Arwa's Freelance Site » Women

Girls On Film: Saudi Arabia’s First Female Filmmaker

arwafreelance — Tue, 07 May 2013 23:07:52 +0000

Wadjda Official Trailer from Razor Film on Vimeo.

My interview with the very lovely Saudi filmmaker Haifaa Al Mansour is now out – see the full article at Aquila. I was lucky enough to meet Haifaa when she was in London promoting her debut film Wadjda about a young Saudi girl’s battle to cycle. See the trailer above. We got talking about the rise of female Middle Eastern filmmakers, the importance of personal victories, filming in Saudi and also cycling (of course!).

Here’s a snippet:

http://www.aquila-style.com/magazine/

Make/Shift Magazine: Leila Khaled’s Revolutionary Life

arwafreelance — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 21:38:38 +0000

Got my copy of Make/Shift magazine through the post recently with my little article in it. My piece is a Q&A with Sarah Irving who talks about the rise and fall of the Palestinian political left and Leila Khaled’s life after the (in)famous hijackings.

I genuinely love flicking through this mag as I always find something which blows my mind. Love.Love.Love. There’s a snippet of my article below but before that, the article (well, edit of lots of articles) that I really loved in this issue was about activism, burnout and caring for ourselves.

“I feel no different when I read posts like these than I did when I was working as a consultant in corporate america and the boss would send me emails on my “sick days” asking if I’d gotten a chance to review those documents, because, you know, above all, we gotta make sure we think of the company…. Last I checked, activists in the non-profit industry were accusing corporations of being greed, exploitative, blood-sucking a**holes who didn’t care about “people”, just “money.” I’m ashamed to say that after years of working with people in the non-profit industry, there’s not that much difference; just replace money with “self-righteous political agendas.”

To be completely honest, when I think about the times when I’ve been at my lowest and most strained, it’s been due to other activist guilt-tripping me into over-extending myself for some agenda I don’t even remember signing up for.

I’m lucky that I’ve been able to find others like myself, who believe just as much in caring for their communities as they do taking care of themselves, not necessarily as interdependent ideologies, but because — dare I say it — it’s possible to want to improve the world and have other interests that are not necessarily connected, including your own dreams, ambitions, peace of mind. God forbid the word “self” ever finds its way into the mouth of an activist. God forbid we actually practice the “self-love” slogans we slap on so many protest signs.”

- Spectra Speaks

“i often struggle with copious amounts of shame, frustration and confusion over the fact that right now in my life all i have to give is going towards helping raise 2 children. It can feel deeply unradical, ordinary and anonymous. it is adding exponentially to my already intense isolation. While not my intention, my world has become this house, this home. As someone who is disabled and chronically ill, i am tapped…and this is capitalism at work yeah? its a set up. there is not enough. not enough time/money/energy.

and revolution. well…it’s THE thing.
but heres the thing, the front lines aren’t linear. they aren’t always dramatic. they
aren’t -out-there-. they are everywhere, including the kitchen. including the bedtime story and the hands on love of being present for need.

i’m learning to think less in terms of productivity, esp. since framing life that way will certainly end me, and think more in terms of sustaining… sustenance… support. this flies in the face of my lower class life that screams produce, keep the cards close or die. it challenges the ableism in my working class roots, the internalized high stakes drive to succeed. to avoid being trash. or criminal.”

- Ambrose @ The Root Cellar

Erin Aubry Kaplan also has a great piece about communicating (or not) with her mother via email over the years. Great read.

You can buy the mag here.

Aquila Magazine: Ancient Innovation For Modern Problems

arwafreelance — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 22:02:59 +0000

Here’s a sneak peek of my latest article for Aquila Magazine’s Earth Issue. It’s all about indigenous populations making the most of their ancient traditions to cope with an increasingly unpredictable climate. As well as highlighting the continued importance of ancient water tunnels (called aflaj) in Oman, I spoke to an expert on community adaption in Bangladesh about the floating gardens (called baira) which are providing a lifeline to flooded communities. There’s also a snippet on the amazing work of Hassan Fathy in Egypt…

Want to read more? Well all you have to do is download (how eco is that?!) a copy of the latest Aquila Magazine here. It’s only a couple of dollars for a mag jam-packed with goodness. Go on, you know you want to!

SISTERS – The Green Edition: Faith, Families and Features

arwafreelance — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 09:18:17 +0000

After lots of work and even more enthusiasm (well done Brooke!) the very lovely and very special green issue of SISTERS is out. It’s bursting with green quizzes, features, top tips for your home and also a round up of some great eco-Muslims organisations. I’ve contributed an article on the issue of population growth and ask the whether large Muslim families are a blessing or a curse. Read on for more and also to download or buy your own copy.

@FabulousSISTERS – Hymens, Hijabs and Helmets: Muslimahs Who Cycle (arwafreelance.com)

Aquila Style Magazine: What glides along swiftly and silently while creating commotion and confusion?

arwafreelance — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 14:53:39 +0000

‘I am trying to give my friends the courage to join me, so we can prove to all those who think bad of us that we’re well educated Muslimahs,’ explains Rola Mohammed. ‘That we wear the hijab and what we do isn’t wrong.’

