Al Hasnaa Magazine features 3-page interview about Mideast Youth
October 27th, 2008Al Hansaa magazine, a monthly Arabic magazine targeting modern Arab women, conducted an interview with me concerning our work on Mideast Youth. The editors and publishers behind this magazine were also the organizers of the 2nd New Arab Woman Forum, which I attended as a panelist and discussed the revolutionary impact of the internet on society.
Scanned images of the article are provided below.
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Great job E!
Barikallah! Congratulations!
And could we get a translation?
Here is a translation:
The internet is a weapon in the hands of Arab youth
Our youth, Arab youth, are tired of being silent, tired of being patient to no avail, so we see them rising today to express their opinions realizing the importance of dialogue for peace and understanding. That is the idea behind several forums on the internet, giving the opportunity for many people around the world to gather.
One of these forums is Mideast Youth, located on http://www.MideastYouth.com, and it’s one of the fastest growing digital projects in the Middle East. Managing it is Esra’a Al Shafei, a young Bahraini lady, who started the initiative with the belief that the internet serves as a gateway to free speech in the Arab and Muslim world.
Esra’a says, “I founded the network 2 years ago in order to encourage dialogue amongst youth all over the Middle East, not just amongst Arabs but also amongst Kurds and Iranians as well because we’re in need of dialogue and understanding.”
The network places a fundamental importance on free speech, religious freedom, and respecting ethnic and religious minorities that have faced severe discrimination throughout history.
Q: Esra’a, why did you start the network?
A: I felt there was a need for a productive platform that encourages everyone to speak freely, regardless of their ethnicity, religion, or personal beliefs. We all have many differences, and we have many represented such as Baha’is, Kurds, Arab Christians and many others, and we also have radical differences in terms of opinions, however it is unfortunate that we have allowed such differences to become a barrier that separates us. I started this mostly because I really wanted to encourage diverse people to speak to and work together for the sake of human rights and also for the sake of education.
Q: Do you plan on becoming a non-government organization?
A: Yes, and we started the process of filing as an NGO in Pakistan. Unfortunately, we had to resort to a non-Arab country in order to secure our independence and general safety.
Support comes with a price: Censorship
Q: Do you receive any sponsorship?
A: Despite our need for sponsorship and support, we do not receive any funding. We hesitate to be sponsored or associated with any specific organization that may lead to us having to censor ourselves. In the Arab world, getting sponsored or funded often means losing independence. Everyone wants to interfere and use us as a mouthpiece for their ideologies.
Q: What are some of the biggest challenges that you face?
A: We face four big challenges: Being funded in the Arab world, dealing with rumours, people who threaten us with our lives and hack attempts aimed to bring down the sites we operate.
Q: How do you market the network and making it visible around the world?
A: We depend on search engines such as Google, and since our projects are extremely unique within the region a lot of news papers, magazines and other blogs use it as an independent source for information.
Q: Are there any conditions from participating or being affiliated with the forum?
A: We do not place any limits for participation, we give everyone in the region a chance to share their opinions with us. The only thing we ask for is for people to be respectful, because the goal behind the forum is dialogue and we can only learn from one another if the discussions are kept as respectful as possible.
Q: What distinguishes your network from others?
A: Actually we are much more than a mere forum. Once the idea was successful and we gained many authors, we began using our resources and energy to create many other projects that concern our societal issues such as honor crimes and minority rights in order to increase awareness in our countries. We are running several projects in countries with less resources such as Afghanistan, where we launched an independent digital news network in Farsi, and we also launched the first interfaith video network. We also run and support several networks having to do with women’s rights and free speech in the Muslim world.
Q: Are you able to publicly discuss honor crimes?
A: It should be noted that crimes based on false notions of the concept of honour aren’t limited to the thousands of murders reported annually. It also includes domestic violence, female circumcision, and forced marriages. It wasn’t acceptable to speak publicly about honor crimes, until the hard work of women’s rights activists changed that, as well as criticism of such actions from influential people including religious scholars who wish to place a limit to this violence. We also started an awareness campaign in the Arab and Muslim world concerning this.
Muslim Women’s Rights
Q: What rights are Muslim women deprived of, and how can she gain said rights?
A: Muslim women are deprived of many rights. Some women are deprived the right to education, others still lack rights within the family such as the right to divorce or to gain custody of the children, the inability to fully work within the political field, and it goes on. As noted it is different from one country to the other, but we have a lot to achieve. We can’t gain our rights simply by asking for them, we will have to work really hard and to prove our abilities to our society.
