JEDA: Sudan's Future Rests in Very Young Hands

A young woman takes a singular risk in conservative, Muslim North Africa. Will she succeed - against all odds -and light the way for others?

The future of Sudan rests in the hands of its young women. Like Jeda. She’s 17 years old and one of the best students in her class in the refugee camp. She’s smart and studies hard. And crucially – her parents both believe that girls should go to school.

Her brother is sending money home from Israel, and her older sister is working as a midwife in the capital. Jeda has big plans as well.

Though it won’t be easy. Jeda has to get up early to do all her chores before she goes to school.
The moment she gets home it’s back to work, fixing lunch for the men. Her younger brothers spend their morning hanging out, listening to music and playing with their shades.

Still, Jeda’s lucky – she has her own room to study and more clothes than most Sudanese girls her age. And most importantly, when lunch is finally ready, Jeda is allowed to sit down to eat with the men. Her mother holes up around the corner with her other children.

Hopefully, Jeda’s younger sister will eventually follow in her footsteps.

As soon as tea is served, Jeda is off on another errand.

For Jeda, those classes are more than just factual information - they’re changing the way she sees the world. Jeda now wants a husband who knows how to read and write. And she has no plans to marry until she’s finished with her own education. She works hard to talk her friends and neighbors into sending their girls to school as well

Jeda doesn't just talk a good game - her actions speak for themselves. When an aid organization, puts together a girls’ volleyball team, Jeda immediately signs up. In a country this conservative, that is a very risky move.

So it comes as no surprise that when Jeda hears they’re putting on a play , she signs up for that as well. The players talk for days before they finally agree upon an incredibly brave topic:
Why girls should be allowed to go to school.

They practice for three weeks – figuring out the plot and improvising lines.

And then… opening day.

A humanitarian organization donates a couple of tents. Jeda and the other girls are really nervous – they’ve never had to speak in public before, especially in front of men.

But how do you attract an audience in a place with neither cell phones, nor text messaging?
You use a megaphone. One of the men walks through every block in the camp and, like the Pied Piper, comes back with several hundred children.

And the play begins.

Haruma, a dirt-poor farmer, doesn’t want his daughter to go to school.
His wife tries to talk him into it.
HARUMA’S WIFE: Why don’t you let our daughter go to school?
Not a chance.
HARUMA: I will never allow Fatima to go to school.
His daughter, Fatima, shows up and makes a pitch herself.
HARUMA’S DAUGHTER: But all my friends are going to school.
Haruma tells her to shut up,
HARUMA: Be silent!
and she dashes off in tears.
Haruma’s best friend arrives next
and offers some excellent advice.
HARUMA FRIEND: If you send your daughter to school then she will be useful to you.
But Haruma just gets mad and kicks him out.
HARUMA: Get out of my house! Don’t tell me what to do!
Haruma’s wife then goes to visit his mother (who turns out to be Jeda),
and mom pays her son a visit.
She doesn’t pull any punches.
HARUMA’S MOM: If you do not allow your daughter to go to school then you are not my son.
Not that it makes much difference. Haruma still won’t budge.
And finally, Haruma best friend returns – suddenly well dressed.
His fortunes have changed dramatically for the better.
HARUMA’S FRIEND: My daughter finished studying and bought me a ticket to Italy.
But Haruma’s wife gets in the last word before she leaves.
HARUMA’S WIFE: I told you so. I’m leaving you. I’m going to live with my mother.
Haruma’s devastated.
HARUMA: What have I done?
And breaks down in tears.
The kids are mesmerized.

If there is going to be a change, it won’t come from us.
It will start right here, with the Sudanese themselves.

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Category: Travel

Видео JEDA: Sudan's Future Rests in Very Young Hands канала Our Human Planet