Alaa Murabit: What my religion really says about women
Alaa Murabit: Was meine Religion wirklich über Frauen sagt
Alaa Murabit champions women’s participation in peace processes and conflict mediation. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
had a very interesting conversation
mit meinem Sitznachbarn.
the United States has run out of jobs,
die Jobs auszugehen,
tornado chaser."
Hundeflüsterer, Tornadojäger."
the voices of women
und die Stärkung ihrer Stimmen ein,
über ihre Erlebnisse
processes and conflict resolution,
und Friedensprozessen.
the full participation of women globally
Einbeziehung von Frauen nur gelingen wird,
important to me.
I am very proud of my faith.
sehr stolz auf meinen Glauben,
to do my work every day.
Überzeugung für meine Arbeit.
in front of you.
been done in the name of religion,
im Namen der Religion entsteht,
of the world's major faiths.
sondern aller Weltreligionen.
and manipulation of religious scripture
Manipulation religiöser Schriften
and cultural norms,
und gesellschaftlichen Normen,
don't recognize it.
North Africa, to Canada
von Libyen in Nordafrika nach Kanada.
and spiritual people,
für seine Gaben danken,
(Laughter)
(Lachen)
that having 11 kids forces you to have.
Eltern von 11 Kindern einfach brauchen.
through a cultural lens.
einen kulturellen Filter vermittelt.
nach Geschlecht urteilt.
judged differently based on gender.
as a merciful and beneficial friend
und Fürsorger, barmherzig und gnädig,
I looked at the world.
had additional benefits.
(Laughter)
diplomatisches Geschick. (Lachen)
nach meiner Ausbildung gefragt:
where I went to school,
in Harvard besucht?"
Kennedy School of Government?"
Internationale Angelegenheiten."
of International Affairs."
to talk to my mom to get in.
müssen Sie mit meiner Mutter sprechen.
and having 10 siblings
10 Geschwister zu haben,
power structures and alliances.
Machtstrukturen und Allianzen.
schnell reden oder sich kurz fassen,
to talk fast or say less,
of messaging.
to get the answers you know you want,
gewünschten Antworten zu erhalten,
in the right way to keep the peace.
ohne den Frieden zu gefährden.
I learned growing up
I had to be there when she was trying
und sie suchte den Schuldigen,
because I had to defend myself,
um mich zu verteidigen,
then the finger is pointed at you,
anderen auf mich zeigten
you will be grounded.
from experience, of course.
I completed high school and I moved
beendete ich die Oberschule
der Heimatstadt meiner Eltern,
to Libya before on vacation,
nur im Urlaub besucht,
it was magic.
and really excited relatives.
und begeisterte Verwandte.
as a 15-year-old young lady.
empfand ich es ganz anders.
to the cultural aspect of religion.
kulturelle Seite der Religion.
meaning religiously prohibited --
-- aus religiöser Sicht verboten --
culturally inappropriate --
and had the same consequences.
die gleichen Konsequenzen.
after conversation with classmates
mit Klassenkameraden,
friends, even relatives,
sogar Verwandten
and my own aspirations.
eigenen Prinzipien und Ziele.
my parents had provided for me,
durch meine Eltern
the role of women in my faith.
der Frau in meiner Religion.
of International Affairs,
Internationale Angelegenheiten
so that's what I did,
sich gut zu informieren.
religiöse Führerinnen zu finden,
who were leaders,
und sogar militärisch.
even militarily.
die ersten Schritte des Islams.
to positions which predated
zurückgedrängt?
in the eyes of God,
meiner Kindheit erinnert.
I had learned as a child.
und Meinungen vertreten,
who gets to control the message,
in every single world faith,
sind das leider nicht die Frauen.
are dominated by men
von Männern dominiert,
in their likeness,
the system entirely,
nicht völlig umstellen,
expect to have full economic
Wirtschaft und Politik beteiligen.
