A Glimpse Of Resistance

This picture reminds me of a scene that dominated social life at some point. Of every time I saw a woman watching the world from a narrow space, wearing the ‘jard’ (traditional Libyan white cloth that women wear as an outer cloak in public) that she can only see through the one eye showing.

Abeir Imneina

Libya

Translation: We must have hope.

Abeir Imneina

Libya

Abeir Imneina is an academic with a PhD in political science and is director of the Washm Center for Women's Studies in Libya. She contributed to the preparation of the preliminary document for the Women's Peace and Security Agenda under the auspices of the Women's Empowerment Office in the United Nations Mission to Libya, with the participation of many local civil society organizations. She has held many academic and advisory positions, including Professor at the Faculty of Economics, University of Benghazi. She is a local advisor to the United Nations Women's Commission on gender issues and political participation, a member of the committee to prepare the National Congress Elections Draft Law and a former head of the Civil Society Commission.

Abeir Imneina

Libya

Since her early youth, Myessir has been dreaming of becoming part of the convoy of volunteers for social service, and in the family field in particular, because of her belief that building a nation begins with building a family.

Myessir El-Saadi

Jordan

Myessir El-Saadi

Jordan

Myessir El-Saadi

Jordan

This is called “Melhfa”, it is the Saharawi traditional clothing. It is maybe the only thing that I always have with me from home. It represents so much for me, and being Saharawi in general. However, just as Melhfa is something I love to use, there is also some restriction to that piece of clothing; so Melhfa is both symbol of my resistance, my identity, but it is always a reminder of all the limitations we face as women.

Asria Mohamed

Western Sahara

When I talk, for example, about the resources in Western Sahara and why we are against our resources being exported to be used by others, I always also give an example of the Amazon, because it’s also happening in other places in the world. When I talk about, for example, weapons and they are sold to be used in Western Sahara, I talk about the ones that are sold in Yemen.

Asria Mohamed

Western Sahara

Hafsa is a Palestinian activist from the occupied West Bank in Palestine.

Hafsa

Palestine

Hafsa is a Palestinian activist from the occupied West Bank in Palestine.

Hafsa

Palestine

Hafsa is a Palestinian activist from the occupied West Bank in Palestine.

Hafsa

Palestine

We had to introduce ourselves to the community first. We had to introduce ourselves to the people in the street to show them who we are and what we want and why we want it. We started to organize demonstrations in the street and other peaceful activities like distributing flowers with a small letter - what the demonstrations are for, what is our demand, what is our request, why we are doing this.

Anonymous

Syria

I describe myself as a resilient olive tree in this land with strength, dignity and courage. I consider myself stronger than anyone else and stronger than any man. However, as a girl, I feel that I’m weak, with no control or space. I don’t have the courage and strength like today.

Anonymous

Palestine

A feminist, human rights and anti-imperialist activist from Occupied Palestine. She truly believes that dismantling oppression towards social and political collective liberation necessarily requires bold commitment to intersectionality, intergenerational connectedness and politicisation among others.

Anonymous

Palestine

During my resistance, I found shelter in art and used to draw a lot. Each drawing was a story on its own, it either represented a fear or a struggle or even a person to me. Drawing, reading and music were my only debriefing channels at that time of my life. They represented me. There’s is also a black bracelet that I decided to photograph with the drawings that represents my victory against depression. I struggled for a long time because of my grieving and anger, but with time I explored my inner strength and found beauty around me and restored faith. This bracelet reminds me of this painful and long but rewarding journey.

Anonymous

Palestine

The locket necklace was with me since the days of Sinjar. I was a little kid in elementary school, probably about first or second grade elementary. Our neighbour was a Yazidi girl and we were together in the same school, class and desk. We probably ate, drank and went out together. I've always felt through this necklace that she is with me.

Shaima Al-Abbasi

Iraq

Resistance is not accepting anything you are told to do. Choosing for yourself and not allowing anyone else to choose for you. Resistance is to be able to say no to the things that you reject, that you think doesn’t make sense.... but it’s your efforts to change something because you believe it should be changed. It must be changed.

Mariam

Palestine

Aisha is a grassroots feminist and political leader. She has led many campaigns to advance women’s roles and rights in society, including the first program in Palestine to support the international community’s focus on ending violence against women. Pictured: the red poppy and national flower of Palestine and Aisha's chosen artefact for her story of resistance.

Aisha

Palestine

Mozn Hassan is an Egyptian feminist activist and human rights defender. She emerged as a powerful voice raising attention to rampant sexual assaults on women during the 2011 Egyptian revolution. Despite sanctions and judicial harassment, Hassan continues to raise women’s voices in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Mozn Hassan

Egypt

Fatima is a journalist from the occupied West Bank in Palestine.

Fatima

Palestine

Racha Haffar is a Tunisian anti-human trafficking and anti-modern slavery activist. At the age of 18, she was almost victim of human trafficking. Her experience led her to found in 2016, “Not 4 Trade”, an NGO which fights against human trafficking in Tunisia.

Racha Haffar

Tunisia

Racha Haffar

Tunisia

I don’t know what you’d call it but I love writing in my journals. I have so many notebooks, since I was in my elementary school until now. I have a whole library full of my journals. And I do like to talk to myself to see what’s going on and how I’m feeling. And then I also like to come back to that and see how I changed and how I was feeling at that point and how I’m not feeling anymore like that. How I fixed it and how I changed it and yeah, definitely. So it’s always going to be part of me. It’s going to be there.

Racha Haffar

Tunisia

A Yazidi girl from Sinjar, Iraq.

Ronak Sulaiman

Iraq

This is a painting by a young Sudanese female artist - her name is Alaa Satir - who has been redefining through her art the concepts and words/terminologies that the society is using negatively against women.

