November 28, 2023 • 9 mins
Today we're talking about feminist political activist and engineer Amira Osman.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hey, this is a name and Samantha, and welcome to Stefan.
Never told you a protection of iHeart Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
And today's feminist around the world. Yes, we're here. We
are talking about feminist political activists an engineer. I feel
like that's important to add because she is an engineer,
Amara Asman Ahmed. And of course I'm just gonna put
that caveat or doing our best with pronunciations. If you
have a correction, please let us know and we'll give
(00:39):
you information on how to do that later. Huh. Yes,
And I will say most of the articles that we read,
they reference her as Amera Osman. So Ahmed is not
often used, but we are going to reference her as
Hahmed because that's how I found her. Just with that
as well. So Ahmed is a Sudanese women's rights activist
and has been under scrutiny under the current and previous
(01:03):
regime for her stance on women's rights and just in
our activism. In twenty twenty two, she was arrested in
detained for her activism, but was released later. She is
still subjected to prosecution by the government, according to different reports.
I'm not exactly sure as to what and I will
say most of the reports and information we've gotten are
from twenty twenty two or earlier, so I'm not really
(01:26):
sure where she's at today. I think that needs to
be said. We know there's a big war happening and
a lot of dangerous situations, especially for a lot of
the activists there, which is also while we're talking about them.
So if someone on here may know more information or
more updated information, please let us know. But we don't
want that to stop us from celebrating what she's already done. So.
(01:48):
She was born in nineteen seventy six and studied computer engineering,
and her activism began at an early age. In an
interview with a Nobel's Women's Initiative, she talks about her
time in high schoo and her refusing to follow something
that she didn't believe in, and how she felt supported
by her mother and her family. She talked about knowing
she couldn't let herself be forced by others, and she
(02:11):
said this, looking back at it, if I did, I
would have been broken for the rest of my life.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
The article continues on. It was nineteen ninety two in
Sudan under the authoritarian regime of Omar al Bashir, though
she had joined the Democratic Front at school, Amara was
more interested in sports than activism until that night, A
snowball of anger was born inside me. That anger has
spurred Amera for three decades to campaign against authoritarian and
(02:39):
military rule, for democracy, freedom of speech and assembly, and
to challenge patriarchal laws in Sudan that denied dignity and
restrict women's freedom.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
And again, with all of this, she has had the
support of her family. She talked about her mother's support
for her involvement with different protests. She said, whenever I
went out in a protest, my mother always used to
tell me, don't let them terrify you. Don't let the
military in Alkaizan or Islamist terrify. You stay together. You're
stronger when you're together. I miss her so much, and
(03:11):
with those words, Osmond has actively been fighting for equal
rights in her country for decades. In two thousand and two,
she was arrested for daring to wear pants. Then later
in twenty thirteen, she was detained for refusing to wear
a headscarf. I believe she also was again arrested in
twenty twenty for wearing pants, and then once again for
(03:33):
refusing to wear a headscarf, and she has repeatedly been arrested,
threatened and detained and she is disabled. Believe her back
and even during this time they still mistreated her and
abuse her. She has gone on hunger strikes and protest
and called on the world to see what was happening
to her community.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
And in two thousand and nine, she with a group
of Sudanese people started the No to Oppression against Women's Initiatives.
Here's some information from Peaceinsight dot org. Note to Women's
Oppression Initiative was established in two thousand and nine in
the aftermath of increased police and security harassment against women
in Sudan. In particular, the initiative was sparked by the
(04:15):
incident of police forces arresting Sudanese female journalists Lovna Hussein
for wearing trousers and accusing her of a violation of
the Sharia based Public Order Act. In response to that
incident and several other women rights violations, women activists in
Sudan organized to fight against the public Order law and
unlawful abuses against women in Sudan. The Note to Women's
(04:36):
Oppression Initiative was formed to advance cooperation and solidarity through
collective response to violations of women's rights in Sudan and
fight all kinds of abuse facing women because of their
gender right.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
And it should be noted that during this time women
were being flogged for violating these laws. Amara herself was
threatened with being flogged for refusing to wear a headscar.
I believe the human rights organization actually stepped in to
prevent that from happening because there was a huge outcry
around the world when they found out about the sentencing.
(05:10):
But it still occurs, and so that same sitepiece, Insight
dot org continues on their team monitors the women's human
rights violations in the country, particularly the incidents of public order,
law based police violence, violations of rights in Sudan's conflict regions,
and other unlawful violations against women. They take immediate actions
(05:31):
supporting and standing with victims of incidents, supported through our monitors,
and this is about that. Organization continues on the initiative
organizers advocacy campaigns, supporting victims through protests during the court hearings,
press releases and reports. They also conduct outreach and workshop
empowering women to exercise their right and resist the unjust
(05:51):
laws They provide volunteer lawyers to present victims in court
and support their cases. They also conduct fundraising with their
network to provide any Nagel requirements to certain cases. They
also visit prisons and monitor the situation of women, particularly
the victims of public or law, such as local alcohol
brewers and tea sellers.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
And with all of her amazing work, she still talks
about solidarity and kindness. She is quoted as saying when
the accident happened, I was paralyzed in my bed. The
love and the solidarity that I felt during this period
of my life from my friends and family and even
people who I didn't know, is heartwarming and showed me
what the Sudanese people are made of. I remember on
a rainy morning, a distant relative of mine who I
(06:33):
had never met, came from a different city. He said
he wanted to pray al Fayr and apologies if I
got that wrong, just let me know in our home,
because it's a blessed time and the prayers are answered.
