Rana Abdelhamid: 3 lessons on starting a movement from a self-defense trailblazer
Rana Abdelhamid: Três lições sobre como iniciar um movimento com uma pioneira da autodefesa
Rana Abdelhamid is an internationally acclaimed community organizer, first-degree black belt, public speaker and social entrepreneur focused on mass mobilization, international solidarity and the empowerment of marginalized communities. Full bio
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em 4 de julho de 1992,
her college sweetheart
o namorado dela da faculdade
explodiam no horizonte,
at my mother jokingly and said,
e disse brincando:
estão comemorando sua chegada".
much like a celebration
com uma comemoração
would wander past Queens
caminhávamos por Queens,
and long flowy dresses
e vestimentas longas e soltas,
around my small fingers
against weathered comments like,
to make us feel unsafe, insecure
para nos deixar inseguras
em nossa própria pele.
me apaixonasse por Nova York.
diverse places in the world,
mais diversificados do mundo,
holding stories that always start
histórias que sempre começam
and 15 dollars in a pocket,
in jam-packed, busted apartments.
lotados e danificados.
that we had safe microcommunities --
que tivéssemos microcomunidades seguras,
in our identities.
e amadas em nossa identidade.
that my mom faced,
que minha mãe enfrentava,
algumas das mais poderosas
some of the most powerful women
for who watched whose kids when,
para a mesquita local.
of unapologetic North African aunties
de tias norte-africanas imperturbáveis
and stand in front of a mirror,
bright silk around my head
com um belo lenço de seda,
and my grandmother did.
the streets of New York City
a caminho de meu trabalho voluntário
at a domestic violence organization
contra violência doméstica
my neighborhood had started.
I felt a yank at the back of my head.
senti um puxão em minha cabeça.
e tentou arrancar meu "hijab".
from off of my head.
to a tall, broad-shouldered man,
com um homem alto, de ombros largos,
consegui fugir.
of that organization and cried and cried.
daquela organização e chorei bastante.
contra muçulmanos nos EUA
depois do 11 de setembro.
sofre alguma forma de violência sexista.
são formas de violência sexista,
of Muslim women in our hijabs.
muçulmanas que vestem "hijabs".
me fez querer fazer algo.
and make sure that no one I loved,
que ninguém que eu amava,
this insecure in her own skin.
essa insegurança na pele.
how the women in my own neighborhood
como as mulheres de meu bairro
community for themselves,
uma comunidade para elas
the very little resources they had
about what I could potentially offer
aprendi algumas coisas.
with you today, some of these lessons.
algumas dessas lições.
Shotokan karate
desde que me lembro.
I should go out into my neighborhood
sair pelo meu bairro
and knocked on doors,
da comunidade, pais, moças
to parents, to young women,
gratuito no porão do centro comunitário
a free community center basement
that they should come to my class.
de que deveriam vir à minha aula.
de 1,55 m, que sabe caratê.
New York version of Mr. Miyagi
nova-iorquina de Queens do "sr. Miyagi"
in that community center basement
no porão do centro comunitário,
over the course of that summer,
ao longo daquele verão,
the power of our bodies,
o poder de nosso corpo
sobre nossa identidade.
shocking realizations,
with this incredible sisterhood,
com uma irmandade incrível
much safer in my own skin.
muito mais segura em minha pele.
that we just kept teaching.
que continuei a ensinar.
but we just kept teaching.
mas continuei.
no porão de um centro comunitário,
grassroots organization
for women around the world:
e poder para as mulheres em todo o mundo:
an expert in something
em algo e quer causar impacto,
e achar que tem uma receita mágica.
and think you have the magic recipe.
Kendrick Lamar once said,
Kendrick Lamar disse uma vez:
to be humble and to sit down.
ser humilde e se sentar.
any business doing work with
com a qual eu tinha trabalhado
in my neighborhood,
de 14 anos de meu bairro.
I was friends with them.
what it meant to be a child
bengaleses no Brooklyn,
who were connected to those communities,
ligadas a essas comunidades,
how they already had
and relationship with their communities.
e relacionamento com as comunidades delas.
and the women in her neighborhood,
e as mulheres do bairro dela,
social networks,
redes sociais muito fortes.
definition of safety.
de outras mulheres.
de defesa pessoal,
a self-defense instructor,
para qualquer outra mulher
as our network expanded,
is not just physical.
não é apenas algo físico.
muito emocional.
a 60-minute self-defense class,
de autodefesa de 60 minutos
for just talking and healing.
só para conversar e fornecer uma cura.
to the class to begin with
o que as levava para aquela aula
experiences with violence.
experiências com a violência.
one time in one of those classes,
to talk about the fact
em uma relação de violência doméstica.
relationship for over 30 years,
being able to articulate that
conseguiu falar a respeito,
that safe space for her.
um espaço seguro para ela.
in women's agency to define
na ação das mulheres para definir
looks like for themselves.
is to start with the joy.
