ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Shad Begum - Women's rights activist
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.

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.

More profile about the speaker
Shad Begum | Speaker | TED.com
TEDWomen 2018

Shad Begum: How women in Pakistan are creating political change

Shad Begum: Como as mulheres no Paquistão estão criando mudanças políticas

Filmed:
1,527,555 views

A ativista Shad Begum passou sua vida inteira empoderando mulheres para viverem todo o potencial delas. Em uma palestra pessoal, ela compartilha sua luta determinada para melhorar a vida das mulheres na sua comunidade extremamente religiosa e conservativa no noroeste do Paquistão, e convida as mulheres ao redor do mundo para encontrarem sua voz política. "Nós devemos nos defender nossos direitos, e não esperar que alguém venha nos ajudar", diz Begum.
- Women's rights activist
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.

00:13
I'm here to tell you
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Eu estou aqui para contar a vocês
00:15
how change is happening
at a local level in Pakistan,
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como a mudança está acontecendo
em nível local no Paquistão,
00:19
because women are finding their place
in the political process.
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porque as mulheres estão encontrando
seu lugar no processo político.
00:24
I want to take you all on a journey
to the place I was raised,
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Eu quero levá-los em uma jornada
para o lugar onde eu cresci,
00:29
northwest Pakistan, called Dir.
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cidade ao noroeste do Paquistão,
chamada Dir.
00:32
Dir was founded in the 17th century.
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Dir foi fundada no século 17.
00:36
It was a princely state
until its merger with Pakistan in 1969.
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Foi um estado principesco
até se fundir com o Paquistão em 1969.
00:41
Our prince, Nawab Shah Jahan,
reserved the right to wear white,
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Nosso príncipe, Nawab Shah Jahan,
reservou o direito de usar branco,
00:47
the color of honor, but only for himself.
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a cor da honra, mas apenas para ele mesmo.
00:51
He didn't believe in educating his people.
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Ele não acreditava em educar
sua população.
00:55
And at the time of my birth in 1979,
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E na época do meu nascimento em 1979,
00:58
only five percent of boys
and one percent of girls
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apenas 5% dos meninos e 1% das meninas
01:02
received any schooling at all.
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recebiam alguma educação.
01:06
I was one among that one percent.
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Eu estava entre aquele 1%.
01:12
Growing up, I was very close to my father.
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Enquanto crescia, eu era muito
próxima do meu pai.
01:17
He is a pharmacy doctor,
and he sent me to school.
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Ele é doutor em farmácia,
e me mandou para a escola.
01:22
Every day, I would go to his clinic
when my lessons finished.
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Todos os dias, eu ia para a clínica dele
quando acabava minhas tarefas.
01:27
He's a wonderful man
and a well-respected community leader.
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Ele é um homem maravilhoso
e um líder respeitado na comunidade.
01:32
He was leading a welfare organization,
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Ele estava liderando uma organização
de bem-estar social,
01:36
and I would go with him
to the social and political gatherings
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e eu ia com ele às reuniões
políticas e sociais
01:39
to listen and talk to the local men
about our social and economic problems.
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para ouvir e falar com os homens locais
sobre problemas sociais e econômicos.
01:44
However, when I was 16,
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No entanto, quando eu tinha 16 anos,
01:48
my father asked me to stop coming with him
to the public gatherings.
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meu pai pediu para que eu parasse
de ir com ele às reuniões públicas.
01:54
Now, I was a young woman,
and my place was in the home.
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Eu era uma jovem e meu lugar era em casa.
01:58
I was very upset.
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Eu fiquei muito chateada.
02:01
But most of my family members,
they were happy with this decision.
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Mas a maioria dos meus familiares
estavam felizes com a decisão.
02:05
It was very difficult for me
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Foi muito difícil para mim.
02:07
to sit back in the home
and not be involved.
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ficar sentada em casa e não me envolver.
02:13
It took two years
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Passaram-se dois anos
02:16
that finally my family agreed
that my father could reconnect me
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até que minha família concordou
que meu pai poderia me reconectar
02:20
with women and girls,
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com mulheres e meninas,
02:21
so they could share their problems
and together we could resolve them.
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para que elas pudessem compartilhar
seus problemas e resolvê-los juntas.
02:27
So, with his blessings,
