Dalia

Since we belong to the Libyan society, which is a socially conservative society and adheres to customs and traditions, some of which may be considered illogical in our current time. But, from my personal experience, I did not face any problems in expressing my identity except sometimes, for example, that I have certain opinions or some points of view that are not socially accepted for several reasons, including religious, cultural, social reasons, and so on. Maybe that sometimes I reject some things, from my point of view as a human rights activist, such as some taboos in Libyan society. I am a person who defends human rights, whoever is in front of me and whatever his intellectual, religious, or sexual affiliations and orientations. I do not pay attention to the part. My only concern is that he is a human being and has equal rights for the other. Of course, we as human beings are all different. Maybe the only thing I struggle with is that I can't express an opinion on certain topics at times. When talked about sometimes, I am aware of the mentalities or the people I talk to. Are they open-minded people who accept the other opinion? Or are they strict people, whether religious or social, and will not accept the other opinion? I do not enter into useless arguments, nor do I enter into polemics that may result in insults and the like. This is a part I always pay attention to when I decide to express an opinion on certain topics. 

The situation is complicated. It is not always possible to be able to work with passion, especially if you get frustrated. If you have an issue that you want to raise, specifically a specific human rights issue, and people around you are suffering because of this issue, but sometimes you are blocked social, religious and security borders, it becomes very difficult. But in the end, you adapt to what exists and tries as much as possible to discuss the idea in a simple way. If the person you are facing will not accept the idea, then there is no need to have a discussion with him at all, but if he has some kind of acceptance, we can start with something simple. We are trying to adapt, and if we could not, then we will certainly look for other ways of adapting or presenting the idea. Sometimes I completely fail to find another way to present the idea. The situation in Libya is somewhat difficult, and we try as much as possible to present all ideas, all opinions, respect everyone, respect the rights of expression, respect human rights, but people do not always succeed, and that is why we try to adapt to what exists and we always try to raise the ceiling somewhat.

I think the situation in Libya is not very different from other countries in the region. We are very socially conservative countries, sometimes even to the point of exaggeration and backwardness. This appears clearly in several matters related to women. I believe that the masculine view of women among men and women is one of the most important factors in the deterioration of women's conditions. Since we are working on research, I want to share a simple story that sums up the role of women, either positively or negatively, in the issue of peace. There was a woman in the south of Libya, and there was a fight between two tribes who lived in the same city. It got to the point that the city itself was divided into streets. This tribe does not walk in this street and vice versa. When they decided to reconcile, the tribesmen of the two tribes met, but the reconciliation was not completed. There was a dead man, and the mother of the dead man did not accept the reconciliation and because she was the custodian of the blood, it was necessary to take her agreement. The woman rejected completely and told her children, "I will take off my headscarf, take up arms, and take revenge”. There was a lady in the south of Libya, and there was a fight between two tribes who lived in the same city. It got to the point that the city itself was divided into streets. This tribe does not walk in this street and vice versa. When they decided to reconcile, the tribesmen of the two tribes met, but the reconciliation was not completed. There was a dead man, and the mother of the dead man did not accept the reconciliation on the grounds that she was the custodian of the blood and it was necessary to agree with her. The woman objected so completely that she told her children, "I will take off my headscarf, take up arms, and take revenge.