Shad Begum: How women in Pakistan are creating political change
Shad Begum: Cómo las mujeres de Pakistán están creando un cambio político
Shad Begum is a women's rights activist working for the economic and political empowerment of women and youth in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province in the northwest of Pakistan. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
at a local level in Pakistan,
a nivel local en Pakistán,
in the political process.
encontrar su lugar en el proceso político.
to the place I was raised,
al lugar donde me crie,
until its merger with Pakistan in 1969.
su unificación con Pakistán en 1969.
reserved the right to wear white,
reservado el derecho de vestir de blanco,
pero solo para sí mismo.
and one percent of girls
y un 1 % de las niñas
and he sent me to school.
y me envió al colegio.
when my lessons finished.
iba a su consultorio.
and a well-respected community leader.
de la comunidad muy respetado.
para la asistencia social,
to the social and political gatherings
políticas y sociales
los hombres locales
about our social and economic problems.
sociales y económicos.
to the public gatherings.
con él a las reuniones públicas.
and my place was in the home.
y mi lugar estaba en el hogar.
they were happy with this decision.
mi familia apoyaban esta decisión.
and not be involved.
that my father could reconnect me
a que mi padre me reconectara
and together we could resolve them.
sus problemas y poder resolverlos juntas.
with women and girls
their problems together.
juntas sus problemas.
and views with them.
su propia fortaleza,
with these women and girls,
con estas mujeres y chicas
to create a better life
de crear una vida mejor
and their families,
y para sus familias,
to come and help us.
viniera a ayudarnos.
for women empowerment.
para potenciar a las mujeres.
to work with me.
para que trabajaran conmigo.
had to leave once they got married,
conmigo debían dejarlo cuando se casaban,
wouldn't let them work.
no las dejaban trabajar.
was given away by her family
sido entregada por su familia
her brother had committed.
que había cometido su hermano.
to continue my struggle.
para continuar con mi lucha.
bearing this brutality.
soportando esta brutalidad.
instead of giving up,
en lugar de rendirse,
en el distrito del Bajo Dir
I faced throughout this process, I won.
que enfrenté durante este proceso, gané.
office for six years.
durante seis años.
together with all the members
el concejo con todos los miembros
ladies-only room,
aparte, solo para damas,
was happening in the council.
de coser para mujeres".
was access to clean drinking water.
era el acceso al agua potable.
these women faced.
que enfrentaban estas mujeres.
in the two dried up wells in my locality.
los dos pozos secos de mi localidad.
funcionaran otra vez.
for over 5,000 families.
tuvieran acceso al agua.
que pudieran hacer los hombres
with other elected women members,
with all the members in the council.
todos los miembros del concejo.
and planning and budgeting,
en el planeamiento y en el presupuesto,
means no one is fighting for you.
que nadie lucha por Uds.
from where I'm here with you today.
de donde estoy hoy aquí, con Uds.,
will resonate with you,
les contaré resonará en Uds.,
in miles and in our cultures.
en kilómetros y en nuestras culturas.
of half a population with them.
las esperanzas de media población.
en los distritos cercanos.
of their loved ones from the streets.
los cadáveres de sus seres queridos.
políticos y sociales
for the betterment of their communities
mejorar sus comunidades
behind with my in-laws.
and relocated to Peshawar,
y me trasladé a Peshawar,
kept thinking what to do next.
qué era lo siguiente que debía hacer.
de mi familia y mis amigos
of internally displaced persons,
de personas desplazadas internamente,
otros distritos cercanos.
almost every day,
casi todos los días,
desplazadas internamente
to their place of origin.
a su lugar de origen.
health care units,
para madres e hijos,
over 10,000 women and children
las más de 10 000 mujeres y niños
all these visits,
attention towards women's needs.
las mujeres recibían muy poca atención.
what is the reason behind it.
of the underrepresentation of women
las mujeres estaban poco representadas
in our society as a whole.
y en nuestra sociedad en su conjunto.
women's political leadership
político de las mujeres
political representation,
voice in their future.
pudieran tener su propia voz.
potential women and youth
a unas 300 mujeres y jóvenes
planning and budgeting.
el planeamiento y el presupuesto.
skill development and safe drinking water.
capacitación y agua potable.
their problems together.
resuelven juntas sus problemas.
of the women I have been working with:
con las que he estado trabajando:
in Lower Dir, and she won.
en 2015 en el Bajo Dir, y ganó.
infrastructure schemes.
de infraestructura de la comunidad.
infrastructure schemes ...
de infraestructura de la comunidad...
es un trabajo de hombres.
too, we can do it.
de mujeres, también podemos hacerlo.
leading towards girls schools,
que conducen a las escuelas para niñas,
to these schools,
para las niñas de Dir.
of the young leaders forum we established.
de líderes jóvenes que establecimos.
for the public office,
female journalist of our region.
mujer periodista de nuestra región.
and girls' issues and their rights.
las mujeres y las chicas y sus derechos.
they are the living examples
and representation.
y la representación.
women voters in Dir.
during the general elections,
durante las elecciones locales,
lejos de haber terminado.
showing up and making it absolutely clear
las mujeres están luchando,
in building women's leadership.
la creación de un liderazgo femenino.
women in business
mujeres en negocios
making important decisions.
tomando decisiones importantes.
to make herself heard.
para hacerse oír.
every waking moment of my life
to live her full potential.
a vivir a su capacidad máxima.
other young women together,
that benefit all.
que beneficien a todos.
can change the world.
puede cambiar el mundo.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Shad Begum - Women's rights activistShad Begum is a women's rights activist working for the economic and political empowerment of women and youth in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province in the northwest of Pakistan.
Why you should listen
Deeply influenced by the social inequalities around her and inspired by her father's social work in her early years, Shad Begum has become a nationally and internationally known figure because of her determined struggle to improve the conditions of the marginalized segments, especially women, of her community in the northwest of Pakistan -- a deeply religious and conservative area where Taliban publicly execute men and women for nonconformity to their version of Islam. Begum is the founder and executive director of the nonprofit Association for Behaviour & Knowledge Transformation (ABKT), an organization working toward the economic and political empowerment of communities in underserved areas of Pakistan. Her organization was uprooted during the Taliban takeover in Swat due to massive displacement of people in 2009-2010. Against enormous odds, her resilience kept ABKT alive.
Begum previously worked with the UN Human Settlements Program as a consultant for the Building Gender Ladder Project as well as with UNDP's Women Political Participation Program. To encourage women at the grassroots level, she contested local elections in 2001 as an independent candidate and served as councilor for five years in Dir Lower. Begum is an Ashoka fellow, a Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow at National Endowment for Democracy and an Acumen Fellow. She won the US Department of State's International Woman of Courage Award in 2012.
Shad Begum | Speaker | TED.com