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Então, com a bênção dele,
02:29
I started to reconnect
with women and girls
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comecei a me reconectar
com mulheres e meninas
02:33
so we could resolve
their problems together.
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para que pudéssemos resolver
seus problemas juntas.
02:37
When women show up,
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Quando mulheres entram em cena,
02:39
they bring their realities
and views with them.
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elas trazem suas realidades
e visões com elas.
02:45
And yet, I have found all too often,
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E ainda assim, eu encontro frequentemente,
02:49
women underestimate their own strength,
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mulheres que subestimam a sua força,
02:51
their potential and their self-respect.
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seu potencial e seu respeito próprio.
02:56
However, while connecting
with these women and girls,
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No entanto, enquanto eu me conectava
com essas mulheres e meninas,
03:00
it became very clear to me
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começou a ficar muito claro
03:02
that if there was to be any hope
to create a better life
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que se havia alguma esperança
de criar uma vida melhor
03:07
for these women and girls
and their families,
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para essas mulheres e meninas
e a família delas,
03:10
we must stand up for our own rights --
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nós devíamos defender nossos direitos
03:13
and not wait for someone else
to come and help us.
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e não esperar alguém vir e nos ajudar.
03:18
So I took a huge leap of faith
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Então eu assumi um grande risco
03:22
and founded my own organization in '94
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e fundei a minha própria
organização em 1994
03:26
to create our very own platform
for women empowerment.
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para criar nossa própria plataforma
de empoderamento feminino.
03:31
I engaged many women and girls
to work with me.
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Influenciei muitas mulheres
e meninas a trabalharem comigo.
03:35
It was hard.
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Foi difícil.
03:37
Many of the women working with me
had to leave once they got married,
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Muitas mulheres que trabalhavam comigo
tiveram que sair quando casaram,
03:41
because their husbands
wouldn't let them work.
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porque seus maridos
não as deixavam trabalhar.
03:45
One colleague of mine
was given away by her family
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Uma colega minha foi dada pela sua família
03:49
to make amends for a crime
her brother had committed.
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para fazer as pazes por um crime
que o irmão dela havia cometido.
03:55
I couldn't help her.
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Eu não pude ajudá-la.
03:57
And I felt so helpless at that time.
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E eu me senti muito impotente
naquela época.
04:02
But it made me more determined
to continue my struggle.
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Mas isso me tornou mais determinada
a seguir com minha luta.
04:08
I saw many practices like these,
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Eu vi muitas práticas como essa,
04:11
where these women suffered silently,
bearing this brutality.
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nas quais mulheres sofrem silenciosamente,
aguentando essa brutalidade.
04:16
But when I see a woman
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Mas quando eu vejo uma mulher
04:18
struggling to change her situation
instead of giving up,
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lutando para mudar a situação
em vez de desistir
04:23
it motivates me.
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isso me motiva.
04:26
So I ran for a public office
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Então, concorri para um cargo público
04:30
as an independent candidate in Lower Dir
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como candidata independente
em um distrito de Dir
04:33
in the local elections in 2001.
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nas eleições locais de 2001.
04:37
Despite all the challenges and hurdles
I faced throughout this process, I won.
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Apesar de todos os desafios e obstáculos
que enfrentei, eu ganhei.
04:43
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
04:49
And I served in the public
office for six years.
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E servi no cargo público por seis anos.
04:54
But unfortunately,
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Mas infelizmente,
04:56
we women, elected women,
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nós, mulheres eleitas,
04:58
we were not allowed to sit in the council
together with all the members
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não tínhamos permissão para nos sentarmos
na câmara municipal com os outros membros
05:04
and to take part in the proceedings.
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e tomar parte nos procedimentos.
05:08
We had to sit in a separate,
ladies-only room,
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Tínhamos que nos sentar separadas,
uma sala apenas com mulheres,
05:11
not even aware what
was happening in the council.