I will never forget this. This is what keeps me
going and motivated. The Sudanese people deserve to live with
dignity and freedom in twenty twenty two, she was awarded
(06:55):
the Frontline Defender's Award for Human rights Defenders at Risk
and here's what they wrote about her, her and their release. Nevertheless,
Amara never deterred from her mission and actively participated in
peaceful demonstrations disregarding her personal safety to stand at the
helm and bring forward such progression right.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
And we want to end with her own words for solidarity,
she says, let us unite for our rights, for our dignity,
for our free will, for a peaceful world. Let us
unite to defend our causes all over the world, to
condemn the violence against women under the name of customs,
traditions and religion. Let's make our main course of action
so that every human can live with honor and dignity.
(07:35):
And again, we don't have a lot of updates necessarily.
I do know that the organization tried to hold the
protest but was stopped by the government and regime in
August of this year. There's a lot happening. There's a
lot happening all over the world, and we definitely want
to keep looking and talking about the people who have
(07:56):
been working so hard and so desperately to create equality
honestly just safety for themselves and their people. So again
with all of this, if you have people we should
highlight or information, or if you have someone that you
want to write about, wonderful and we can read it
for you even better because it is that's a lot
(08:17):
of stuff going on and to try to find the
best information, the most update information can be difficult as
they are in a difficult situation.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Yes, absolutely, and yes, if you would like to contact
us about any of that, you can. You can email
us at Stephania Momstuff at iHeartMedia dot com. You can
find us on Twitter at mom Stuff podcast, or on
Instagram and TikTok at Stephan Never Told You. We have
a tea public store and we have a book that
you can get wherever you get your books. Thanks as
always too, our super producer Christina, our executive producer Maya,
(08:49):
and your contributor Joey. Thank you and thanks to you
for listening. Steffan Never Told You is production, but iHeartRadio.
For more podcasts in my Heart Radio, you can check
out the ir radio app, Apple podcast or where you
listen to your favorite shows
Hey, this is a name and Samantha, and welcome to Stefan.
Never told you a protection of iHeart Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
And today's feminist around the world. Yes, we're here. We
are talking about feminist political activists an engineer. I feel
like that's important to add because she is an engineer,
Amara Asman Ahmed. And of course I'm just gonna put
that caveat or doing our best with pronunciations. If you
have a correction, please let us know and we'll give
(00:39):
you information on how to do that later. Huh. Yes,
And I will say most of the articles that we read,
they reference her as Amera Osman. So Ahmed is not
often used, but we are going to reference her as
Hahmed because that's how I found her. Just with that
as well. So Ahmed is a Sudanese women's rights activist
and has been under scrutiny under the current and previous
(01:03):
regime for her stance on women's rights and just in
our activism. In twenty twenty two, she was arrested in
detained for her activism, but was released later. She is
still subjected to prosecution by the government, according to different reports.
I'm not exactly sure as to what and I will
say most of the reports and information we've gotten are
from twenty twenty two or earlier, so I'm not really
(01:26):
sure where she's at today. I think that needs to
be said. We know there's a big war happening and
a lot of dangerous situations, especially for a lot of
the activists there, which is also while we're talking about them.
So if someone on here may know more information or
more updated information, please let us know. But we don't
want that to stop us from celebrating what she's already done. So.
(01:48):
She was born in nineteen seventy six and studied computer engineering,
and her activism began at an early age. In an
interview with a Nobel's Women's Initiative, she talks about her
time in high schoo and her refusing to follow something
that she didn't believe in, and how she felt supported
by her mother and her family. She talked about knowing
she couldn't let herself be forced by others, and she
(02:11):
said this, looking back at it, if I did, I
would have been broken for the rest of my life.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
The article continues on. It was nineteen ninety two in
Sudan under the authoritarian regime of Omar al Bashir, though
she had joined the Democratic Front at school, Amara was
more interested in sports than activism until that night, A
snowball of anger was born inside me. That anger has
spurred Amera for three decades to campaign against authoritarian and
(02:39):
military rule, for democracy, freedom of speech and assembly, and
to challenge patriarchal laws in Sudan that denied dignity and
restrict women's freedom.
