by Fatema Almehanna (GUST student)

Maryam Alabadd uses her films to promote equal education for women in Kuwait.

When Maryam graduated from high school she got a scholarship to study in the United States. Studying abroad was her dream. But her family had a problem with girls studying abroad and said that if she went she is going to bring shame to the family. However, her male cousins were praised for getting a scholarship abroad.

So she stayed in Kuwait and studied media and film making at Kuwait University. She wanted to deliver a message: Women should have the same educational rights as men.

Maryam’s movies are aimed at the families who deny their daughters rights to choose any path of education they want to pursue. For example, “Alabaya” tells the story of Kuwait’s past when a 9-year-old girl was denied a formal education asks her brother to teach her. When her father discovers her writing with an eyeliner, he scolds her and says, “you’re just a woman!”

Ironically, the family members who once opposed her educational plans now embrace her work as a film maker. She was finally allowed to study abroad and she earned a certificate from a respected French school, La Famis.

She is continuing to promote equality by hiring women to fill traditionally male jobs behind the camera.