good morning it was really and
frightening and exciting for me to stand
here something related to TED talk
something like an international platform
and in the same time in front of for me
a foreign audience that I don’t I know
nothing about his mentality the way he
interacts and how to talk to them how to
socially communicate with them also I’ve
been like a year with my two little kids
so starting to think about my journey in
life I thought that how could I get up
to the stage and start saying like what
giggling it’s like been a year giggling
with the kids how can I talk now but for
now I’m going to talk about my life
story in 18 minutes or less now it’s
gonna be like I’m gonna choose with the
slides with you
I come from Lebanon this is my family
two sons and a husband I come from
Lebanon and I live in the if you want to
say the most poor region in Lebanon that
is deprived from the governmental
services for this reason I had this urge
to do something in my society to help
others to help myself and help others
women and youth especially that we have
no other organizations or companies in
our or even job opportunities so I
wanted to be someone in the future and I
thought that driving or drawing my
history my future would be starting from
when I am a little girl or an adult sent
for this reason once I was sitting in a
balcony with my friend we were 15
playing and her uncle from France was
visiting her in Lebanon I asked him how
could I draw my future what is the best
way to learn from your experience he
told me that each one of us in the life
has his own jar either you fill it with
your water and your experience to have a
full jar or you get from others and at
the end you you raise up with an empty
jar this has taught me a lot
and for up for this I have started to
empower myself I don’t I didn’t want to
be this weak person this weak women that
is in a society that has a lot of
discrimination against women as
emotional as they cannot occupy good
jobs they cannot do well in their
societies I wanted to do something for
my future I wanted to tell them that the
women can do something so I joined a lot
of organizations I was a volunteer in
different places I went to the capital
Beirut
I learned and got what I learned to the
tube with car which is my deprived
region I wanted to spread everything one
of the places that I was really safe to
work in was an organization called the
Lebanese Organization for studies and
training this was my first place to work
in this place I did not feel at all
humiliated as a woman I really felt
equal with the man I could do whatever I
want I could achieve myself I could give
I could think I’m not only a sex tool
I’m a human being that I’m equal to a
man that I can give and starting from
this place I was spreading all the
knowledge that I want to be and was III
was educated there too I had 13
certificates of different majors because
I wanted to be a super women that works
and that shows the ID the others that
the women can be an idol in this society
my key role in that society was to break
the rules to know them well and break
them well because the rules in my
society was spread hatred or you are not
allowed to love you are allowed to hate
so if you hate somebody you can speak it
up but if you love somebody you have to
hide and speak about love which is
against my morals because I wanted to
love hi and love hi smile hi and achieve
hi also I had something like what is the
value of a human being in our society
what does it mean to belong to a group
because in Lebanon is a sectarian regime
which that is divided not tribes like
all the Arab world but it’s a newly
sectarian regime that is also divided
based on sex
so I wanted to be the the woman that
loves and goes and shows that her
appearance is the same as her internal
issues so I started observing analyzing
and criticizing everything found in my
society and trying to improve with this
place a women in that conservative
society named himself open I have to be
named with a nickname that they like to
tell it to me
crazy I was called to be crazy because I
did not follow the rules because I did
not follow the norms and some of them
were Envy they’re envying me because I’m
doing this and they can’t do it they
would love to but they don’t dare to I
dare to say no for the wrong things and
not to follow the bad norms to change
the bad norms into good norms to show
that a woman can be a super women she
can do whatever she wants because she
believes in herself and to give her high
self esteem but in the same time
sometimes because of the big criticism
around you I could like just I feel like
my soul is bending in front of harsh
storms it’s going to be tore sometimes
because I feel that nobody is supporting
the only one is supporting was my small
family my mother my mother that would I
say hi to her it’s been three years
three years I did not see her she could
have to stand here next to me because
[Applause]
if she was given just the chance she
would have been free and living the way
that she likes but because she was
living in a very conservative society
she has followed few steps that she
planted in me this freedom and I’m
achieving whatever she thought of now
and I believe that it’s okay if we fall
down as Coronel said it’s okay to fall
down but you have to go up again like
the damn fire and for this fish photo if
you’re going to change for my
understanding if you’re going to change
the atmosphere you’re living in or the
norms you are going to get in danger
like you fish going out of water you’re
going to get in danger you are given to
be like threatened sometimes and then
you will choose the best atmosphere that
you like to be in but it needs sacrifice
