Haki Nasawi
Sarah Kaddoura
Haki Nasawi (feminist talk) is a feminist video platform created and hosted by Sarah Kaddoura. The project was conceived in 2020 after the start of the covid-19 pandemic, in an attempt to communicate with the outside world through the sharing of feminist knowledge. The videos focus on different aspects of consciousness-raising, such as narrating and reflecting on the history of social movements, discussing current and rising issues regionally and globally, making the knowledge on feminist and gender theory and scholars accessible, and highlighting the essential work of grassroot groups. One of the core beliefs put in the project is that conversations around bodies, relationships, the environment, the economy, and the patriarchy are not foreign to the region. Instead, these issues are transnational and relatable, which is why the videos focus on contextualizing the knowledge and relating it to the experiences of the viewers. Haki Nasawi does not aim simply to share this knowledge, but to portray it from a critical political lens that challenges mainstream and state discourses that people can engage with. It is a project set out to accumulate knowledge production, archive history and discussions, and inspire anti-patriarchal and eco-feminist groups in the making.
What will you be working on during the fellowship?
Throughout the fellowship, much of the focus of the channel will be put on covering and engaging with content on digital rights, omniscient presence of sexist and racist violence in the cyberworld, and the radical potential for reclaiming that space. Another topic that will be discussed and worked on is that of climate change, capitalist greenwashing and the resilient work of ecofeminist groups around the world. Besides the recorded videos, Haki Nasawi will be opening the space for frequent online discussions on different issues that can take the form of live conversation and webinars, and/or podcasts.
To what future do you aspire?
The future that I aspire to is one written and imagined by many brilliant authors and thinkers who have foreseen the violence of an ever-growing capitalist patriarchy on humans, animals and nature. This future is one that combines the best of the worlds of Ursula Le Guin’s “The Dispossessed” and Octavia Butler’s “Earthseed”. It is a world that utilizes technology for the betterment of the earth we live on rather than for profit. A world in which wealth is distributed justly, the elderly and disabled are cared for, the work and its fruits are shared kindly, and the hierarchies imposed through sexism and racism are dismantled. Land is respected and attended to, humans are dignified and undivided by competition and borders, and technology is taking us to a healthy, just future, rather than accelerated inequality and death.
What does being a risktaker mean to you?
Being a risktaker means acknowledging that contributing to change requires labour, kindness, and believing in others even when we were taught otherwise. It is something we as humans have to be in order to survive, and we do not owe it to ourselves and future generations only. We also owe it to all the risktakers who took big leaps of faith, risking their all, to challenge and dismantle different systems of oppression over the centuries. For a woman like me, it is the risk of being shunned, harmed and violated on many levels when I overstep the boundaries of how I should, if I can, approach the issues of sexuality, gender, censorship, and colonialism. It is also a risk that many brave women* take on by existing online unapologetically and doing what they can to address injustice.