Khadija Al-Salami

Social Worker and Humanitarian

Currently serves as Press and Cultural attach and Director of the Yemeni Information Centre at the Embassy of Yemen in Paris.

First Female Film Producer of Yemen

Works Hadramaout: Crossroads of Civilizations (1991) Le pays suspendu (1994) Women of Islam (1995) Land of Sheba (1997) Yemen of a Thousand Faces (2000) A Stranger in Her Own City (2005) Amina (2006)

Khadija al-Salami From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Khadija al-Salami (born 1966, in Sana'a, Yemen), is the first Yemeni female film producer. Al-Salami resides in Paris, France. At an early age, al-Salami was sent to live with relatives after her mother divorced her father over severe domestic abuse. At age 11, she was forced by her uncle into an early marriage and was raped by her husband. Some weeks later, after much protest and disobedience, her husband returned her to her uncle, who immediately disowned her and returned her to her single mother. She escaped the immense family and society pressure by finding employment with the local television station and simultaneously attending school in the mornings.

At the age of 16, she received a scholarship to finish secondary school in the United States. Subsequently, she enrolled at the Mount Vernon College for Women, in Washington, D.C.. After a period in Yemen and Paris, she returned to Washington to earn her Master's degree in communications at the American university. For her thesis, she produced her first film. Since then, al-Salami has produced several documentaties for various television networks in France and Yemen. The primary focus of her documentaries focus on women, possibly as a reflection of her life experience. She has also co-authored with her current husband, the American Charles Hoots, an autobiography, The Tears of Sheba. al-Salami currently serves as Press and Cultural attach and Director of the Yemeni Information Centre at the Embassy of Yemen in Paris.

http://youtu.be/PAkPFZQA6EM

Yemeni filmmaker Khadija Al Salamis background is as compelling as her film Once a child bride, Khadija Al Salami has made a documentary about women in Yemens 2011 uprising By David Tusing, Deputy tabloid! Editor Published: 12:12 December 12, 2012
Share on emailShare on facebookShare on twitterShare on printMore Sharing Services4 Its not often that a storytellers background becomes as compelling as the story itself. But such is Yemeni filmmaker Khadija Al Salamis, whose film Al Sarka (The Scream) is one of 15 documentaries to be screened under the Muhr Arab category at this years Dubai International Film Festival. Khadija, often referred to as Yemens first woman filmmaker and producer, was born in Sanaa, where was married off at the age of 11 by her uncle and single mother and then raped by her husband. Determined to change her fate, she fought her way out and enrolled in a school only to be disowned by her family. Still, refusing to follow the same destiny as her mother and grandmother, also child brides, she landed in the US under a scholarship and then eventually moved to Paris, where she became a diplomat, and served as the cultural attach at the Yemeni Embassy.

Khadija, now 46, has since made 20 films, most of them dealing with womens rights issues and freedom. For her latest, she is back in the country of her birth, to tell the story of Yemeni women who were leading from the front last year in a bid to oust President Ali Abdullah Saleh. There are just so many stories to tell. So many inspiring people whose voices need to be heard, says a softly spoken Khadija. Article continues below Filmed for two weeks in April during the uprising in 2011, The Scream is mostly told through accounts of four women a writer, a poet, a human rights activist and a politician, Tawakkol Karman, who ended up being honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize. I was surprised that women were right there at the front with the men, fighting for change, and I had to film it, says Khadija. The fact that they came out and were asserting themselves in one of the most oppressive societies, screaming, shouting for change, it was an electrifying feeling. You never see their faces because most of them are covered, but you could see the fire in their eyes. It was a great feeling. But there was one thing about the womens fight that surprised even Khadija.

As we were filming, we began to notice that while the men let the women protest along with them, the majority of them still oppressed their own women in their homes, and would never let them have an equal place in society. The double standard was interesting: here were men demanding for their freedom against a dictator, who would even give up their lives for it but who would go home and deny their women the same basic rights they fought for outside. So the womens fight became a greater fight. Although to the outside world it seemed as though they fought against the system like the men, it was a call for liberation, for freedom after years of oppression, explains Khadija. While films based around the Arab Spring and the role women have played in it have been dominating film festivals this year, the director says her story with Yemeni women at the forefront is unique. Compared to countries like Egypt and Tunisia, women in Yemen have it harder when it comes to freedom, she says. So I think people will be able to understand the extraordinary circumstances they were in. While the revolutions have brought about change, her film, she hopes, will inspire people around the world, not just women, to find their voices. I hope people will see it and find the courage to assert themselves and to stand up for the things they believe in, she says. Dont miss it The Scream screens on December 13 at 12.30pm at Mall of the Emirates.

