Yasmeen's Story: A Miracle & Turning Point

International Women's Day falls on 8th March each year. To mark it, we gathered the stories of seven women peacebuilders from our global network.

Name: Yasmeen Ebied
Location: Damietta, Egypt
Religion: Muslim
Programme: Emerging Peacemakers Forum 2018
(EPF18)

"My name is Yasmeen Ebied, a Muslim Egyptian woman with a huge amount of energy and hope! I am working now as a freelance voice-over artist, a social media specialist in a local company located in Damietta and sometimes as a host in events."

A Miracle and Turning Point

20 years ago, when I was a child standing in the window of my humble home in Damietta – a small city in the north of Egypt- watching the children of the neighborhood playing in the street whilst thinking about my dreams, if somebody had told me then that my first experience outside Egypt would be in the United Kingdom, participating in a forum about peacebuilding with 50 youth from the East and the West, I would have said they were totally crazy!

As a girl from a city far away from the Capital, and as my father is a religious man (he is working as an Imam), I struggled at the beginning of my trip in the process of getting approval from my family to participate in events outside my town! Because – like most eastern Christian and Muslim families - they are so protective to the extent that they fear the idea of letting their daughter explore the world. I used every possible way I could to convince them of my steps. Can you believe I wrote a note to my father to let me travel to Cairo to attend a leadership program!?

As you can see in the photo, I wrote about my values, mission and the reasons why I wanted to participate in the event with a verse from The Holy Quran. Then I ended my message with: "so, please, Dad, Don't be an obstacle in achieving my dreams. Instead, be a supporter for me… your loving daughter, Yasmeen Ebied". That was in 2015! And 3 years later, I travelled to the UK to attend the Emerging Peacemakers Forum! And you can guess how hard it was for me to be able to do this.

Unfortunately, this is the story of lots of girls in the eastern community, especially in cities outside the capital. Women here struggle to earn their rights in education and empowerment.  

Before participating in the Emerging Peacemakers Forum (EPF), I was a reporter for Egyptian Television. And I have always been interested in communicating with other cultures and getting to know others from different backgrounds. So, it was a miracle from Allah for me to join EPF.

The stories behind the participation of my colleagues in EPF is different; mine was a miracle as I mentioned before in many ways! I was recommended by a media organization after I participated in a national event with Al-Azhar and I was rewarded as one of the best 10 speakers during the event. How amazing it was - I went to that event as a guest not a speaker! But one of the speakers apologised and I had to fill her space. It's fate! And I am still thanking Allah for this miracle until now.

When I started the adventure of EPF, I didn't have time to build expectations about the program, because we were worried about the process of getting the visa and other obstacles of the trip sorted, but the preparation training we had in Al-Azhar was very useful for me to initially understand what I was about to witness. I still remember the inspiring words of The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, Dr. Ahmed Eltayeb; He told us that we were going to build great relationships with people from different religions, cultures and nationalities based on respect and acceptance such that if the two generations had future disagreements, they would be able to solve all the problems because they will already be friends who understand and respect each other's differences. But to be honest, the words inspired me, but I thought they would remain as just words! I didn't imagine his vision would be achieved literally!

Yasmeen reflects on her experience at EPF18.

When we arrived at Heathrow airport, and then Cambridge University, Rose Castle Foundation's team welcomed us. I was astonished by their hospitality and modesty which lasted until the end of the program and beyond. It was amazing how fast I easily got along with other friends in the program! Everyone was friendly and open to sharing their experiences with others! Each one had their own stories with different details but we all had things in common.

The topics we studied during the sessions about reconciliation, peacebuilding, forgiveness, leadership skills and many other topics were very fruitful. Every session added to my knowledge and skills. And the way every topic was presented in an interactive and creative way was amazing! Scriptural Reasoning groups and safe space circles were my favorite part of the program. In the safe space circles, we could share our experiences together speaking about the common values, challenges and fears. In Scriptural Reasoning, we discussed scripts from the Holy Quran and the Bible speaking about the same values. It was amazing to know that people from different religions have the exact same values from my religion.

Group discussion at Churchill College, Cambridge.

One of the misconceptions about interfaith programs is that it affects your own faith in a negative way, and it can bring doubts to your mind about your own religion. But through my experience, I can strongly disagree! And I know for sure that people who have this opinion haven't had the chance to experience interfaith programs themselves. Emerging Peacemakers Forum was a turning point for me: It made me closer to my God, made me more proud of my religion and helped me to understand the common values between people from different faiths.

Some of the greatest moments were when we visited St. Paul Cathedral in London and witnessed our friends' religious rites. They also attended the prayer of Al-Jumaa with us! I remember when our friends asked us to give them Hijab just to be similar to us and to show us the deepest acceptance.

EPF18 women.

The friendships I made during the program are priceless. I personally cherish the bond we created despite the differences. The same with the RCF team; We've stayed connected after the program until now. It's always pleasure to welcome them here in Egypt.

After EPF, I was able to apply what I learnt in my personal life; I fixed my relationship with many members of my family through reconciliation (especially my dad), succeeded in handling many difficult issues and I put a plan for myself to learn more about my religion. Out of my personal life, we – some peacemakers from the East- had the chance to be a part of the organising team of many international events in and outside Egypt, such as: "Islam and The West, Diversity and Integration" in Cairo; "The Human Fraternity Conference" where we witnessed the historical moment of signing the Human Fraternity Document by The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Dr. Ahmed Eltayeb and Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, during the first papal visit to the Arabic Gulf; and "The Arab Media Convention for Human Fraternity" in Abu Dhabi. We also participated in 4 editions of the Cairo International Book Fair, the suite of both Al-Azhar and Muslim Council of Elders.

EPF18 alumni continue to collaborate internationally.

In The 2020 edition, we had the pleasure of welcoming one of our dear British friends, Antony Scott who inspired many attendees from different countries when they listened to his speeches. And of course, none of us missed a chance during these events to speak about EPF.

Yasmeen receiving her Emerging Peacemakers Forum 2018 certificate at Lambeth Palace.