this is me before and after this is me
the one that was raised in a society
conservative that was wearing the same
thing that the society tells her to do
so and this is me the new me that I
wanted to be this was a very harsh
change in my life it was not so easy to
change from this photo to that photo
it’s not only about images it’s about
something internal for me wearing hijab
is a message a message of Islam a
respectful message a high beautiful
message that I should take care of my
clothers of my behavior even the job the
job I’m going to do has some kind of
standards and for me I could not follow
these so I would never hurt that
beautiful image for me and the message
of hijab so I chose to take it off in
the same day that I took it off I did
the first civil marriage in Lebanon this
was the cornerstone of changing Lebanon
from a sectarian regime into a secular
regime from fanaticism and terrorism if
you want to say these especially going
to these days
into a secular Lebanon and to a better
Lebanon where non-sectarian regime will
be found again that the Lebanese people
will be equal me and my husband
has had horrible change and challenge to
do the civil marriage and we and we did
it in November 2012 and we announced it
on media on genuine January 2013
definitely we woke up for a lot of media
coverage about 700 media coverage all
over the world starting with a CNN going
to Australia Portugal Spain Lebanon the
Gulf area everywhere was talking about
our story and naming it as a silent
revolution in Lebanon it’s a revolution
that will change the face of Lebanon it
went through the internet and the media
for about the whole year 2013 but the
government did not take a decision yet
to agree or not agree there was a very
big debate about religious people and
political people political people were
afraid of losing their chairs and the
deputy places because of the sectarian
regime that we are threatening and the
religious people were afraid to lose the
authority and the money out of this new
marriage then they said no all the
religious people wear now for the first
time in Lebanon ever together to say no
to our new step civilized step or the
secular step you could never imagine the
feeling that we were walking in the
streets and feeling afraid not to be
hurt we were public figures in Lebanon
at the same time I was a woman who took
off her hijab and who did the civil
marriage at the same time my family
father’s family expelled me from the
family they did not allow me to go away
more to the village because I’m not
expected based on some religious beliefs
definitely some of them in the streets
you could see like religious men in the
in the mosques saying these we are
non-believers this is not accepted in
the society and in the same time a lot
of professors and the university are
teaching their students not to get close
to this women she is a danger because
usually women are more dangerous than
men and men in our Arab world can do
whatever they want but women know so for
me as a teacher also I was a teacher and
I chose education to be
the simplest and easiest way to give my
information to the students also they
deprived me of teaching they fired me
from schools saying that we want our our
girls to be as our as their grandmas we
don’t want them to help you a few free
ideas and the most terrifying thing that
happened to us was the fatwa of the
mufti the highest rank of religious
people in Lebanon he said that we are
non-believers we have left Islam and we
should be killed fatwa means based on
the word economic empowerment with a
woman economic import all the the 53% of
the Sydney people in Lebanon supported
this fatwa which means we are exposed to
53 percent of the people to be killed by
them or hurt or whatever and the fatwa
as described here is that if you left
Islam you have to be killed not buried
in there Islam graveyards – all this
fear and I was pregnant at that time and
they threatened my little baby to be
turned into blood because he is a sinful
baby
imagine this horror things debating
political issues and at the big point
which was 25th of April we won and we
when the Minister of Interior registered
our marriage it was a great success to
us but in the same time it was fear we
did this step great step but in the same
time after a few years the Minister of
Interior again the other one changed he
said that he will never sign any civil
marriages anymore so now we are in the
middle of the way no signing civil
marriages anymore we are threatened to
death so we had no choice other than to
come to Sweden and while in Sweden we
are doing some kind of activities I am
trying to empower the newer and newcomer
women’s I’m trying to help as much as I
can my husband is the same attorney
trying to integrate in the society and
unfortunately we got after 2 years and 9
months
I know as I’ll answer from the migration
and again we are looking for a good hope
I’m sorry for crying 2 months but it’s
hurt and this is what I’m doing actually
I have been studying for 9 months also
with the group called impact
Scandinavian I learned how to do a
company in Sweden and I wish that you
wish me hope for a better future in
Sweden 2p to put my kids in a human
place in a place that is away from any
kind of racism and as Imam Ali said I
believe in this you think that you are
you see I’m sorry I’m gonna lose it you
think you are a small particle in this
world and there in you lies a lies the
world this means that if you empower
yourself you will never stop and you
will never know but you know any kind of
challenge will stop you somewhere you
will be the best and you will build your
future as the way you like and you will
build your society the best way it can
be thank you [Applause]