A Stranger in Her Own City Khadija Al-Salami I met Najmia by chance as I was walking around the old city of Sanaa. I noticed this young girl struggling to live her life freely in a society that places so many restrictions on women. She was unveiled, played in the street with boys, rode a bicycle and did whatever she felt like. Fortunately that day I had my camera and began to shoot spontaneously. I went back to film her in her neighborhood and remained discreet. Najmia's personality put her in the spotlight since people were not used to seeing a strong girl like her. Though most people rebuked her, I noticed a feeling of admiration as they joked and laughed with her. After seven months of shooting the film, Najmia's father stopped her from attending school and ordered her to wear the veil. A year later when the film first prize at the Berlin Film Festival, the President of Yemen asked to see the film. He was so drawn to Najmia's personality that he offered to pay for Najmia's education. That to me was the best prize I could have ever gotten for the film. Like Najmia, I too had a rebellious personality. Forced to get married at 11, I realized I had to fight my battles myself. With my mother's help I was able to secure a divorce and quickly realized that education was my key to success and independence. I worked at a local TV station in the afternoons and went to school in the mornings. At 16 I won a scholarship to study film-making in the United States and Najmia s story is my first film. Relatives who earlier opposed me now praise me and hope their daughters would follow in my footsteps. Instead of being a bad example, I became a good example. This change makes me happy and makes me feel like I contributed to the evolution of women in my country.

Amina (2006)

Review Summary for The New York Ti mes

At the age of eleven, Yemenite Amina al-Tuhaif was married in an arranged union to a man many years her senior, and at fourteen she was sentenced to death when a court found her guilty of murdering her husband. Amina, however, has strongly argued her innocence, insisting that her husband was strangled by his cousin, who was having an affair with him and warned Amina that she would be implicated in the crime if she went to the police. Tried for the murder without proper legal representation, Amina was scheduled for execution in 2002 (when she would be old enough to be hanged under Yemen's laws), but by the time her date with the hangman arrived, she was pregnant after being raped by a prison guard. The prison staff responded by pushing her execution forward to 2005 (by which time her child would no longer be breastfeeding), while her family cut off all contact with her, insisting the rape had brought shame to her mother and father. Khadija Al-Salami, an award-winning filmmaker from Yemen, became aware of Amina's tragic story through newspaper reports, and began conducting interviews with the young woman while visiting her in prison. Amina is a documentary drawn from their conversations, which uses Amina's story as an example of the legal and societal abuses heaped upon Arabic women, as well as telling the story of a girl who has struggled to survive in the face of overwhelming odds. Amina was screened in competition at the 2006 Dubai Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Child
Brides

Photography by Stephanie Sinclair

"Whenever I saw him, I hid. I hated to see him," Tahani (in pink) recalls of the early days of her marriage to Majed, when she was 6 and he was 25. The young wife posed for this portrait with former classmate Ghada, also a child bride, outside their mountain home in Hajjah.

Photography by Stephanie Sinclair

After celebrating with female relatives at a wedding party, Yemeni brides Sidaba and Galiyaah are veiled and escorted to a new life with their husbands. "Some rural girls see marriage as saving themselves from the control of their families," says an activist in the capital, Sanaa.

Asia, a 14-year-old mother, washes her new baby girl at home in Hajjah while her 2-year-old daughter plays. Asia is still bleeding and ill from childbirth yet has no education or access to information on how to care for herself.

Kandahar policewoman Malalai Kakar arrests a man who repeatedly stabbed his wife, 15, for disobeying him. "Nothing," Kakar said, when asked what would happen to the husband. "Men are kings here." Kakar was later killed by the Taliban.

Long after midnight, five-year-old Rajani is roused from sleep and carried by her uncle to her wedding. Child marriage is illegal in India, so ceremonies are often held in the wee hours of morning. It becomes a secret the whole village keeps, explained one farmer.

