Kakenya Ntaiya: Empower a girl, transform a community
كاكينيا نتايا: مكِّن فتاةً وغيِّر مجتمعًا
Kakenya Ntaiya refused to accept the continued oppression of women in her Maasai village -- so she built a school that's shifting gender expectations in her community. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
I learned something much bigger.
تعلّمت شيئًا أكبر بكثير.
you transform a community.
helping my mother cook, clean, farm
في الطهي والتنظيف والزراعة
a very young age to be married.
that are used to perform FGM on girls.
التي تُستخدم لإجراء تشويه أعضاء الإناث.
the end of my childhood
نهاية لطفولتي
in order to stay in school --
my community's support,
to repay that support.
when I went back to my village,
to men older than their fathers
when they're teenagers.
any more girls go through that.
to give back to my community.
كي أرُدّ الجميل إلى مجتمعي.
and early marriage.
just how big this dream was,
could be the foundation --
يمكن أن تكون الأساس...
I enrolled these 30 girls.
سجلتُ تلك الفتيات الثلاثين.
وبعضهن كنّ يتيمات،
that are very traditional,
seemed excited to be there,
لوجودهن هناك،
في البقاء يقظات.
but they had no energy.
لكن لم تكن لديهن أية طاقة.
that a classroom was not enough.
علمت أن فصلًا واحدًا لم يكن كافيًا.
and hungry from chores
بسبب الأعمال المنزلية
والعودة إلى المنزل،
raped and even kidnapped
واغتصابهن، وخطفهن حتى
could learn math or history,
الرياضيات أو التاريخ،
and be well-nourished.
وأن تحصل على تغذيةٍ جيدة.
family in the community.
gone through FGM and already married,
when she heard about it.
and we enrolled her in my school.
وسجلناها في مدرستي.
was only just the start.
كان مجرّد البداية فقط.
who already believed in her.
ممن كانوا مؤمنين بها.
who dreams of becoming a pilot someday,
تحلم بأن تُصبح طيّارة في يومٍ ما،
will follow in her footsteps.
the global economy trillions of dollars
الاقتصاد العالمي تريليونات الدولارات
is the doctor, the teacher,
هي الطبيبة والمُعلمة
will need in the future ...
التي سيحتاجها رجالنا في المستقبل...
lift out of poverty.
لانتشالنا من الفقر.
to go to university,
للذهاب إلى الجامعة،
all by myself.
who helped me more than a decade ago.
الذين ساعدوني منذ أكثر من عقد مضى.
if I was going to be successful.
إن كنت سأنجح.
with religious leaders, parents
مع الزعماء الدينيين والآباء
and in the community
the support of the chief
the no-FGM policy in my school.
منع الختان في مدرستي.
did not believe in the education of girls.
بتعليم الفتيات.
and brought her to enroll in my school,
وأحضرتها للتسجيل في المدرسة،
to get Momposhi to believe in Linet, too.
لأجعل موموشي يؤمن بلينيت أيضًا.
of revealing Linet's grade
his daughter being promising as a student.
لها مستقبل واعد كطالبة.
a strong relationship with his daughter --
كان يبني علاقة قوية مع ابنته...
as someone with full potential.
كشخصٍ ذو إمكانات كاملة.
in one of the top national high schools
في واحدة من أبرز المدارس الثانوية الوطنية
and how smart his daughter was.
to the new school himself.
had ever been to Nairobi.
إلى نيروبي.
at university in Australia --
advocate in the community.
in one of our training programs.
in the education of their own children.
are the proud keepers
and embrace our rich Maasai culture.
ثقافة شعب الماساي الثرية.
do story time with the girls,
our community remains connected.
mindset as their fathers before them?
called I'm Worth Defending:
"أنا أستحق الدفاع":
led by Alfred and George.
بقيادة ألفرد وجورج.
a training program for boys and girls
للفتيات والأولاد
about gender equality,
عن المساواة بين الجنسين
over 10,000 boys and girls and counting.
صبيًا وفتاة ولا يزال العدُّ مستمرًا.
to make this kind of a dream come true.
لتجعل مثل هذا الحلم يتحقق.
have not gone through FGM
إلى تشويه الأعضاء التناسلية
of women have been cut.
قد تعرضن للختان.
their cousins and their friends.
by the same, same community --
communities mean to Kenya?
from organizations
have the same opportunities,
like Enoosaen are thriving
that each daughter is a treasure,
أن كل ابنة هي كنز،
see that value in herself.
تلك القيمة في نفسها.
to what that future will cost.
to my school will be a PhD,
حاصلة على درجة الدكتوراه،
will achieve her full potential
كامل احتمالاتها الممكنة
for her children
by what I learned from them
out of Enoosaen and back again.
وإليها مرة أخرى.
dreaming and keep going
achieve their dreams
give every single woman
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Kakenya Ntaiya - Educator and activistKakenya Ntaiya refused to accept the continued oppression of women in her Maasai village -- so she built a school that's shifting gender expectations in her community.
Why you should listen
Kakenya Ntaiya was set to follow the traditional path of girls born in the small village of Enoosaen, Kenya. Engaged at the age of 5, she was to participate in a female circumcision ceremony as a young teenager and then be married. But she had a different plan. First, she negotiated with her father and willingly agree to be circumcised -- only if he would allow her to finish high school. Later, when she was accepted to Randolph-Macon Women's College in Viriginia, she negotiated with her village elders to do what no girl had ever done before: leave her village to go to college in the United States.
She didn’t leave forever, though. Deeply proud of her heritage and of her community, Ntaiya returned to the village after school and worked with her elders to establish a school for girls there. The Kakenya Center for Excellence was established in 2009 with 32 students. A primary grade boarding school just for girls, the curriculum focuses on academics, leadership and female empowerment, along with cultural preservation and life skills. While families that can afford tuition do, Ntaiya also works with donors to provide scholarships for others.
In addition to her work with the school, Ntaiya is also a National Geographic emerging explorer.
Kakenya Ntaiya | Speaker | TED.com