07:45.899,0:07:48.083 For peace has an alchemy, 0:07:48.083,0:07:55.166 and this alchemy is about the intertwining, the alternation 0:07:55.166,0:07:58.666 between the feminine and masculine perspectives. 0:07:58.666,0:08:00.717 That's the real zipper. 0:08:00.717,0:08:03.766 And we need to establish that existentially 0:08:03.766,0:08:06.217 before we do so sociopolitically. 0:08:06.217,0:08:09.116 According to a Quranic verse 0:08:09.116,0:08:15.617 "Salam" -- peace -- "is the word of the all-merciful God, raheem." 0:08:15.617,0:08:21.352 In turn, the word "raheem," which is known in all Abrahamic traditions, 0:08:21.352,0:08:26.053 has the same root in Arabic as the word "rahem" -- womb -- 0:08:26.053,0:08:31.887 symbolizing the maternal feminine encompassing all humanity 0:08:31.887,0:08:34.003 from which the male and the female, 0:08:34.003,0:08:39.536 from which all tribes, all peoples, have emanated from. 0:08:39.536,0:08:48.547 And so just as the womb entirely envelopes the embryo, which grows within it, 0:08:48.547,0:08:56.313 the divine matrix of compassion nourishes the entire existence. 0:08:56.313,0:09:01.680 Thus we are told that "My mercy encompasses all things." 0:09:01.680,0:09:07.680 Thus we are told that "My mercy takes precedence over my anger." 0:09:07.680,0:09:12.263 May we all be granted a grace of mercy. 0:09:12.263,0:09:16.083 (Applause) 0:09:16.083,0:09:18.187 Thank you. 0:09:18.187,0:09:23.607 (Applause)