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I'm here to tell you how change is happening at a local level in Pakistan,
今天我在这想谈的是一个地方的力量是如何改变巴基斯坦，
because women are finding their place in the political process.
因为女性正在从政之路上取得她们的一席之地。
I want to take you all on a journey to the place I was raised, northwest Pakistan, called Dir.
我想带你们踏上旅程，回到我当初成长的地点，位于巴基斯坦西北部的迪尔。
Dir was founded in the 17th century.
迪尔在十七世纪时建立。
It was a princely state until its merger with Pakistan in 1969.
在1969年被巴基斯坦并入前是个土邦体制的省份。
Our prince, Nawab Shah Jahan, reserved the right to wear white, the color of honor, but only for himself.
我们的君主，纳瓦布·沙贾罕保留了穿戴白色服饰的权利。不过只有他才能穿戴这象征荣誉的颜色。
He didn't believe in educating his people.
他不相信他的人民需要接受教育。
And at the time of my birth in 1979, only five percent of boys and one percent of girls received any schooling at all.
而在我出生的1979年，只有5%的男孩以及1%的女孩，曾经接受过任何的学校教育。
I was one among that one percent.
而我就是那1%其中的一个。
Growing up, I was very close to my father.
成长过程中，我与我父亲关系紧密。
He is a pharmacy doctor, and he sent me to school.
他是药局医师，并且送我到学校。
Every day, I would go to his clinic when my lessons finished.
每天当我下课后，我都会跑去他的诊所。
He's a wonderful man and a well-respected community leader.
他是位极好的人，也是备受尊敬的小区领袖。
He was leading a welfare organization,
他也带领过一家社会福利机构，
and I would go with him to the social and political gatherings
我也想跟着他去社会及政治的集会，
to listen and talk to the local men about our social and economic problems.
去聆听以及向当地的男人谈论我们社会和经济的问题。
However, when I was 16, my father asked me to stop coming with him to the public gatherings.
然而，当我16岁时，我父亲要求我停止跟他去公众集会。
Now, I was a young woman, and my place was in the home. I was very upset.
因为我的身分只是个年轻的女人，所以我的职责是待在家中。对此我非常沮丧。
But most of my family members, they were happy with this decision.
不过我多数的家庭成员却乐见于这个决定。
It was very difficult for me to sit back in the home and not be involved.
呆坐家中，无法参与其中，对我而言非常难熬。
It took two years that finally my family agreed that my father could reconnect me with women and girls,
时间过了两年，我的家庭成员终于同意父亲将我与女性们接轨上线，
so they could share their problems and together we could resolve them.
所以我们能够一起倾诉和解决问题。
So, with his blessings, I started to reconnect with women and girls so we could resolve their problems together.
在父亲的同意之下，我开始与女性们重新接触并一起解决问题。
When women show up, they bring their realities and views with them.
当女性们在场时，她们提出许多对于真实样貌的看法。
And yet, I have found all too often, women underestimate their own strength, their potential and their self-respect.
但是，可惜的是，女人低估了她们的力量、潜能以及她们自己的自尊。
However, while connecting with these women and girls,
然而，在我与这些女性接触时，
it became very clear to me that if there was to be any hope to create a better life for these women and girls and their families,
我很清楚地知道如果有任何方法可以为了那些女性及她们的家庭创建一个更好的生活，
we must stand up for our own rights -- and not wait for someone else to come and help us.
我们必须挺身而出，捍卫自己的权利--不能光光只是等待某人来拯救我们。
So I took a huge leap of faith and founded my own organization in '94 to create our very own platform for women empowerment.
所以我决定放手一搏，在1994年建立了属于我自己的组织，致力于创建属于女性们的赋权平台。
I engaged many women and girls to work with me. It was hard.
我聘雇了许多的女性与我共事。这非常的艰辛。
Many of the women working with me had to leave once they got married, because their husbands wouldn't let them work.
许多与我共事的女性婚后就必须离开岗位，因为她们的丈夫不允许她们工作。
One colleague of mine was given away by her family to make amends for a crime her brother had committed.
我其中一位同事为了弥补她兄长所犯下的罪刑，而被她的家族给许配了出去。
I couldn't help her. And I felt so helpless at that time.
我只能袖手旁观。那时我感到非常的无助。
But it made me more determined to continue my struggle.
不过这也让我更坚定地去完成我要奋斗的目标。
I saw many practices like these, where these women suffered silently, bearing this brutality.
我见过许多像这样的习俗，女性默默并残忍地忍受着痛苦。
But when I see a woman struggling to change her situation instead of giving up, it motivates me.
