Being the girl from future!

Alia Turki Al-Rabeo

I always avoid talking about myself. I believe that a journalist’s task in life is to talk about other people and their lives and make them effectively heard.

When I begin working as a journalist a few years ago, I did not have much experience in life. I dreamt of being a news presenter all the time. However, I joined a news channel as a producer with the promise of being made anchor of my own show sooner than later. I didn’t realize that the management’s promise would cause jealousy at such high magnitude. My enemies were all women and they seemed on a mission to fail me.

I changed my mind about the womenfolk from being jealous to a mentor when I met this great female journalist, who inspired me to write instead of dreaming of being a showpiece on TV screen. I became voice of my people, struggling to change their situation for the better. Thus began a journey of reporting for wire services and foreign newspapers, until I won a UN international award.

With this social and journalistic exposure, I find Lebanese and Jordanian women more self-confident, open-minded and ambitious compared to their Syrian sisters. It goes without saying that the Turkish women got their right much before us and they have defined their role as productive citizens in every walk of life.

The Syria women are clever enough to fight with their sisters for social space but they find tackling men really too hard. Despite being clever and intelligent, over 70% from Syrian men underestimate them while the remaining are close-mind and insecure, pretending as liberals with a rare breed of true believers in female empowerment and equal social status.

My late father always inspired me to be more ambitious, my brother appreciates my being different from the other girls while my special one calls me ‘the girl from future’. I am so much blessed indeed!

I am not saying that women alone can change their fate and lives. Rather women need male help in improving their situation. When I become a radical feminist due some situation or a particular event, I think of these three men in my life. I no more stereotype men in one form or the other.

In Arabic, they say behind every great man there is a great woman, but I am saying behind every great woman there are great men. We should stop blaming men all the time for our bad situation.

Interestingly behind these men, I have one great woman who teaches me that nothing is difficult in the world. We can do everything we want. She is my elder sister Alaa. Thus in a way, to be a successful woman, you need a great woman at your back.

Prior joining the World Pulse, I wanted to enroll in women studies. Then I realized the need to study more on women issues, to hear more about their stories and to write more about them. When I read about the World Pulse, I realized that here is my space.

It is not enough to talk about women issue in a loud angry voice. Rather we need good communication skills and trainings to be make our message more meaningful for everyone. We need to improve the future by changing our present day world and here is the space to experiment the same.