frightening and exciting for me to stand
here something related to TED talk
something like an international platform
and in the same time in front of for me
a foreign audience that I don’t I know
nothing about his mentality the way he
interacts and how to talk to them how to
socially communicate with them also I’ve
been like a year with my two little kids
so starting to think about my journey in
life I thought that how could I get up
to the stage and start saying like what
giggling it’s like been a year giggling
with the kids how can I talk now but for
now I’m going to talk about my life
story in 18 minutes or less now it’s
gonna be like I’m gonna choose with the
slides with you
I come from Lebanon this is my family
two sons and a husband I come from
Lebanon and I live in the if you want to
say the most poor region in Lebanon that
is deprived from the governmental
services for this reason I had this urge
to do something in my society to help
others to help myself and help others
women and youth especially that we have
no other organizations or companies in
our or even job opportunities so I
wanted to be someone in the future and I
thought that driving or drawing my
history my future would be starting from
when I am a little girl or an adult sent
for this reason once I was sitting in a
balcony with my friend we were 15
playing and her uncle from France was
visiting her in Lebanon I asked him how
could I draw my future what is the best
way to learn from your experience he
told me that each one of us in the life
has his own jar either you fill it with
your water and your experience to have a
full jar or you get from others and at
the end you you raise up with an empty
jar this has taught me a lot
and for up for this I have started to
empower myself I don’t I didn’t want to
be this weak person this weak women that
is in a society that has a lot of
discrimination against women as
emotional as they cannot occupy good
jobs they cannot do well in their
societies I wanted to do something for
my future I wanted to tell them that the
women can do something so I joined a lot
of organizations I was a volunteer in
different places I went to the capital
Beirut
I learned and got what I learned to the
tube with car which is my deprived
region I wanted to spread everything one
of the places that I was really safe to
work in was an organization called the
Lebanese Organization for studies and
training this was my first place to work
in this place I did not feel at all
humiliated as a woman I really felt
equal with the man I could do whatever I
want I could achieve myself I could give
I could think I’m not only a sex tool
I’m a human being that I’m equal to a
man that I can give and starting from
this place I was spreading all the
knowledge that I want to be and was III
was educated there too I had 13
certificates of different majors because
I wanted to be a super women that works
and that shows the ID the others that
the women can be an idol in this society
my key role in that society was to break
the rules to know them well and break
them well because the rules in my
society was spread hatred or you are not
allowed to love you are allowed to hate
so if you hate somebody you can speak it
up but if you love somebody you have to
hide and speak about love which is
against my morals because I wanted to
love hi and love hi smile hi and achieve
hi also I had something like what is the
value of a human being in our society
what does it mean to belong to a group
because in Lebanon is a sectarian regime
which that is divided not tribes like
all the Arab world but it’s a newly
sectarian regime that is also divided
based on sex
so I wanted to be the the woman that
loves and goes and shows that her
appearance is the same as her internal
issues so I started observing analyzing
and criticizing everything found in my
society and trying to improve with this
place a women in that conservative
society named himself open I have to be
named with a nickname that they like to
tell it to me
crazy I was called to be crazy because I
did not follow the rules because I did
not follow the norms and some of them
were Envy they’re envying me because I’m
doing this and they can’t do it they
would love to but they don’t dare to I
dare to say no for the wrong things and
not to follow the bad norms to change
the bad norms into good norms to show
that a woman can be a super women she
can do whatever she wants because she
believes in herself and to give her high
self esteem but in the same time
sometimes because of the big criticism
around you I could like just I feel like
my soul is bending in front of harsh
storms it’s going to be tore sometimes
because I feel that nobody is supporting
the only one is supporting was my small
family my mother my mother that would I
say hi to her it’s been three years
three years I did not see her she could
have to stand here next to me because
[Applause]
if she was given just the chance she
would have been free and living the way
that she likes but because she was
living in a very conservative society
she has followed few steps that she
planted in me this freedom and I’m
achieving whatever she thought of now
and I believe that it’s okay if we fall
down as Coronel said it’s okay to fall
down but you have to go up again like
the damn fire and for this fish photo if
you’re going to change for my
understanding if you’re going to change
the atmosphere you’re living in or the
norms you are going to get in danger
like you fish going out of water you’re
going to get in danger you are given to
be like threatened sometimes and then
you will choose the best atmosphere that
you like to be in but it needs sacrifice
this is me before and after this is me
the one that was raised in a society
