Episode Transcript
Hello, my name is Aziz and I'm the son of a divorced mother. She is my superhero. That's
why it's important for me to support women to share their uniqueness, their personalities,
perspectives, and emotions about this world. In these difficult times in human history,
we need to bring the cultures of the world together. And when we listen to real people,
to real lives of women from other countries, we connect our humanity without our differences
or stereotypes, and we get inspired by their stories to live a better life. That's what
this podcast is all about. My guest today is Nada Khalidi. Nada is a Moroccan girl from
Khenifra and a member of CPAJ UNICEF. Nada is an activist interested in the education
rights of rural girls and defending women against discrimination and violence. Nada adores
volunteering, association work, singing, traveling, discovering new places, and exploring
new cultures. She also carries a special interest for animals and plans to create her own animal
protection NGO in the future. Nada is currently improving her speaking skills in English as
well as in Turkish and French languages. Nada, how are you today?
I'm doing great. Thank you, Mr. Aziz.
I'm happy. I'm honored. I'm lucky to have you here. And I'll begin with this nice question,
which is, if your friends could describe your personality, what would they say about you?
I think if my friends would describe me, they would say stuff like generous, kind, smiles
a lot, extroverted, and emotional. I like that. And to ask you then, what motivates
you to be so active, to try to do so many things? Is it your extroverted energy that
you have a lot of energy you want to use in this world? Or is it because your emotional
and situations, for example, of rural girls make your heart feel aching and therefore
that pain that you feel for them pushes you to be more active? Or what in general really
motivates you to go forward and begin to try to add value and change positively your communities?
I just wanted to do something special, to represent my village. I also was looking to
make friends, but I won't deny that the subject touched my heart, which is taking the lead
and defending children's rights. Thank you. And what do you feel is important
or needs to be changed when it comes to girls' rights and women's rights in Morocco? You
are there, you know the situation, so can you share what improvements you're looking
to add? How is the situation now and everything? In general, what we really need is equality
between girls and boys, and we should give children the right to express themselves.
That's really, really kind of you, and it's really interesting that in different parts
of the world and different cultures, things are changing in different ways, and there
are always active people like you who are creating a better future. Can you tell me
as well? You have interests for animals. I know we're speaking about people as well as
animals, let's mix it all. Animal protection, is it something specific that you want to
focus on Morocco for? How are the animal rights in Morocco? Is there something you notice?
Or it's something that because you love animals, you want to create an international project
and do it in all countries of the world? Oh yes, I really want to, and I've fixed
my objective to create an association that takes care of street animals because I think
that it's one of our responsibilities as humans and also because I really love them
and I find them pure. Thank you so much. And how does it happen?
I'm surprised there is this idea or stereotype even that big city girls are more active than
village girls and you're a girl from a small village and I have interviewed multiple where
it seems in Morocco girls from villages are very active and they want to change the world.
What about the culture or this year or this period or maybe because of internet, et cetera,
that makes many of the Moroccan girls in villages active and trying to progress the situation
of girls, of women and the Moroccan culture? Maybe that's because citizens usually get
more chances and opportunities. But I'm sure that if you really believe in yourself,
it doesn't matter where you live. Thank you. And you seem to be very open-minded
about different cultures. I'm curious, how come you chose to learn the Turkish language?
Is it because you have watched a lot of Turkish series and that made you want to watch them
in original or is there something about the Turkish culture that you love? Tell me more.
Yes, exactly. I like their drama series and I always watch it.
That's what makes me curious to search more about their culture.
That's wonderful. And to ask you about your involvement with UNICEF, what's the story behind
that? How did you become a member of the CPAG? Tell me more about that story and this situation.
First, CPAG is the Participation Committee of Youth and Adolescents where the UNICEF of Morocco
tried to find youth and adolescents around our country to work on cases related to children.
And I got the chance to participate. I saw a post about it on Facebook,
so I sent them my video and they accepted me. Thank you. And to finish this, can you speak
about yourself and the culture of a Moroccan teenage girl in 2023 already?
If someone doesn't have friends who are similar to you, they maybe have never visited Morocco.
If you could describe the attitudes, opinions, ways of thinking, of course, every girl and woman
is unique, but in general, if you could describe something that makes Moroccan girls and their way
of being different to other countries? It's a good question. In my country and especially
where I live, most of women are so generous. As example, you can just pass by someone sitting in
front of their house and if you happen to greet them, they will automatically invite you for a
cup of tea. Females are also known for being really strong and no one can underestimate them.
Not to forget to mention how much they love their country and how much they are willing to sacrifice
for it. Thank you so much, Nada. You are representing Moroccan girls very well. I wish you success in
all your projects, endeavors, associations, and thank you for participating in this project.
Thank you so much for having me today.