Speaker 2 (02:49):
And again, with all of this, she has had the
support of her family. She talked about her mother's support
for her involvement with different protests. She said, whenever I
went out in a protest, my mother always used to
tell me, don't let them terrify you. Don't let the
military in Alkaizan or Islamist terrify. You stay together. You're
stronger when you're together. I miss her so much, and
(03:11):
with those words, Osmond has actively been fighting for equal
rights in her country for decades. In two thousand and two,
she was arrested for daring to wear pants. Then later
in twenty thirteen, she was detained for refusing to wear
a headscarf. I believe she also was again arrested in
twenty twenty for wearing pants, and then once again for
(03:33):
refusing to wear a headscarf, and she has repeatedly been arrested,
threatened and detained and she is disabled. Believe her back
and even during this time they still mistreated her and
abuse her. She has gone on hunger strikes and protest
and called on the world to see what was happening
to her community.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
And in two thousand and nine, she with a group
of Sudanese people started the No to Oppression against Women's Initiatives.
Here's some information from Peaceinsight dot org. Note to Women's
Oppression Initiative was established in two thousand and nine in
the aftermath of increased police and security harassment against women
in Sudan. In particular, the initiative was sparked by the
(04:15):
incident of police forces arresting Sudanese female journalists Lovna Hussein
for wearing trousers and accusing her of a violation of
the Sharia based Public Order Act. In response to that
incident and several other women rights violations, women activists in
Sudan organized to fight against the public Order law and
unlawful abuses against women in Sudan. The Note to Women's
(04:36):
Oppression Initiative was formed to advance cooperation and solidarity through
collective response to violations of women's rights in Sudan and
fight all kinds of abuse facing women because of their
gender right.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
And it should be noted that during this time women
were being flogged for violating these laws. Amara herself was
threatened with being flogged for refusing to wear a headscar.
I believe the human rights organization actually stepped in to
prevent that from happening because there was a huge outcry
around the world when they found out about the sentencing.
(05:10):
But it still occurs, and so that same sitepiece, Insight
dot org continues on their team monitors the women's human
rights violations in the country, particularly the incidents of public order,
law based police violence, violations of rights in Sudan's conflict regions,
and other unlawful violations against women. They take immediate actions
(05:31):
supporting and standing with victims of incidents, supported through our monitors,
and this is about that. Organization continues on the initiative
organizers advocacy campaigns, supporting victims through protests during the court hearings,
press releases and reports. They also conduct outreach and workshop
empowering women to exercise their right and resist the unjust
(05:51):
laws They provide volunteer lawyers to present victims in court
and support their cases. They also conduct fundraising with their
network to provide any Nagel requirements to certain cases. They
also visit prisons and monitor the situation of women, particularly
the victims of public or law, such as local alcohol
brewers and tea sellers.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
And with all of her amazing work, she still talks
about solidarity and kindness. She is quoted as saying when
the accident happened, I was paralyzed in my bed. The
love and the solidarity that I felt during this period
of my life from my friends and family and even
people who I didn't know, is heartwarming and showed me
what the Sudanese people are made of. I remember on
a rainy morning, a distant relative of mine who I
(06:33):
had never met, came from a different city. He said
he wanted to pray al Fayr and apologies if I
got that wrong, just let me know in our home,
because it's a blessed time and the prayers are answered.
I will never forget this. This is what keeps me
going and motivated. The Sudanese people deserve to live with
dignity and freedom in twenty twenty two, she was awarded
(06:55):
the Frontline Defender's Award for Human rights Defenders at Risk
and here's what they wrote about her, her and their release. Nevertheless,
Amara never deterred from her mission and actively participated in
peaceful demonstrations disregarding her personal safety to stand at the
helm and bring forward such progression right.
Speaker 2 (07:13):
And we want to end with her own words for solidarity,
she says, let us unite for our rights, for our dignity,
for our free will, for a peaceful world. Let us
unite to defend our causes all over the world, to
condemn the violence against women under the name of customs,
traditions and religion. Let's make our main course of action
so that every human can live with honor and dignity.
(07:35):
And again, we don't have a lot of updates necessarily.
I do know that the organization tried to hold the
protest but was stopped by the government and regime in
August of this year. There's a lot happening. There's a
lot happening all over the world, and we definitely want
to keep looking and talking about the people who have
(07:56):
been working so hard and so desperately to create equality
honestly just safety for themselves and their people. So again
with all of this, if you have people we should
highlight or information, or if you have someone that you
want to write about, wonderful and we can read it
for you even better because it is that's a lot
(08:17):
of stuff going on and to try to find the
best information, the most update information can be difficult as
they are in a difficult situation.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Yes, absolutely, and yes, if you would like to contact
us about any of that, you can. You can email
us at Stephania Momstuff at iHeartMedia dot com. You can
find us on Twitter at mom Stuff podcast, or on
Instagram and TikTok at Stephan Never Told You. We have
a tea public store and we have a book that
you can get wherever you get your books. Thanks as
always too, our super producer Christina, our executive producer Maya,
(08:49):
and your contributor Joey. Thank you and thanks to you
for listening. Steffan Never Told You is production, but iHeartRadio.
For more podcasts in my Heart Radio, you can check
out the ir radio app, Apple podcast or where you
listen to your favorite shows
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