不过当我看见一位女性为她的处境努力奋斗，永不放弃时，我被她所感化了。
So I ran for a public office as an independent candidate in Lower Dir in the local elections in 2001.
所以在2001年的地方选举上，我以无党籍的身分在下迪尔展开了竞选。
Despite all the challenges and hurdles I faced throughout this process, I won.
尽管在竞选期间面临到种种的挑战及障碍，我终究当选了。
And I served in the public office for six years.
我在公家机关服务了六年。
But unfortunately, we women, elected women,
不幸地是，我们这些选举出来的女人，
we were not allowed to sit in the council together with all the members and to take part in the proceedings.
却不被允许与所有成员一同坐在议会里头，也不被允许参与议项讨论。
We had to sit in a separate, ladies-only room, not even aware what was happening in the council.
我们只能坐在被分隔开来的女士专属房间，甚至完全不晓得议会内的情况。
Men told me that, "You women, elected women members, should buy sewing machines for women."
男人告诉我：“你们这些当选的女人，应该购买裁缝机给女人。”
When I knew what they needed the most was access to clean drinking water.
但是我知道女性最迫切需要的是取得干净饮用水的管道。
So I did everything I could do to prioritize the real challenges these women faced.
所以我想尽办法，去优先处理这些女人面对的真正难题。
I set up five hand pumps in the two dried up wells in my locality. Well, we got them working again.
我在两个干枯的水井当中装设了五个手泵。并且让它们再次发动。
Before long, we made water accessible for over 5,000 families.
过没多久，我们让超过5000户家庭有干净的饮用水来源。
We proved that anything the men could do, so could we women.
我们证明了男人可以做的事，女人也可以办得到。
I built alliances with other elected women members,
我与其他当选的女性结盟，
and last year, we women were allowed to sit together with all the members in the council.
就在去年，我们被允许与所有成员坐在会议里头。
And to take part in the legislation and planning and budgeting, in all the decisions.
并且能够参与立法、制定计划以及预算案及所有的决定。
I saw there is strength in numbers. You know yourselves.
我在一群人当中看到了力量。你了解你自己。
Lack of representation means no one is fighting for you.
缺乏代表权，表示没有人将为你挺身而出。
Pakistan is -- We're 8,000 miles away from where I'm here with you today.
巴基斯坦--与我今天演讲的地点相距8000公里之远。
But I hope what I'm about to tell you will resonate with you,
但我希望我接下来要说的事能跟你产生共鸣，
though we have this big distance in miles and in our cultures.
尽管我们相距遥远且有文化的隔阂。
When women show up, they bring the realities and hopes of half a population with them.
当女人发声时，她们带出了半数人口的真实情况以及希望。
In 2007, we saw the rise of the Taliban in Swat, Dir and nearby districts.
我们在2007年见识到了塔利班的出现，不管是在斯瓦特、迪尔，还是其他邻近地区。
It was horrifying. The Taliban killed innocent people.
那真是可怕至极。塔利班份子屠杀无辜民众。
Almost every day, people collected the dead bodies of their loved ones from the streets.
几乎每天都有民众从街头接回她们挚爱亲人的尸体。
Most of the social and political leaders struggling and working for the betterment of their communities were threatened and targeted.
大部分的社会及政治领导人为了改善社会奋斗，因而遭到威胁，成了靶标。
Even I had to leave, leaving my children behind with my in-laws.
就连我也被迫离开，把孩子留给了公婆。
I closed my office in Dir and relocated to Peshawar, the capital of my province.
我关闭了我在迪尔的办公室并迁移到了白沙瓦，也就是我所在省份的首府。
I was in trauma, kept thinking what to do next.
我受到了心理创伤，不断思考下一步该如何走。
And most of the family members and friends were suggesting,
大部份的家庭成员及朋友劝着我：
"Shad, stop working. The threat is very serious." But I persisted.
“沙德，不要再继续工作了。这项威胁已经很严重了。”但是我坚持下去了。
In 2009, we experienced a historic influx of internally displaced persons, from Swat, Dir and other nearby districts.
在2009年，我们经历了历史上国内流离失所者的汇集，包括来自于斯瓦特、迪尔以及邻近地区。
I started visiting the camps almost every day,
我几乎每天都去巡视营地，
until the internally displaced persons started to go back to their place of origin.
直到那些流离失所者可以回到他们的家乡。
I established four mother-child health care units,
我创立了四个母童照护单位，
especially to take care of over 10,000 women and children nearby the camps.
特别用来照顾超过10000个女人及小孩，设立在营区附近。
But you know, during all these visits, I observed that there was very little attention towards women's needs.
但你知道吗，在访视的过程中，我观察到了几乎没有人将注意力放在女人的需求上。
And I was looking for what is the reason behind it.