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nem ficávamos cientes
do que acontecia na câmara.
05:16
Men told me
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Homens me disseram:
05:19
that, "You women, elected women members,
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"Vocês mulheres, membras eleitas,
05:23
should buy sewing machines for women."
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devem comprar máquinas
de costura para mulheres",
05:27
When I knew what they needed the most
was access to clean drinking water.
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quando eu sabia que o que elas mais
precisavam era acesso à água potável.
05:33
So I did everything I could do
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Então, fiz tudo que pude
05:36
to prioritize the real challenges
these women faced.
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para priorizar os verdadeiros desafios
que essas mulheres enfrentavam.
05:41
I set up five hand pumps
in the two dried up wells in my locality.
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Eu instalei cinco bombas manuais
nas duas fontes secas na minha localidade.
05:48
Well, we got them working again.
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Bem, nós as colocamos
para funcionar de novo.
05:53
Before long, we made water accessible
for over 5,000 families.
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Em pouco tempo, providenciamos
água para mais de 5 mil famílias.
05:59
We proved that anything the men could do,
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Nós provamos que qualquer coisa
que os homens podem fazer,
06:02
so could we women.
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mulheres também podem.
06:05
I built alliances
with other elected women members,
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Eu construí alianças com outras
mulheres eleitas,
06:09
and last year,
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e no ano passado,
06:10
we women were allowed to sit together
with all the members in the council.
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fomos autorizadas a nos sentarmos
junto com todos os membros da câmara.
06:15
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
06:23
And to take part in the legislation
and planning and budgeting,
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E a tomar parte na legislação,
planejamento e orçamento,
06:30
in all the decisions.
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em todas as decisões.
06:33
I saw there is strength in numbers.
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Eu vi que existe força nos números.
06:36
You know yourselves.
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Vocês sabem bem disso.
06:38
Lack of representation
means no one is fighting for you.
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Falta de representação significa
que ninguém está lutando por vocês.
06:43
Pakistan is --
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O Paquistão fica...
06:45
We're 8,000 miles away
from where I'm here with you today.
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nós estamos a 12,8 mil km de distância
de onde estou com vocês hoje.
06:52
But I hope what I'm about to tell you
will resonate with you,
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Mas eu espero que o que estou
prestes a dizer toque vocês,
06:57
though we have this big distance
in miles and in our cultures.
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apesar de termos uma grande distância
em quilômetros e nas nossas culturas.
07:04
When women show up,
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Quando mulheres entram em cena,
07:05
they bring the realities and hopes
of half a population with them.
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elas trazem as realidades e esperanças
de metade da população com elas.
07:12
In 2007, we saw the rise of the Taliban
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Em 2007, nós vimos a ascensão do Talibã
07:18
in Swat, Dir and nearby districts.
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em Swat, Dir e distritos próximos.
07:23
It was horrifying.
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Foi horripilante.
07:25
The Taliban killed innocent people.
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O Talibã matou pessoas inocentes.
07:30
Almost every day,
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Quase todos os dias,
07:32
people collected the dead bodies
of their loved ones from the streets.
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pessoas recolhiam cadáveres
dos seus entes queridos nas ruas.
07:36
Most of the social and political leaders
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A maioria dos líderes sociais e políticos
07:39
struggling and working
for the betterment of their communities
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lutando e trabalhando pela melhoria
da comunidade deles
07:42
were threatened and targeted.
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eram alvos de ameaças.
07:46
Even I had to leave,
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Até mesmo eu tive que partir,
07:48
leaving my children
behind with my in-laws.
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deixando meus filhos para trás
com meus sogros.
07:54
I closed my office in Dir
and relocated to Peshawar,
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Fechei meu escritório em Dir
e o realoquei para Peshawar,
08:00
the capital of my province.
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a capital da minha província.
08:03
I was in trauma,
kept thinking what to do next.
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Eu estava traumatizada,
continuava pensando no que fazer.
08:09
And most of the family members and friends
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E a maior parte da minha família e amigos
08:13