conservative that was wearing the same
thing that the society tells her to do
so and this is me the new me that I
wanted to be this was a very harsh
change in my life it was not so easy to
change from this photo to that photo
it’s not only about images it’s about
something internal for me wearing hijab
is a message a message of Islam a
respectful message a high beautiful
message that I should take care of my
clothers of my behavior even the job the
job I’m going to do has some kind of
standards and for me I could not follow
these so I would never hurt that
beautiful image for me and the message
of hijab so I chose to take it off in
the same day that I took it off I did
the first civil marriage in Lebanon this
was the cornerstone of changing Lebanon
from a sectarian regime into a secular
regime from fanaticism and terrorism if
you want to say these especially going
to these days
into a secular Lebanon and to a better
Lebanon where non-sectarian regime will
be found again that the Lebanese people
will be equal me and my husband
has had horrible change and challenge to
do the civil marriage and we and we did
it in November 2012 and we announced it
on media on genuine January 2013
definitely we woke up for a lot of media
coverage about 700 media coverage all
over the world starting with a CNN going
to Australia Portugal Spain Lebanon the
Gulf area everywhere was talking about
our story and naming it as a silent
revolution in Lebanon it’s a revolution
that will change the face of Lebanon it
went through the internet and the media
for about the whole year 2013 but the
government did not take a decision yet
to agree or not agree there was a very
big debate about religious people and
political people political people were
afraid of losing their chairs and the
deputy places because of the sectarian
regime that we are threatening and the
religious people were afraid to lose the
authority and the money out of this new
marriage then they said no all the
religious people wear now for the first
time in Lebanon ever together to say no
to our new step civilized step or the
secular step you could never imagine the
feeling that we were walking in the
streets and feeling afraid not to be
hurt we were public figures in Lebanon
at the same time I was a woman who took
off her hijab and who did the civil
marriage at the same time my family
father’s family expelled me from the
family they did not allow me to go away
more to the village because I’m not
expected based on some religious beliefs
definitely some of them in the streets
you could see like religious men in the
in the mosques saying these we are
non-believers this is not accepted in
the society and in the same time a lot
of professors and the university are
teaching their students not to get close
to this women she is a danger because
usually women are more dangerous than
men and men in our Arab world can do
whatever they want but women know so for
me as a teacher also I was a teacher and
I chose education to be
the simplest and easiest way to give my
information to the students also they
deprived me of teaching they fired me
from schools saying that we want our our
girls to be as our as their grandmas we
don’t want them to help you a few free
ideas and the most terrifying thing that
happened to us was the fatwa of the
mufti the highest rank of religious
people in Lebanon he said that we are
non-believers we have left Islam and we
should be killed fatwa means based on
the word economic empowerment with a
woman economic import all the the 53% of
the Sydney people in Lebanon supported
this fatwa which means we are exposed to
53 percent of the people to be killed by
them or hurt or whatever and the fatwa
as described here is that if you left
Islam you have to be killed not buried
in there Islam graveyards – all this
fear and I was pregnant at that time and
they threatened my little baby to be
turned into blood because he is a sinful
baby
imagine this horror things debating
political issues and at the big point
which was 25th of April we won and we
when the Minister of Interior registered
our marriage it was a great success to
us but in the same time it was fear we
did this step great step but in the same
time after a few years the Minister of
Interior again the other one changed he
said that he will never sign any civil
marriages anymore so now we are in the
middle of the way no signing civil
marriages anymore we are threatened to
death so we had no choice other than to
come to Sweden and while in Sweden we
are doing some kind of activities I am
trying to empower the newer and newcomer
women’s I’m trying to help as much as I
can my husband is the same attorney
trying to integrate in the society and
unfortunately we got after 2 years and 9
months
I know as I’ll answer from the migration
and again we are looking for a good hope
I’m sorry for crying 2 months but it’s
hurt and this is what I’m doing actually
I have been studying for 9 months also
with the group called impact
Scandinavian I learned how to do a
company in Sweden and I wish that you
wish me hope for a better future in
Sweden 2p to put my kids in a human
place in a place that is away from any
kind of racism and as Imam Ali said I
believe in this you think that you are
you see I’m sorry I’m gonna lose it you
think you are a small particle in this
world and there in you lies a lies the
world this means that if you empower
yourself you will never stop and you
will never know but you know any kind of
challenge will stop you somewhere you
will be the best and you will build your
future as the way you like and you will
build your society the best way it can
be thank you [Applause]
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