对此我想找出幕后的原因。
And I found it was because of the underrepresentation of women in both social and political platforms, in our society as a whole.
我发现原来是因为在整体社会及政治下，女性代表不足所造成的。
And that was the time when I realized that I need to narrow down my focus on building and strengthening women's political leadership
也是在此时我才了解到，我必须缩小我放在建设的焦点，转而去增强女性在政治上的领导能力，
to increase their political representation, so they would have their own voice in their future.
并增加女性在政治上的代表额，她们才能在未来替自己发声。
So we started training around 300 potential women and youth for the upcoming local elections in 2015.
所以我们开始培训大约300名有潜力的女人及年轻人，为了在即将到来的2015年地方选举做准备。
And you know what? Fifty percent of them won.
还有你知道吗？我们当中有15%当选了。
And they are now sitting in the councils, taking part actively in the legislation, planning and budgeting.
她们现在正坐在议会里，积极参与立法、制定计划及预算案。
Most of them are now investing their funds on women's health, education, skill development and safe drinking water.
她们大部份正投资着资金，在女性的健康、教育、职能发展及干净的饮用水上。
All these elected women now share, discuss and resolve their problems together.
所有这些当选的女人都正一起商讨和解决问题。
Let me tell you about two of the women I have been working with: Saira Shams.
我想说说两个与我一起共事的女性：塞拉·沙姆斯。
You can see, this young lady, age 26, she ran for a public office in 2015 in Lower Dir, and she won.
你可以看到这位26岁年轻的女士，她在2015年于下迪尔参选且当选。
She completed two of the community infrastructure schemes.
她完成了两项小区的基础建设方案。
You know, women, community infrastructure schemes ... Some people think this is men's job.
你知道的，女人参与基础建设方案...有些人会认为那是男人的工作。
But no, this is women's job, too, we can do it.
并不是，那也是女人的工作，我们也办得到。
And she also fixed two of the roads leading towards girls schools,
她同时也修复了两条通往学校的道路，
knowing that without access to these schools, they are useless to the girls of Dir.
并且了解如果没有这两条通往学校的途径，那它对于迪尔的女孩来说只是一条毫无用处的道路。
And another young woman is Asma Gul.
另一个年轻的女士则是阿斯玛·古尔。
She is a very active member of the young leaders forum we established.
她是我们成立的讨论会当中表现相当积极的成员。
She was unable to run for the public office, so she has become the first female journalist of our region.
因为她无法参加竞选，所以她成为了我们地区的第一位女记者。
She speaks and writes for women's and girls' issues and their rights.
她为了女性的议题及权利写文章，并为她们发声。
Saira and Asma, they are the living examples of the importance of inclusion and representation.
赛拉沙以及阿斯玛，在包容以及代表的重要性中，是两个活生生的例子。
Let me tell you this, too. In the 2013 general elections in Pakistan and the local elections in 2015,
让我也顺便告诉你，在2013年巴基斯坦的全民选举以及2015年的地方选举中，
there were less than 100 women voters in Dir. But you know what?
迪尔只有不到100位女性的选民。但是你知道吗？
I'm proud to tell you that this year, during the general elections, there were 93,000 women voters in Dir.
我很骄傲地告诉你，在今年的全民选举中，迪尔有超过93000名女性选民。
So our struggle is far from over. But this shift is historic.
我们的奋斗尚未结束。不过这是项历史上的改变。
And a sign that women are standing up,
迹象也显示女人正站出来为自己发声，
showing up and making it absolutely clear that we all must invest in building women's leadership.
同时也清楚地表明，我们必须建立女性的领导能力。
In Pakistan and here in the United States, and everywhere in the world,
不管是在巴基斯坦还是在美国这里，还是全世界的每个地方，
this means women in politics, women in business and women in positions of power making important decisions.
这意味着不管是政治上、商业上，女人手握权利，能做出重大的决定。
It took me 23 years to get here.
我花了23年才走到这里。
But I don't want any girl or any woman to take 23 years of her life to make herself heard. I have had some dark days.
我不愿任何的女孩或女人花费23年的时间，只为了让自己能被听到。我曾经有过黑暗的日子。
But I have spent every waking moment of my life working for the right of every woman to live her full potential.
我花费了我人生中每一个醒着的时刻，为每一位女性的权利奋斗，让她们实践所有的潜能。
Imagine with me a world where thousands of us stand up and they support other young women together,
想象一下，有这样一个世界：数千名女性站出来，一起支持其他年轻的女孩，
creating opportunities and choices that benefit all.
创造对所有人都有益的机会以及选择。
And that, my friends, can change the world. Thank you.
朋友们，那就是我说的改变世界。谢谢。