were suggesting, "Shad, stop working.
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estava sugerindo:
"Shad, pare de trabalhar.
08:17
The threat is very serious."
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A ameaça é séria".
08:20
But I persisted.
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Mas eu persisti.
08:24
In 2009, we experienced a historic influx
of internally displaced persons,
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Em 2009, tivemos o histórico influxo
de pessoas internamente deslocadas
08:31
from Swat, Dir and other nearby districts.
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de Swat, Dir e distritos próximos.
08:35
I started visiting the camps
almost every day,
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Comecei a visitar os campos
quase todos os dias,
08:40
until the internally displaced persons
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até que as pessoas internamente deslocadas
08:42
started to go back
to their place of origin.
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começaram a voltar
para seu local de origem.
08:45
I established four mother-child
health care units,
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Estabeleci quatro unidades de saúde
para mães e filhos,
08:50
especially to take care of
over 10,000 women and children
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especialmente para cuidar
das mais de 10 mil mulheres e crianças
08:54
nearby the camps.
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perto dos campos.
08:57
But you know, during
all these visits,
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Mas sabem, durante essas visitas,
09:02
I observed that there was very little
attention towards women's needs.
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observei que havia muito pouca atenção
para as necessidades das mulheres.
09:08
And I was looking for
what is the reason behind it.
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E eu estava procurando
uma razão por trás disso.
09:11
And I found it was because
of the underrepresentation of women
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E descobri que era por causa
da sub-representação das mulheres,
09:16
in both social and political platforms,
in our society as a whole.
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tanto na plataformas sociais quanto
políticas, na sociedade como um todo.
09:21
And that was the time when I realized
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E esse foi o momento em que percebi
09:25
that I need to narrow down my focus
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que preciso limitar o meu foco,
09:27
on building and strengthening
women's political leadership
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em criar e fortalecer a liderança
política das mulheres
09:32
to increase their
political representation,
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para aumentar
a representação política delas,
09:34
so they would have their own
voice in their future.
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assim elas teriam sua voz no futuro.
09:38
So we started training around 300
potential women and youth
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Então, começamos a treinar cerca
de 300 mulheres e jovens em potencial
09:42
for the upcoming local elections in 2015.
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para as eleições de 2015.
09:47
And you know what?
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E querem saber?
09:49
Fifty percent of them won.
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Cinquenta por cento delas ganharam.
09:51
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
09:58
And they are now sitting in the councils,
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E elas estão agora sentadas nas câmaras,
10:02
taking part actively in the legislation,
planning and budgeting.
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tomando parte ativamente na legislação,
planejamento e orçamento.
10:09
Most of them are now investing their funds
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A maioria delas está agora
investindo seus fundos
10:12
on women's health, education,
skill development and safe drinking water.
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na saúde, educação e treinamento
das mulheres e em água potável.
10:18
All these elected women now
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Todas essas mulheres eleitas agora
10:20
share, discuss and resolve
their problems together.
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compartilham, discutem e resolvem
seus problemas juntas.
10:25
Let me tell you about two
of the women I have been working with:
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Deixem-me contar sobre duas
com quem eu tenho trabalhado:
10:29
Saira Shams.
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Saira Shams.
10:31
You can see, this young lady, age 26,
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Podem ver, essa jovem, de 26 anos,
10:35
she ran for a public office in 2015
in Lower Dir, and she won.
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concorreu para um cargo público
em 2015 em Dir, e ela ganhou.
10:42
She completed two of the community
infrastructure schemes.
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Ela completou dois programas
de infraestrutura da comunidade...
10:45
You know, women, community
infrastructure schemes ...
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Sabem, mulheres, programas
de infraestrutura da comunidade ...
10:51
Some people think this is men's job.
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Algumas pessoas pensam
que isso é trabalho para homens.
10:55
But no, this is women's job,
too, we can do it.
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Mas não, isso também é trabalho
para mulheres, podemos fazê-lo.
10:59
And she also fixed two of the roads