é começar com a alegria.
I was reacting to a hate-based attack,
motivado pelo ódio.
and anxious and overwhelmed.
because if you take a step back,
in this room can probably relate to this,
possam talvez se identificar com isso:
feeling of insecurity,
de insegurança que temos constantemente.
hearing footsteps behind you.
e ouvindo passos atrás de você.
or if you should slow down.
mais rápido ou diminuir o passo.
in case you need to use them.
caso precise usá-las.
quando chegar em casa.
I want to make sure you are safe."
de nossas bebidas.
too much or too little in a meeting.
ou muito pouco em uma reunião.
and trans and queer and Latinx
transgênera, queer, latina,
o quanto esse trabalho pode ser opressor,
how overwhelming this work can be,
of personal safety.
da segurança pessoal.
me levou a esse trabalho,
to this work to begin with,
the love that I had
de minha comunidade.
umas para as outras
fazendo esse trabalho todos os dias.
a refugee camp in Jordan
de refugiados na Jordânia
em Dallas, no Texas,
no Vale do Silício,
maravilhosamente mágico,
and supported each other
e apoiavam-se umas às outras
para dar poder e segurança às mulheres.
we built together.
que construímos juntas.
just teach self-defense,
só a autodefesa,
e jantares com comidas étnicas,
e tem sido muito divertido.
teaching self-defense all of these years
autodefesa todos esses anos
que as mulheres,
as cool as the self-defense moves are,
os movimentos de autodefesa.
these self-defense techniques.
de-escalate any violent situation.
passar por qualquer situação violenta.
não deve haver violência
essa violência precisam acabar.
to take place to begin with needs to stop.
we need all hands on deck.
de todas as contribuições.
e com quem conhecem
to start with who you know
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Rana Abdelhamid - Community organizer, entrepreneurRana Abdelhamid is an internationally acclaimed community organizer, first-degree black belt, public speaker and social entrepreneur focused on mass mobilization, international solidarity and the empowerment of marginalized communities.
Why you should listen
Rana Abdelhamid is committed to organizing communities around migrant, gender and racial justice. For ten years, Abdelhamid has served as the Executive Director of Malikah, a global grassroots movement committed to building safety and power for all women through self-defense, healing justice, community organizing and financial literacy. She founded Malikah at the age of 16 after being attacked by a stranger, who tried to remove the hijab from her head. Today, Abdelhamid and her volunteer team of women conduct healing spaces and have trained more than 7,000 women in 18 cities across the globe. For the past three years, Malikah has held the National Muslim Women's Summit at Harvard University, training 50 Muslim American women in leadership and community organizing.
Abdelhamid's organizing work has always been rooted in building solidarity across communities domestically and abroad. During the Arab Spring, Abdelhamid was involved in mobilizing diaspora communities in solidarity with grassroots activists in Egypt. After the "Muslim ban" was passed, she helped organize thousands of people across Boston for the 20,000-person Copley Square protest and spoke alongside Senator Elizabeth Warren, among others. After the murder of Nabra Hassanen, Abdelhamid and her team worked to mobilize tens of thousands of people across ten cities in under 24 hours for prayers and vigils in her remembrance.
In 2013, Abdelhamid started Hijabis of NY, an online platform that highlights the stories of hijabi women. In 2017, she also coedited and published Muslim Women's Stories, a collection of narratives from young Muslim women across the US. She is highly committed to the global human rights movement and is one of youngest serving board members of Amnesty International USA. Abdelhamid has a BA from Middlebury in International Politics and Economics and a master's degree in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, where her research was focused on policy interventions to mitigate the prevalence of domestic violence in Queens, NY and on refugee integration policy in the US.
In 2017, Abdelhamid was named one of the 17 women who "Rocked the Resistance" in 2017 and is frequently called "the Muslim Black Belt." She has been named a Truman Scholar, a Running Start Rising Political Star and has received both a NYC Council Proclamation and an International Youth Advocate award by the UNAUSA Foundation.
Rana Abdelhamid | Speaker | TED.com