This young pharmacy student living in the Egyptian city of Mansoura clearly has a battle on her hands. Rola wants to change engrained beliefs and cultural taboos that dictate how a woman is seen, the freedom she is granted and the physical activities she is permitted to do. She wants women in Egypt and all across the region to rise up and try something they’ve probably never done before: She wants them to cycle.

To read the full feature, go to Aquila Style Magazine – The Empower Issue and download it for a couple of dollars. Go on. You know you want to.

Aquila: The Pink Revolution – Overthrowing Sexual Violence (arwafreelance.com)
@FabulousSISTERS – Hymens, Hijabs and Helmets: Muslimahs Who Cycle (arwafreelance.com)

MCM: Awareness into action? Manchester BME groups talk climate change

arwafreelance — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 20:23:37 +0000

A group of around 30, pretty diverse, people attended an event today hoping to raise awareness about the impact of climate change on BME communities in Manchester.

The event kicked off with an introduction by the chair of the Manchester BME Network Atiha Chaudry who also gave some of the partners a chance to talk about their Defra-funded research and findings. This included Michelle Ayavoro from Creative Hands and Kate Damiral from NCVO. I sadly missed this but arrived in time to sample some the workshops.

After listening into the ‘understanding the impact of climate change’ presentation I wandered into the community involvement workshop run by Catrina Pickering from Afsl. All attendees were given some handouts about projects in Manchester and were told to discuss them in pairs and share back to the group. I happened to walk in just as the group were enthusing about how great Manchester Climate Monthly was (my work here is done!) so I was pretty impressed. All the attendees got to talk about projects they wanted to share with others and also ask for help. Pretty cool stuff but I’m clearly biased.

Talking to various people during lunchtime, it’s clear that whilst they were happy that the awareness-raising event (funded by Defra as part of the research) was happening, they were wondering ‘what next?’. I sat down with Atiha Chaudry and asked her that very question. Here’s what she said:

The final report with all the findings and also the toolkit will be available next month.

DW: Egypt mourns eco-activist Mindy Baha El Din

arwafreelance — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 15:13:50 +0000

Egypt’s environmental community is in mourning following the sudden death of activist Mindy Baha El Din. Local journalist Arwa Aburawa knew Baha El Din personally and gives her thoughts on the passing of a hero.

I first met Mindy Baha El Din during an interview back in 2011. The first thing that struck me about her was her positive outlook on things. It seemed like, on environmental issues, she was immune to becoming cynical about anything.

Born Mindy Rosenzweig, the Chicago-born American initially came to Egypt in 1988 with a mission to highlight the importance of conservation. In the end, it turned out that it was such a big task that she never left.

Instead, she fell in love with Egypt’s nature, met and married bird expert Sherif Baha El Din and became one of the country’s leading green campaigners. She was also the Secretary of the ‘Nature Conservation Egypt’ organization, which is dedicated to conserving Egypt’s environment.

“Over the years, we have witnessed massive changes and degradation to Egypt’s natural heritage,” she told me back in 2011. “It is shocking how one generation made decisions about natural resource use, affecting present and all future generations of Egyptians.”

New environmental projects are sprouting up across Egypt, thanks to Baha El Din’s groundwork

“The nation is blessed with amazing nature, cultural heritage and traditional communities which need to be protected.”

Campaigning on different fronts

During my environmental reporting on the Middle East, I would regularly receive tweets from Mindy about everything from campaigns to stop development projects near Lake Qarun, to efforts to end fishing in Ras Mohammed National Park.

Mindy Baha El Din wasn’t shy about making the most of social media and was proud of all the international support she managed to garner for her campaigns.

“We are new to environmental activism,” she confessed to me following the revolution in Egypt which saw the overthrow of the dictator Mubarak in early 2011. “It was not tolerated in the past but seems to suit the current atmosphere in the country.”

Indeed, following the Arab Spring, Mindy seemed to go into top gear with an even greater belief in the need to keep people informed and the importance of openness.

Still, at the same time, she was very proud of being Egyptian and told me she considered herself lucky to call Egypt her home.

“Living here is like being on a permanent vacation,” she had said.

A husband and wife team

Working with her husband, she led international campaigns against bird hunting, helped inform government environmental policy and campaigned to conserve any precious piece of nature that came under threat.

Environmental journalist Arwa Aburawa first met Mindy Baha El Din in 2011

“We both have a strong sense of civic duty,” she explained. “We have tried our best to make a difference, but it has been an uphill struggle.”

The one thing that struck me whenever I interviewed Mindy Baha El Din was just how optimistic she was. Even after the revolution which toppled Mubarak threatened to push environmental issues further down the political agenda, she saw new opportunities and new potential in the young people who flooded the streets.