When Sunil's parents arranged for her marriage at age 11, she threatened to report them to police in Rajasthan, India. They relented, and Sunil, now 13, stayed in school. "Studying will give her an edge against others," her mother now says.

This group of young brides in a village in western Yemen were quiet and shyuntil talk turned to education. Most of the girls, who were married between the ages of 14 and 16, had never attended school, but all say they still hope for an education.

Child Marriage Around the World Percentage of girls marrying before the age of 18 1 Niger 76.6 2 Chad 71.5 3 Bangladesh 68.7 4 Mali 65.4 5 Guinea 64.5 6 Central African Republic 57.0 7 Nepal 56.1 8 Mozambique 55.9 9 Uganda 54.1 10 Burkina Faso 51.9 11 India 50.0 12 Ethiopia 49.1 13 Liberia 48.4 13 Yemen 48.4 15 Cameroon 47.2 16 Eritrea 47.0 17 Malawi 46.9 18 Nicaragua 43.3 18 Nigeria 43.3 20 Zambia 42.1 Source ICRW

More than 100 million girls in the developing world will be married during the next 10 years. Although the definition of child marriage includes boys, most children married under the age of 18 years are girls. While the practice has decreased globally over the last 30 years, it remains common in rural areas and among the poorest of the poor.

In Southern Asia, 48%nearly 10 millionof girls are married before the age of 18.
In Africa, 42% of girls were married before turning 18. In Latin America and the Caribbean, 29% of girls are married by age 18.

Child brides are more likely than unmarried girls to die younger, suffer from health problems, live in poverty and remain illiterate.
Premature Pregnancy: Child brides almost always bear children before they are physically - or emotionally - ready. Maternal Mortality: Girls younger than 15 are five times more likely to die during child birth or pregnancy than older women. Pregnancy-related deaths are the leading cause of mortality for girls aged 15 to 19 worldwide.

Poverty: Child brides - already poor - are isolated and denied education and employment opportunities, making it difficult for them break out of the cycle of poverty.

Isolation and Abandonment: Child brides are often isolated from their peers and abandoned if they develop health problems like fistula. Abuse and Violence: Child brides are more likely to experience domestic abuse, and violence than their peers who marry later. Mental Health: Violence and abuse can lead to posttraumatic stress and depression.

Infant Mortality: Mortality rates for babies born to mothers under age 20 are almost 75% higher than for children born to older mothers. The children that survive are more likely to be premature, have a low birth weight, and are more at risk for contracting HIV/AIDS.

Health Problems: Premature childbirth can lead to a variety of health problems for mothers, including fistula, a debilitating condition that causes chronic incontinence. Girls with fistula are often abandoned by their husbands and ostracized by society. There are approximately 2 million girls living with fistula, and 100,000 new cases every year.
HIV/AIDS: Married girls may be more likely to contract sexually transmitted disease, including HIV/AIDS, than unmarried girls. Young girls are more physically susceptible to STD's, have less access to reproductive education and health services and are often powerless to demand the use of contraception.

What can be done to prevent child marriage?

Education

Girls with a secondary education are up to six times less likely to marry young compared to girls with little or no education.
Education provides an alternative opportunity for girls other than marriage.

Education delays the age at which a woman marries.

Education increases socio-economic status and earning potential for girls.

Employment/Poverty Reduction The world's poorest countries have the highest rates of child marriage. Families often marry girls off to lessen their economic burden and provide a future for their daughters. Girls from poor families are about twice as likely to marry young than girls from better-off households. Girls who earn a wage may be seen as an economic asset, not a burden, by their families. Girls who earn a wage are less dependent on others to provide for them.

To learn more about child marriage Expert Q&A Child Rights Information Network International Center for Research on Women(ICRW) Population Council UNFPA UNICEF

Sources

Centers for Disease Control: Health Consequences of Child Marriage in Africa

ICRW: Child Marriage and Education (PDF) New Insights on Preventing Child Marriage (PDF) IWHC: Child Marriage Fact Sheet Population Council: The Implications of Early Marriage for HIV/AIDS Policy (PDF)

UNFPA: Child Marriage Fact Sheet

UNICEF: Child Marriage