When you think about your girlhood, what age comes to mind?
My adolescence started when I was 10 and lasted until I was 20. My fight, however, started before I was 10. I’d say around 7 years old. I grew up in a chiefdom in which children, especially girls, aren’t systematically sent to school. Each time a quota is requested, my family would seek kids from other families to send to school, not us. It is said that children from the Royal Family don’t need an education and that they must remain in the family to ensure its longevity. But I wanted to go to school, and so I went by myself.
What made you want to go to school so badly?
I don’t know. Curiosity maybe. The school was a new place in the village, and we didn’t know what it was about. When I saw people going there, I would follow them. I remember it well; we were in warehouses and I would sit down with the girls.
How did others respond to your attempt to go to school?
The other girls told me “We’re going to hit you; don’t follow us”. They would see me come back from school and tell me “You’re still going to school? When are you going to stop?”. I woke up each day and told my mom I would help her with all the house chores. I would do everything to be able to go to school. I wasn’t hiding when I went, so people saw me. I was scolded, and people tried to stop me from going but I found a way to go. I was finally enrolled in school in the Second Grade.
You fought for your education at a very young age. Were you always this bold? What kind of girl were you back then?
I was kind of a rebellious girl. I unconsciously was a girl who did what she wanted. I was surrounded by my uncles and aunts, but they had no idea what I was thinking or the plans in my head.
How would you define resistance? What does it mean to you?
First, you must know what you want. I don’t like being forced into something, especially if it doesn’t suit me. Everyone in the family knows me. Since childhood, it’s been like that. I’m very respectful and I respect the hierarchy and everything. But when someone tries to show me that “it’s not that, it’s by the commandment that we have to…” and that I must do something, well, I’ll weigh up whether it’s convenient for me to do. But if it doesn’t suit me, even in my professional life, I don’t think I can do it
How did resistance become a central part of your life? Was there a transition? Or did it just happen?
No, I think it just happened. I think that it’s something I’ve always been interested in and that was driving me. I’ll give you an example. In 2013, I was on a pilgrimage to Mecca. You’ve seen how I dress; I’m veiled and everything. When we got on the bus, they said men should be in the front and women in the back. A man stood in the middle, and he said to the women only: “Go to the back, go to the back”. When he came and lifted my head, he said, “Go on, get out”. I said, “According to whom? According to what passage of the Quran? Leave me alone”. The man continued and finally, they were all sitting down. I did not move. There were men in front of me, men behind me, and no one dared to say anything to me. What happened? Nothing.
What has your resistance changed, whether in your family or your circle or even in the country? What impact has your resistance had?
There are no forced or non-consensual marriages in my family anymore. And my family would always say that it’s ever since I set the example. That’s one thing. Politically, I am and have been involved in the government. Especially at the Parliament. I am a member of the national political bureau of the president currently in power. That’s what it takes! Sometimes with politics, you also manage to pass the message about women’s issues. People know that when I am in a meeting, I always defend the cause of women. You don’t even have to try to attack these issues. I’ll defend them. And if I find others who advocate for that, that’s fine. If I don’t find others, I raise awareness.