leading towards girls schools,
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E ela também mandou reparar duas estradas
que conduziam a escolas de meninas,
11:05
knowing that without access
to these schools,
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sabendo que sem o acesso a essas escolas,
elas seriam inúteis para as meninas.
11:07
they are useless to the girls of Dir.
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11:11
And another young woman is Asma Gul.
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E outra jovem é Asma Gul.
11:14
She is a very active member
of the young leaders forum we established.
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Ela é uma membra muito ativa do fórum
de jovens líderes que estabelecemos.
11:19
She was unable to run
for the public office,
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Ela foi impossibilitada
de concorrer ao cargo público,
11:23
so she has become the first
female journalist of our region.
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então ela se tornou a primeira
jornalista da nossa região.
11:29
She speaks and writes for women's
and girls' issues and their rights.
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Ela fala e escreve sobre problemas
e direitos das mulheres e meninas.
11:35
Saira and Asma,
they are the living examples
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Saira e Asma são exemplos vivos
11:39
of the importance of inclusion
and representation.
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da importância da inclusão
e representação.
11:44
Let me tell you this, too.
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Deixem-me dizer isso, também.
11:47
In the 2013 general elections in Pakistan
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Nas eleições gerais no Paquistão em 2013
11:49
and the local elections in 2015,
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3625
e nas eleições locais em 2015,
11:54
there were less than 100
women voters in Dir.
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houve menos de 100 mulheres
votantes em Dir.
11:58
But you know what?
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1268
Mas querem saber?
12:00
I'm proud to tell you that this year,
during the general elections,
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Estou orgulhosa de dizer que esse ano,
durante as eleições gerais,
12:04
there were 93,000 women voters in Dir.
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houve 93 mil mulheres votantes em Dir.
12:08
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
12:16
So our struggle is far from over.
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Então a nossa luta está longe de acabar.
12:19
But this shift is historic.
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Mas essa mudança é histórica,
12:22
And a sign that women are standing up,
showing up and making it absolutely clear
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e um sinal de que as mulheres estão
se posicionando, se fazendo presentes
e deixando claro que devemos investir
em construir lideranças femininas.
12:28
that we all must invest
in building women's leadership.
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4875
12:37
In Pakistan and here in the United States,
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3851
No Paquistão e aqui nos Estados Unidos,
12:41
and everywhere in the world,
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2434
e qualquer lugar do mundo,
12:43
this means women in politics,
women in business
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isso significa mulheres na política,
mulheres nos negócios
12:47
and women in positions of power
making important decisions.
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e mulheres em posições de poder
tomando decisões importantes.
12:54
It took me 23 years to get here.
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Levei 23 anos para chegar aqui,
13:00
But I don't want any girl or any woman
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mas não quero que nenhuma
outra menina ou mulher
13:02
to take 23 years of her life
to make herself heard.
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3708
leve 23 anos da vida dela para ser ouvida.
13:08
I have had some dark days.
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2459
Eu tive alguns dias sombrios,
13:12
But I have spent
every waking moment of my life
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mas passei todos os momentos
da minha vida trabalhando
13:16
working for the right of every woman
to live her full potential.
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pelo direito de todas as mulheres
viverem todo o seu potencial.
13:21
Imagine with me a world
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Imaginem comigo um mundo
13:25
where thousands of us stand up
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onde milhares de nós nos posicionamos
13:29
and they support
other young women together,
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e apoiamos outras jovens juntas,
13:33
creating opportunities and choices
that benefit all.
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criando oportunidades e escolhas
que beneficiem a todos.
13:39
And that, my friends,
can change the world.
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E isso, meus amigos, pode mudar o mundo.
13:44
Thank you.
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Obrigada.
13:45
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
Translated by Vinícius Cunha da Silva
Reviewed by Maricene Crus

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Shad Begum - Women's rights activist
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.

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.

More profile about the speaker
Shad Begum | Speaker | TED.com

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