Why Libya's revolution didn't work -- and what might
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0:01 - 0:07I have never, ever forgotten the words of my grandmother
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0:07 - 0:09who died in her exile:
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0:09 - 0:14"Son, resist Gaddafi. Fight him.
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0:14 - 0:17But don't you ever turn
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0:17 - 0:24into a Gaddafi-like revolutionary."
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0:24 - 0:26Almost two years have passed
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0:26 - 0:29since the Libyan Revolution broke out,
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0:29 - 0:33inspired by the waves of mass mobilization
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0:33 - 0:38in both the Tunisian and the Egyptian revolutions.
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0:38 - 0:43I joined forces with many other Libyans inside and outside Libya
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0:43 - 0:45to call for a day of rage
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0:45 - 0:52and to initiate a revolution against the tyrannical regime of Gaddafi.
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0:52 - 0:56And there it was, a great revolution.
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0:56 - 1:00Young Libyan women and men were at the forefront
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1:00 - 1:03calling for the fall of the regime,
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1:03 - 1:08raising slogans of freedom, dignity, social justice.
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1:08 - 1:11They have shown an exemplary bravery
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1:11 - 1:15in confronting the brutal dictatorship of Gaddafi.
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1:15 - 1:19They have shown a great sense of solidarity
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1:19 - 1:22from the far east to the far west to the south.
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1:22 - 1:28Eventually, after a period of six months of brutal war
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1:28 - 1:34and a toll rate of almost 50,000 dead,
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1:34 - 1:39we managed to liberate our country and to topple the tyrant.
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1:39 - 1:45(Applause)
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1:45 - 1:50However, Gaddafi left behind a heavy burden,
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1:50 - 1:57a legacy of tyranny, corruption and seeds of diversions.
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1:57 - 2:01For four decades Gaddafi's tyrannical regime
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2:01 - 2:10destroyed the infrastructure as well as the culture and the moral fabric of Libyan society.
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2:10 - 2:13Aware of the devastation and the challenges,
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2:13 - 2:20I was keen among many other women to rebuild the Libyan civil society,
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2:20 - 2:24calling for an inclusive and just transition
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2:24 - 2:27to democracy and national reconciliation.
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2:27 - 2:31Almost 200 organizations were established in Benghazi
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2:31 - 2:33during and immediately after the fall of Gaddafi --
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2:33 - 2:36almost 300 in Tripoli.
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2:36 - 2:42After a period of 33 years in exile, I went back to Libya,
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2:42 - 2:44and with unique enthusiasm,
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2:44 - 2:47I started organizing workshops
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2:47 - 2:52on capacity building, on human development of leadership skills.
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2:52 - 2:54With an amazing group of women,
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2:54 - 2:58I co-founded the Libyan Women's Platform for Peace,
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2:58 - 3:03a movement of women, leaders, from different walks of life,
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3:03 - 3:08to lobby for the sociopolitical empowerment of women
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3:08 - 3:10and to lobby for our right
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3:10 - 3:15for equal participation in building democracy and peace.
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3:15 - 3:21I met a very difficult environment in the pre-elections,
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3:21 - 3:25an environment which was increasingly polarized,
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3:25 - 3:34an environment which was shaped by the selfish politics of dominance and exclusion.
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3:34 - 3:38I led an initiative by the Libyan Women's Platform for Peace
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3:38 - 3:42to lobby for a more inclusive electoral law,
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3:42 - 3:47a law that would give every citizen, no matter what your background,
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3:47 - 3:50the right to vote and run,
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3:50 - 3:54and most importantly to stipulate on political parties
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3:54 - 3:59the alternation of male and female candidates
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3:59 - 4:02vertically and horizontally in their lists,
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4:02 - 4:05creating the zipper list.
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4:05 - 4:11Eventually, our initiative was adopted and successful.
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4:11 - 4:17Women won 17.5 percent of the National Congress
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4:17 - 4:21in the first elections ever in 52 years.
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4:21 - 4:28(Applause)
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4:28 - 4:34However, bit by bit, the euphoria of the elections,
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4:34 - 4:38and of the revolution as a whole,
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4:38 - 4:40was fading out --
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4:40 - 4:44for every day we were waking up to the news of violence.
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4:44 - 4:46One day we wake up to the news
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4:46 - 4:50of the desecration of ancient mosques and Sufi tombs.
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4:50 - 4:52On another day we wake up to the news
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4:52 - 4:56of the murder of the American ambassador and the attack on the consulate.
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4:56 - 4:58On another day we wake up to the news
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4:58 - 5:02of the assassination of army officers.