Q: What are some of the dangers you face, and do you deal with any threats?
A: Our biggest threat remain from regional governments, and sometimes religious extremists, but most of the threatening remarks and insults surprisingly come from other activists. I really believe in the importance of uniting activists regardless of political ideologies or religious differences. Unfortunately in the Arab world, activists compete with each other, sometimes violently, instead of uniting with and supporting each other. I say this not as a fact but as a personal opinion gained from my personal experience with regional activists. Competing instead of supporting those in need is the primary cause of failure.
Q: How effective is dialogue and freedom of expression under authoritarian powers?
A: The internet broke a really big barrier when it came to media and communication in the region, now no one can censor us or stop us from expressing ourselves, because the internet allows us countless of opportunities for expression – and this scares those in power, because propaganda can’t easily work any more, people are depending on more innovative methods of communication.
Internet: The salvation network
Q: How effective is the internet?
A: The internet is the most powerful tool for us to express ourselves. It has changed the way the world looks at us, and it has even changed the way we look at ourselves. Finally we have a tool that allows us to connect with the people whom we could otherwise not hear. The internet gives a loud voice to whoever wishes to express themselves, especially silenced minorities and women with strong opinions
Q: How do you deal with censorship?
A: We don’t allow anyone to pressure us into censorship, we are ready to react effectively if that happens. We deserve the freedom we worked for and are ready to risk anything to protect it.
Q: What are your other projects and what do they deal with?
A: Currently most of our attention is going towards religious and ethnic minorities, as well as women’s rights. We also place a lot of importance in increasing the number of educational activities that are controversial yet thought provoking.
Q: Do our Arab youth lack education?
A: I do not believe it lacks education but it lacks awareness and local opportunities. What is the point of education and learning if we aren’t encouraged to use it in society? And what is the point of education if we lack the freedom to express ourselves without fear and censorship? In order for Arab youth to be fully educated, we also need the freedom to explore and apply what we learn.
Q: What does today’s generation need?
A: This generation is hungry for change but lacks the opportunities to explore it, this is a right that we are trying to empower. We began several years ago to launch websites and digital projects for young people in need, but our resources are limited because we and many others have to do this independently, there is hardly any local financial and organizational support in the field. I think this is the reason why many Arab youth lost hope in this area.
Issues that move us
Q: What issue gets most of your attention currently?
A: Right now one of the most important cases for me is the case of Baha’is in the Muslim world. Followers of the faith have undergone abuse for many decades, including torture, execution and imprisonment. They are denied the most basic rights within countries like Iran, for this reason I founded the Muslim Network for Baha’i Rights at bahairights.org
Q: An an Arab woman from the Gulf, does it make your work harder?
A: As an Arab woman from the Gulf, and as a Muslim, the task gets harder every day. People don’t accept that women are amongst the most powerful in our societies. People always criticize me and tell me that I should respect my role as a “Muslim woman,” but I laugh at these silly accusations because I am very confident in myself and my capabilities, I am very proud to be leading a successful network. I was also the first Arab Muslim woman and the youngest to receive a Berkman Award from Harvard Law School.
Q: What is this award about?
A: This is the first time that the Berkman Awards are presented, and they were given to four individuals whose work on the internet has a significant impact on society.
Q: Are you supported by your family or are they opposed to what you do?
A: In the beginning my family never supported my participation in such activities. They are from an older generation and don’t really understand the importance of the internet on our society, and what we can do with it. But once I made it clear that I wasn’t giving up this work, they respected my decisions and left me to work freely.
Q. Do you have any other activities other than forums?
A: In my free time I write for digital news sources, and I spend a lot of my time speaking about my work in conferences around the world.
Q. What is your principle in life?
A. Ambition is my most importance principle in life, and for that purpose I love working hard without giving up until my goal is achieved.
Q. What advice do you give to Arab youth?
A. If you want change, then change your society yourself and don’t wait as time is precious. And if you’re a woman, prove yourself to the world without fear or hesitation. Be confident in yourself because everyone has the ability to change the world for the better.
oh Wonderful Esra!!!!!!!
Congratulation Esra’a ..
Your continuous hard work will never go unnoticed
[...] Arab women’s magazine Al Hasnaa features an interview (in Arabic only, sorry) with MidEast Youth Editor Esra’a. [...]