Fundament kann kein gerades Haus stehen."
a straight house on a crooked foundation.
and my family was on the front lines.
Meine Familie kämpfte ganz vorne mit.
that happens in war,
nur vorübergehend.
it was not only acceptable
nicht nur akzeptiert, sondern begrüßt.
but it was encouraged.
had a seat at the table.
bekamen einen Platz am Tisch.
We were crucial.
wir waren ausschlaggebend.
for that change to be permanent.
für immer beibehalten.
that I had previously worked with
waren meine Mitstreiterinnen
to their previous roles,
Figuren dazu ermuntert,
by words of encouragement
religiöse Schriften beriefen.
as their defense.
for their opinions.
und wirtschaftliche Stärkung der Frauen.
and political empowerment of women.
to cultural and social change.
kultureller Wandel würden folgen.
but not a lot.
their defense as my offense,
ihren eigenen Waffen zu schlagen
Islamic scripture as well.
led the single largest
führte meine Organisation
Kampagne Libyens.
campaign in Libya.
and universities, even mosques.
Universitäten, sogar Moscheen.
billboards and television commercials,
durch Anschlagtafeln, Fernsehwerbung,
a women's rights organization
which had previously opposed
frauenfeindlichen Gemeinden?
and sayings of the Prophet,
und Worte des Propheten,
are, for example,
to their family."
die das Beste für ihre Familie wollen."
andere zu unterdrücken."
led by local community imams
Freitagsgebete des örtlichen Imam
wie häusliche Gewalt, angesprochen.
like domestic violence.
we actually had to go as far
einen Schritt weiter gehen
Human Rights Declaration,
Menschenrechtsdeklaration der UNO,
written by religious scholars,
von religiösen Gelehrten stammt,
are in our book.
Geboten unserer Heiligen Schrift.
just copied us.
we were able to provide
und ermöglichten der Religion
the rights of women in Libya.
been replicated internationally,
international wiederholt,
believe me, it's not.
das weiß ich selbst am besten.
and call you a bad conservative.
und nennen uns schlechte Konservative.
a lot of colorful things.
must be extremely ashamed of you" --
to your next birthday" --
Geburtstag nicht erleben."
and religion are not mutually exclusive.
Religion vereinbar sind.
denn mit unserem Schweigen
because by remaining silent,
and abuse of women worldwide.
Missbrauch von Frauen weltweit.
to fight for women's rights
Frauenrechte zu verteidigen
Bomben und Krieg bekämpfen,
with bombs and warfare,
which need to address these issues
die diese Themen ansprechen müssen,
distorted religious messaging.
religiöse Botschaften herauszufordern,
Spott und Drohungen.
of insults and ridicule and threats.
the message of human rights,
die Grundlage unseres Glaubens sind,
die Frauen in unseren Familien,
the women in your families,
that would be transformed
völlig verändern werden.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Alaa Murabit - Peace expertAlaa Murabit champions women’s participation in peace processes and conflict mediation.
Why you should listen
Alaa Murabit's family moved from Canada to Libya when she was 15. Brought up in a Muslim household where she was equal to her brothers, she was shocked to see how women were viewed and treated in her new country. She enrolled in medical school, but felt frustrated by the gender discrimination she experienced.
During her fifth year in med school, the Libyan Revolution broke out. Murabit was invigorated by how women were embraced as decision-makers in the movement. She founded The Voice of Libyan Women (VLW) to focus on challenging societal and cultural norms to make that the case all the time. Many VLW programs -- like the Noor Campaign, which uses Islamic teaching to combat violence against women -- have been replicated internationally.
Murabit is an advisor to many international security boards, think tanks and organizations, including the UN Women Global Civil Society Advisory Group and Harvard’s Everywoman Everywhere Coalition. An Ashoka Fellow, Murabit was a Trust Women Hero Award Winner in 2013.
Alaa Murabit | Speaker | TED.com