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5:02 - 5:07And every day, every day we wake up with the rule of the militias
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5:07 - 5:12and their continuous violations of human rights of prisoners
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5:12 - 5:16and their disrespect of the rule of law.
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5:16 - 5:20Our society, shaped by a revolutionary mindset,
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5:20 - 5:22became more polarized
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5:22 - 5:25and has driven away from the ideals and the principles --
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5:25 - 5:28freedom, dignity, social justice --
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5:28 - 5:30that we first held.
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5:30 - 5:34Intolerance, exclusion and revenge
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5:34 - 5:39became the icons of the [aftermath] of the revolution.
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5:39 - 5:44I am here today not at all to inspire you
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5:44 - 5:48with our success story of the zipper list and the elections.
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5:48 - 5:50I'm rather here today to confess
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5:50 - 5:57that we as a nation took the wrong choice, made the wrong decision.
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5:57 - 6:00We did not prioritize right.
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6:00 - 6:07For elections did not bring peace and stability and security in Libya.
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6:07 - 6:13Did the zipper list and the alternation between female and male candidates
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6:13 - 6:16bring peace and national reconciliation?
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6:16 - 6:18No, it didn't.
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6:18 - 6:20What is it, then?
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6:20 - 6:26Why does our society continue to be polarized and dominated
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6:26 - 6:34with selfish politics of dominance and exclusion, by both men and women?
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6:34 - 6:38Maybe what was missing was not the women only,
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6:38 - 6:45but the feminine values of compassion, mercy and inclusion.
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6:45 - 6:50Our society needs national dialogue and consensus-building
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6:50 - 6:51more than it needed the elections,
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6:51 - 6:55which only reinforced polarization and division.
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6:55 - 7:02Our society needs the qualitative representation of the feminine
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7:02 - 7:08more than it needs the numerical, quantitative representation of the feminine.
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7:08 - 7:14We need to stop acting as agents of rage and calling for days of rage.
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7:14 - 7:20We need to start acting as agents of compassion and mercy.
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7:20 - 7:24We need to develop a feminine discourse
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7:24 - 7:28that not only honors but also implements
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7:28 - 7:36mercy instead of revenge, collaboration instead of competition,
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7:36 - 7:39inclusion instead of exclusion.
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7:39 - 7:42These are the ideals that a war-torn Libya
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7:42 - 7:46needs desperately in order to achieve peace.
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7:46 - 7:48For peace has an alchemy,
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7:48 - 7:55and this alchemy is about the intertwining, the alternation
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7:55 - 7:59between the feminine and masculine perspectives.
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7:59 - 8:01That's the real zipper.
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8:01 - 8:04And we need to establish that existentially
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8:04 - 8:06before we do so sociopolitically.
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8:06 - 8:09According to a Quranic verse
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8:09 - 8:16"Salam" -- peace -- "is the word of the all-merciful God, raheem."
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8:16 - 8:21In turn, the word "raheem," which is known in all Abrahamic traditions,
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8:21 - 8:26has the same root in Arabic as the word "rahem" -- womb --
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8:26 - 8:32symbolizing the maternal feminine encompassing all humanity
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8:32 - 8:34from which the male and the female,
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8:34 - 8:40from which all tribes, all peoples, have emanated from.
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8:40 - 8:49And so just as the womb entirely envelopes the embryo, which grows within it,
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8:49 - 8:56the divine matrix of compassion nourishes the entire existence.
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8:56 - 9:02Thus we are told that "My mercy encompasses all things."
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9:02 - 9:08Thus we are told that "My mercy takes precedence over my anger."
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9:08 - 9:12May we all be granted a grace of mercy.
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9:12 - 9:16(Applause)
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9:16 - 9:18Thank you.
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9:18 - 9:24(Applause)
- Title:
- Why Libya's revolution didn't work -- and what might
- Speaker:
- Zahra' Langhi
- Description:
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In Libya, Zahra' Langhi was part of the "days of rage" movement that helped topple the dictator Qaddafi. But -- then what? In their first elections, Libyans tried an innovative slate of candidates, the "zipper ballot," that ensured equal representation from men and women of both sides. Yet the same gridlocked politics of dominance and exclusion won out. What Libya needs now, Langhi suggests, is collaboration, not competition; compassion, not rage.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 09:48
Thu-Huong Ha edited English subtitles for Why Libya's revolution didn't work -- and what might | ||
Thu-Huong Ha approved English subtitles for Why Libya's revolution didn't work -- and what might | ||
Thu-Huong Ha edited English subtitles for Why Libya's revolution didn't work -- and what might | ||
Morton Bast accepted English subtitles for Why Libya's revolution didn't work -- and what might | ||
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for Why Libya's revolution didn't work -- and what might | ||
Timothy Covell added a translation |