Huda Shafig

Sudan

And it wasn’t isolation, it was injustice. It made me aware of injustice even outside of myself, the early exposure made me aware that injustice exists in the world.

Anonymous

Libya

All my efforts are to create a safer environment for the women and girls who come after me. So many challenges I faced, and girls continue to face. Poverty. A closed society that impacts girls the most negatively. A government that enforces religious views that only hurt women. There are so many challenges.

Tahani Abbas

Sudan

Translation: I try. I am trying.

Anonymous

Libya

Soraya Bahgat is a Finnish-Egyptian social entrepreneur and women’s rights advocate active in Egypt. In 2012, she founded Tahrir Bodyguard, a movement comprising uniformed volunteers to protect women from the mob sexual assaults in Tahrir Square.

Soraya Bahgat

Egypt

Soraya Bahgat is a Finnish-Egyptian social entrepreneur and women’s rights advocate active in Egypt.In 2012, she founded Tahrir Bodyguard, a movement comprising uniformed volunteers to protect women from the mob sexual assaults in Tahrir Square.

Soraya Bahgat

Egypt

Resistance made me who I am, and it gave me the ability to bear and accept people. From my experience I grew up a lot. Life is not only black and white, and I accept everyone as they are but on one condition - we must respect each other. We sacrificed a lot but we still did not get what we deserve.

Shamiran Marukel

She found herself on the frontlines of the uprising in Yemen during the Arab Spring as a humanitarian aid worker. Working with children and women gave her the most fulfillment but also exposed her to some of the most vulnerable, caught in the crossfire.

Anonymous

Yemen

Mariam is a Palestinian women’s rights activist from the Occupied West Bank in Palestine.

Mariam

Palestine

I want to be a leader who makes mistakes, admits it, and solves it. I hope I remain a leader and that people continue to see me as one, because this is the best feeling for me. [Photo: Aya wearing a traditional embroidered Palestinian dress or thobe.]

Aya Zinatey

Palestine

My bookshelf is very important to me, I worked and saved up so much money so that I could collect each book that I have. It’s about 70 books that I’ve used my own money to buy over time. Every time I travel I try to buy a book to add to my collection.... The first book I read and really understood was A World Without Maps by writer Abdul Rahman Muneef. I was 13 years old.

Tara Ashour

Iraq

The hiking was one of the most important activities, it gave them the physical space to open up and liberate themselves. They saw such wide open spaces, it was as though they got to feel liberated from the camp.

Tara Ashour

Iraq

Tara works towards peace by bringing girls from different backgrounds together to engage in sports and leadership activities, leading skills through sports curriculum sessions for program participants, developing and maintaining relationships with local authorities, and engaging in regular dialogue with members of the community.

Tara Ashour

Iraq

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This picture reminds me of ascene that dominated social life at some point, every time I saw a womanwatching the world from a narrow space, wearing the ‘jard’ (traditional Libyanwhite cloth that women wear as an outer cloak in public) that she can only seethrough the one eye showing…That women cannot extend beyond being an object andare not even allowed to fully see what the world is around them.

Name // Libya

This exhibition explores layers of girls resistance across the MENA region. It showcases small glimpses into each story which, when explored together, portray their collective fight for a better world for girls everywhere.

Join The Voice Of Resistance.

Every girl faces her own obstacles, and every girl comes up with her own path to resist and persist and move forward. This platform is here to celebrate this resistance. Share your story of resistance, and what it means to you to be a girl today and to resist. Do you have a symbol that you feel emcompasses your resistance?

Abeir Imneina

Libya

Translation: We must have hope.

Abeir Imneina

Libya

Abeir Imneina

Libya

Myessir El-Saadi

Jordan

Myessir El-Saadi

Jordan

Myessir El-Saadi

Jordan

Asria Mohamed

Western Sahara

Asria Mohamed

Western Sahara

Hafsa is a Palestinian activist from the occupied West Bank in Palestine.

Hafsa

Palestine

Hafsa is a Palestinian activist from the occupied West Bank in Palestine.

Hafsa

Palestine

Hafsa is a Palestinian activist from the occupied West Bank in Palestine.

Hafsa

Palestine

Anonymous

Syria

Anonymous

Palestine

Anonymous

Palestine

Anonymous

Palestine

Shaima Al-Abbasi

Iraq

Mariam

Palestine

Aisha

Palestine

Mozn Hassan

Egypt

Fatima is a journalist from the occupied West Bank in Palestine.

Fatima

Palestine

Racha Haffar

Tunisia

Racha Haffar

Tunisia

Racha Haffar

Tunisia

A Yazidi girl from Sinjar, Iraq.

Ronak Sulaiman

Iraq

Huda Shafig

Sudan

And it wasn’t isolation, it was injustice. It made me aware of injustice even outside of myself, the early exposure made me aware that injustice exists in the world.

Anonymous

Libya

Tahani Abbas

Sudan

Translation: I try. I am trying.

Anonymous

Libya

Soraya Bahgat

Egypt

Soraya Bahgat is a Finnish-Egyptian social entrepreneur and women’s rights advocate active in Egypt.In 2012, she founded Tahrir Bodyguard, a movement comprising uniformed volunteers to protect women from the mob sexual assaults in Tahrir Square.

Soraya Bahgat

Egypt

Shamiran Marukel

Anonymous

Yemen

Mariam is a Palestinian women’s rights activist from the Occupied West Bank in Palestine.

Mariam

Palestine

Aya Zinatey

Palestine

Tara Ashour

Iraq

Tara Ashour

Iraq

Tara Ashour

Iraq

Join The Voice Of Resistance.

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Name // Libya

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a glimpse of resistance

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