Gender Equity Network

In a recent article published in the New Yorker, which was quite popular online, mixed marriages between citizens of two different countries are described as playing a part in developing compassion and understanding between people in the world: “The awareness and negotiation of small differences add up to a larger understanding about the complexities of the world.”^[1] Amidst growing globalisation, mixed marriages are indeed increasingly common and appreciated for their transnational multiculturalism.

“This not about my personal story. This is a story that affected many people, and I am just one example of it. Of course we all had some kind of background, a life before. For example, I was always rebellious and active in fighting for my rights, at home, in school, in university, it was as if life was somehow preparing me for what happened afterwards. And in 1982 I got dragged into this cause that was bigger than me and bigger than anything I have ever lived. From that moment on, it occupied me completely.

"في كل لقاءٍ أجريناه مع مختلف الجاليات، أردت التأكد من أننا نشدّد على فكرة التضامن. لم نعد الآن نقول: الفيليبين وسريلانكا وأثيوبيا وبنغلادش. أصبحنا نقول نقابيات. نحن النساء العاملات. نحن لا نذكر الجاليات، بل نبرز النساء العاملات معاً. هكذا توصلنا إلى [...] نقابة. أنا أنتزع دائماً بطاقتي النقابية وأرفعها بيدي وأسأل: من لديه هذه؟ رداً على ذلك، تلوّح العضوات ببطاقاتهن. فأقول: لقد أصبحت لديكن هذه البطاقة الآن، وفي حال نظرت إحداهن إليكنّ هنا بطرقٍ مغايرة، عليكنّ القول: هيه! أنا واحدة منكن! هذا ما أبرزه دائماً.