“What is very exciting after the revolution is all these creative, talented and bright young people,” she said. “They are the nation’s capital and future. They want to be involved in improving their nation. It is up to us environmental campaigners to find ways to engage and channel their energies,” she said.

Last Thursday (14.03.2013) Mindy suffered a stroke and was hospitalized. During an operation a later later she fell into a coma. She passed away early on the following Monday morning. Her wake will be held later this week in Cairo and is open to the public.

::Originally published at Deutsche Welle.

@FabulousSISTERS – Hymens, Hijabs and Helmets: Muslimahs Who Cycle

arwafreelance — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 21:44:49 +0000

Readers, I present my latest green column for SISTERS Magazine which is all about cycling as a Muslim woman. Got a great response to my more personal columns so it’s about my experience navigating the cultural minefield that this otherwise innocent form of transport throws up. Anyway, I hope you enjoy and share. Just click on the images to have a read.

MCM: Manchester’s Climate Vulnerable – An Interview with Atiha Chaudry

arwafreelance — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 07:13:18 +0000

Whilst it’s easy to think that all those people ‘really vulnerable’ to climate change live in far away places, the truth is they don’t. They live in cities great and small all over the world. And there are some living right here in Manchester. Who are they? Well, there are the marginalised, the socially, economically and politically vulnerable. They are our old, our BME, our asylum seekers and refugees and whilst our climate keeps changing, we ought to figure out a way to protect them.

Last year, the Manchester BME Network got £15,000 from Defra to do exactly that. They were tasked with “mapping the needs of BME, older people and refugee and asylum communities to better understand their needs and concerns about the impact of a changing change.” The project also wanted to find the gaps and consider how these might be addressed. The project is led by Muslim Communities UK (MC-UK) with direct support from Manchester BME Network (MBMEN), Salford Refugee Forum and Creative Hands Foundation. The partners interviewed 100 people and held four focus groups.

Ahead of the final report which will be released next week, MCFly caught up with Atiha Chaudry, from MBMEN, to talk about their findings and what happens next.

Could you tell us a little about the Manchester BME network and the work it does?

The MBMEN is a well established network supporting BME groups and organisations in Manchester. It holds regular networking meetings addressing key issues relevant to the BME sector and brings together a diverse range of groups, individuals and local stakeholders to meet and share knowledge and experience. The Network delivers a range of projects and currently is involved in the following: a partnership with Fareshare to address the issue of food redistribution and meet the needs of those in most need; climate change and its impact on the BME sector; safeguarding and supplementary schools; sexual health and BME women.

You mention that the network has been involved in climate change before. Could you tell us what form the project took and why you were keen to tackle this issue?

We were invited by NCVO a year ago to work with them on a pilot project in Greater Manchester which would look at working with a cohort of 20 BME groups. We brought together these groups and sat on the steering group for delivering this project . It involved 3 workshops to build knowledge and understanding of climate change, disseminate this to others the groups work with and build a better awareness in the local communities.This was really successful and lead to the success of the bid to Defra for a £15,000 grant for further work gathering evidence of need and developing solutions. The NCVO work will be presented at a national conference where we will have the opportunity to share our experience and influence the national strategy.

Why do you feel it’s important to explore the climate change and BME link now?

Because, many BME communities need more awareness and connection to local strategies so that the particular concerns of BME communities are taken on board. BME communities also have an added issue about the impacts of climate change to their friends and family in their country of origin as well as the overall impact of this on wider issues (eg foods they are used to eating from their countries of heritage).

What do you hope to do with these findings and the information that emerges from your research?

We hope to produce a toolkit that addresses the concerns people share with us so that it can provide advice and support. We are also holding a conference at the end of the project (end of March) to share our findings, engage the strategic and wider sector, influence local work and national strategy and look at ways to continue the work we have started.

Is the funding for research only or will some be available to implement some findings?

It’s for research only but we are hopeful that through engaging local stakeholders we can continue the work.

Originally posted at Manchester Climate Monthly.

Aquila: The Pink Revolution – Overthrowing Sexual Violence

arwafreelance — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 08:00:50 +0000

‘Perhaps this is a Rosa Parks moment,’ says street harassment expert Holly Kearl, pondering the global outcry following the rape and subsequent death of the young student in India. ‘If it is, I am sorry it took a woman being tortured to death to cause it, but if wide-scale change is a result, then at least her death will create something positive. Perhaps it will prevent many other women from experiencing what she did.’

That’s a tiny snippet from the article I recently wrote for Aquila Magazine on sexual violence and harassment. As well as talking to activists in India who are reeling from this incident, I spoke to Nihal Zaghloul, a campaigner who co-founded ‘The Imprint Movement’ to tackle sexual harrassment in Egypt after a horrific experience in Tahrir Squar. Holly Kearl who is author of Stop Street Harassment: Making Public Places Safe and Welcoming for Women, also offers her practical advice and tips to end harassment. To read this article and seriously loads more, download the latest Aquila magazine for a measly $4. That’s like £2 – nothing basically so no pressure or anything, but you may want to click here and download it….