the policy issues around the lack of access to water, unequal distribution amongst Palestinians and Israelis, or the role of both sides of government in this water crisis.
Instead, it is solely a reflection of the girls’ day-to-day, and the prejudice that continues to exist towards them both as Palestinians and as women.
Yet Women of Refaiya doesn’ t paint the El- Amur girls as victims. Quite the contrary, these girls are shown as having agency— as strong and resilient young women with dreams and desires for their lives, and with their own voice.
For example, we learn from 14-year-old Ayat that she loves to paint, write, and listen to songs in English and Arabic. From 16-year-old Samah we learn that she loves to dance.“ I can’ t tell their story like they can,” Shavit says.
Placing women as the central focus of the film was a conscious decision on behalf of Shavit, who believes women’ s and girls’ voices must be heard more. This also translated into his decision to have a woman as a prominent part of his film crew throughout the filming.
“ I’ m thrilled to document and work with women because their stories are rarely told and therefore more relevant and powerful,” he says.“ I can only hope that the world is headed in that direction of progress.”
Yael Heiblum was born in Miami and raised in Mexico City by a Mexican-Polish father and a Peruvian-Turkish mother. She graduated cum laude from New York University’ s Gallatin School of Individualized Study, bringing together philosophy, cultural anthropology, and human rights through writing and photography. She is a recipient of the Maria Elena’ s Scholarship from the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and seeks to break cultural boundaries to foster a greater sense of human dignity by giving a voice to unheard stories.
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