[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.65,0:00:02.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As an Arab female photographer,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:02.78,0:00:07.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I have always found ample inspiration\Nfor my projects in personal experiences.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.92,0:00:09.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The passion I developed for knowledge,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.85,0:00:13.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which allowed me to break barriers\Ntowards a better life
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.25,0:00:17.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was the motivation \Nfor my project I Read I Write.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.60,0:00:19.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Pushed by my own experience,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:19.33,0:00:23.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as I was not allowed initially\Nto pursue my higher education,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.31,0:00:27.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I decided to explore and document\Nstories of other women
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.48,0:00:30.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who changed their lives through education,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.32,0:00:34.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,while exposing and questioning\Nthe barriers they face.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:34.15,0:00:37.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I covered a range of topics\Nthat concern women's education,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.83,0:00:40.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,keeping in mind the differences\Namong Arab countries
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.45,0:00:43.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,due to economic and social factors.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.57,0:00:47.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These issues include female illiteracy,\Nwhich is quite high in the region;
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.73,0:00:52.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,educational reforms;\Nprograms for dropout students;
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.14,0:00:55.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and political activism\Namong university students.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.11,0:00:57.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As I started this work,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.51,0:01:01.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was not always easy \Nto convince the women to participate.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.07,0:01:02.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Only after explaining to them
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.99,0:01:05.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how their stories\Nmight influence other women's lives,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.84,0:01:10.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how they would become role models\Nfor their own community, did some agree.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.65,0:01:13.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Seeking a collaborative\Nand reflexive approach,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.83,0:01:17.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I asked them to write\Ntheir own words and ideas
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.03,0:01:19.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on prints of their own images.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.26,0:01:22.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Those images were then shared\Nin some of the classrooms,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.07,0:01:25.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and worked to inspire\Nand motivate other women
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.32,0:01:29.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,going through similar educations \Nand situations.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.27,0:01:33.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aisha, a teacher from Yemen, wrote,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.10,0:01:36.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I sought education in order\Nto be independent
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.23,0:01:38.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and to not count on men with everything."
Dialogue: 0,0:01:39.66,0:01:43.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,One of my first subjects\Nwas Umm El-Saad from Egypt.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.36,0:01:46.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When we first met, she was\Nbarely able to write her name.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.80,0:01:49.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She was attending\Na nine-month literacy program
Dialogue: 0,0:01:49.05,0:01:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,run by a local NGO in the Cairo suburbs.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.00,0:01:54.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Months later, she was joking\Nthat her husband
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.23,0:01:56.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,had threatened to pull her\Nout of the classes,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.76,0:01:58.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as he found out that his now literate wife
Dialogue: 0,0:01:58.99,0:02:01.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was going through his phone text messages.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.78,0:02:03.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.24,0:02:04.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Naughty Umm El-Saad.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.98,0:02:09.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Of course, that's not why\NUmm El-Saad joined the program.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.14,0:02:13.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I saw how she was longing to gain\Ncontrol over her simple daily routines,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.86,0:02:15.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,small details that we take for granted,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.76,0:02:19.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from counting money at the market\Nto helping her kids in homework.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.96,0:02:22.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Despite her poverty\Nand her community's mindset,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:22.96,0:02:25.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which belittles women's education,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.04,0:02:27.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Umm El-Saad, along with\Nher Egyptian classmates,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:27.77,0:02:30.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was eager to learn how to read and write.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:32.18,0:02:34.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In Tunisia, I met Asma,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.73,0:02:37.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one of the four activist women\NI interviewed.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:37.77,0:02:41.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The secular bioengineering student\Nis quite active on social media.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.24,0:02:47.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Regarding her country, which treasured\Nwhat has been called the Arab Spring,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:47.92,0:02:50.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,she said, "I've always dreamt\Nof discovering a new bacteria.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:50.84,0:02:54.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, after the revolution,\Nwe have a new one every single day."
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.60,0:02:59.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Asma was referring to the rise\Nof religious fundamentalism in the region,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:59.18,0:03:02.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is another obstacle\Nto women in particular.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.36,0:03:08.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Out of all the women I met,\NFayza from Yemen affected me the most.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:08.23,0:03:13.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Fayza was forced to drop out of school\Nat the age of eight when she was married.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.11,0:03:16.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That marriage lasted for a year.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:16.36,0:03:20.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At 14, she became the third wife\Nof a 60-year-old man,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:20.23,0:03:24.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and by the time she was 18,\Nshe was a divorced mother of three.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:24.92,0:03:27.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Despite her poverty,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:27.39,0:03:32.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,despite her social status as a divorcée\Nin an ultra-conservative society,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:32.66,0:03:36.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and despite the opposition of her parents\Nto her going back to school,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:36.54,0:03:41.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Fayza knew that her only way\Nto control her life was through education.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:41.71,0:03:43.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She is now 26.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:43.48,0:03:45.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She received a grant from a local NGO
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.64,0:03:48.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to fund her business studies\Nat the university.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.52,0:03:51.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Her goal is to find a job,\Nrent a place to live in,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:51.98,0:03:53.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and bring her kids back with her.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:55.16,0:03:59.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The Arab states are going through\Ntremendous change,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:59.46,0:04:02.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the struggles women face\Nare overwhelming.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:02.22,0:04:04.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Just like the women I photographed,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:04.46,0:04:08.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had to overcome many barriers\Nto becoming the photographer I am today,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.89,0:04:12.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,many people along the way\Ntelling me what I can and cannot do.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:13.39,0:04:18.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Umm El-Saad, Asma and Fayza,\Nand many women across the Arab world,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.69,0:04:22.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,show that it is possible\Nto overcome barriers to education,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:22.65,0:04:25.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which they know is the best means\Nto a better future.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:26.83,0:04:30.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And here I would like to end\Nwith a quote by Yasmine,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:30.20,0:04:33.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one of the four activist women\NI interviewed in Tunisia.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:33.46,0:04:35.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Yasmine wrote,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:35.03,0:04:37.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Question your convictions.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.41,0:04:41.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Be who you to want to be,\Nnot who they want you to be.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:41.16,0:04:44.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Don't accept their enslavement,\Nfor your mother birthed you free."
Dialogue: 0,0:04:44.73,0:04:46.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:46.96,0:04:51.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)