Rana Abdelhamid: 3 lessons on starting a movement from a self-defense trailblazer
Rana Abdelhamid: Três lições sobre como iniciar um movimento pioneiro de 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,
o seu namorado da faculdade
her college sweetheart
explodiram na linha do horizonte,
at my mother jokingly and said,
a minha mãe, a brincar, e disse:
a festejar a tua chegada".
much like a celebration
nenhuma comemoração
would wander past Queens
passávamos por Queens,
and long flowy dresses
e túnicas longas e fluidas,
around my small fingers
pequeninos na mão dela,
against weathered comments like,
de comentários desgastados como:
to make us feel unsafe, insecure
a fazer-nos sentir inseguras, instáveis
na nossa própria pele.
diverse places in the world,
mais diversificados do mundo,
holding stories that always start
vivendo histórias que começam sempre
and 15 dollars in a pocket,
entre 3 e 15 dólares no bolso,
in jam-packed, busted apartments.
em decrépitos apartamentos lotados.
that we had safe microcommunities --
de que tínhamos microcomunidades seguras
in our identities.
e amadas na nossa identidade.
that my mom faced,
que a minha mãe enfrentava —
some of the most powerful women
algumas das mulheres mais poderosas
for who watched whose kids when,
e aprender inglês.
para a mesquita local.
of unapologetic North African aunties
de tias norte-africanas imperturbáveis
and stand in front of a mirror,
em frente do espelho
bright silk around my head
numa bonita seda brilhante,
and my grandmother did.
e a minha avó fazia.
the streets of New York City
at a domestic violence organization
contra a violência doméstica
my neighborhood had started.
I felt a yank at the back of my head.
senti um puxão na minha cabeça,
from off of my head.
to a tall, broad-shouldered man,
alto e de ombros largos,
of that organization and cried and cried.
daquela organização e chorei, chorei.
contra muçulmanos nos EUA
depois do 11 de setembro.
e a violência antimuçulmana
of Muslim women in our hijabs.
muçulmanas que usam "hijabs".
and make sure that no one I loved,
de que ninguém que eu amava,
this insecure in her own skin.
esta insegurança na sua pele.
how the women in my own neighborhood
como as mulheres do meu bairro
community for themselves,
construir uma comunidade
the very little resources they had
os muito poucos recursos que tinham
about what I could potentially offer
no que eu poderia oferecer
àquelas mulheres.
with you today, some of these lessons.
com vocês, algumas dessas lições.
Shotokan karate
a fazer karaté Shotokan,
I should go out into my neighborhood
devesse sair pelo meu bairro
and knocked on doors,
com os pais, com as raparigas
to parents, to young women,
a free community center basement
uma cave do centro comunitário, gratuita,
that they should come to my class.
de que deviam vir às minhas aulas.
foram do género:
que sabe karaté.
New York version of Mr. Miyagi
de Queens, de Nova Iorque,
in that community center basement
na cave do centro comunitário
over the course of that summer,
ao longo desse verão,
the power of our bodies,
o poder do nosso corpo
as nossas experiências,
shocking realizations,
with this incredible sisterhood,
com uma irmandade incrível
much safer in my own skin.
muito mais segura na minha pele.
that we just kept teaching.
que continuei a ensinar.
but we just kept teaching.
mas continuei a ensinar.
um curso de autodefesa
grassroots organization
for women around the world:
para as mulheres, em todo o mundo:
especialistas em qualquer coisa,
an expert in something
and think you have the magic recipe.
e pensarmos que temos uma receita mágica.
Kendrick Lamar once said,
Kendrick Lamar, disse um dia,
to be humble and to sit down.
ser humilde e sentar-se.
any business doing work with
com que eu tinha trabalhado
in my neighborhood,
do meu bairro.
I was friends with them.
what it meant to be a child
o que significava
em Brooklyn,
who were connected to those communities,
que estavam ligadas a essas comunidades,
how they already had
como elas já tinham
and relationship with their communities.
e de relações com as suas comunidades.
and the women in her neighborhood,
e as mulheres do seu bairro,
social networks,
redes sociais muito fortes.
definition of safety.
de outras mulheres.
instrutora de defesa pessoal,
a self-defense instructor,
para qualquer outra mulher
as our network expanded,
is not just physical.
não é apenas uma coisa física.
a 60-minute self-defense class,
de autodefesa de 60 minutos
for just talking and healing.
só para falar e curar.
to the class to begin with
o que as levara para aquela classe
experiences with violence.
experiências com a violência.
one time in one of those classes,
numa dessas aulas,
to talk about the fact
de violência doméstica, mais de 30 anos.
relationship for over 30 years,
being able to articulate that
que conseguiu falar disso,
that safe space for her.
um espaço seguro para ela.
in women's agency to define
que compete às mulheres definir
looks like for themselves.
e de poder para si mesmas.
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,
olhando para trás
in this room can probably relate to this,
talvez já tenham sentido —
feeling of insecurity,
sensação de insegurança,
hearing footsteps behind you.
a ouvir passos atrás de nós.
or if you should slow down.
ou se devemos abrandar o passo.
in case you need to use them.
no caso de precisarmos de as usar.
quando chegares a casa.
I want to make sure you are safe."
too much or too little in a meeting.
numa reunião.
and trans and queer and Latinx
trans, "queer", latina,
how overwhelming this work can be,
quão esmagador pode ser este trabalho,
of personal safety.
da segurança pessoal.
a este trabalho,
to this work to begin with,
the love that I had
que era o amor que tinha
a fazer este trabalho,
a refugee camp in Jordan
de refugiados na Jordânia
em Dallas, no Texas,
em Silicon Valley,
de modos maravilhosamente mágicos,
and supported each other
e apoiavam-se umas às outras
às mulheres.
we built together.
que construímos juntas.
just teach self-defense,
só a autodefesa,
umas às outras,
teaching self-defense all of these years
de autodefesa, em todos estes anos,
as cool as the self-defense moves are,
os movimentos de autodefesa.
these self-defense techniques.
de-escalate any violent situation.
de passar por qualquer situação violenta.
não devia haver violência
to take place to begin with needs to stop.
têm de acabar.
we need all hands on deck.
precisamos de todas as contribuições.
to start with who you know
comecem com quem vocês conhecem
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