Congratulations to our South Africa program grantees, listed here. Many thanks to our volunteers in the Selection Committee who reviewed the applications and recommended these exceptional women!
Stories of our new grantees coming soon through our social media accounts. Follow us there!
Congratulations to our Latin America program grantees, listed here. Many thanks to our volunteers in the Selection Committee who reviewed the applications and recommended these exceptional women!
Felicitaciones a nuestras becarias del Programa de America Latina, enumeradas aquí.
Muchas gracias a nuestros voluntarios del Comité de Selección, quienes evaluaron y recomendaron a todas estas mujeres excepcionales.
Stories of our new grantees coming soon through our social media accounts. Follow us there!
Las historias de nuestras nuevas becarias serán publicadas en breve por nuestras redes de comunicación social. Síguenos allí!
Our heartfelt thanks go to the 100+ volunteers, US Executive Director’s office, Office of the President, WBFN, Global Corporate Solutions (Security Operations Support, Food and Conference Services, JK Moving Services, Mail and Shipping office, and Parking Services), BFSFCU, the Global Wealth Management Group of Raymond James, vendors, shoppers, and MMEG supporters for making this spectacular event a success this year and every year!
Vida Yakong, founder of Project GROW in northern Ghana, shared her community based strategies for poverty alleviation and women’s empowerment. Some audience members at this event have been moved to donate goats to Project GROW after heraing her speak!
We awarded Vida a grant in 2009 while she was studying medical anthropology at University of British Columbia Okanagan. She is now Head of Department at Midwifery School of Allied Health Sciences at University for Development Studies (Ghana).
We paid tribute to all mothers by watching and discussing her film, "Dukhtar".
Our mothers play a unique role in our lives. The words of wisdom and inspiration they offer us come from experience and the lucidity of perspective. To mark Mother’s Day, a few MMEG volunteers and contributors are sharing valuable lessons learned from their mothers, which they continue to hold dear, and bring to their work with Margaret McNamara Education Grants:
“My mother kept trying new recipes until she lost her sight, and never spoke unkindly about anyone. She reminds me to keep trying to stay open to new possibilities, and to watch my tongue!” -Reiko (Japan, MMEG President)
“The value of an education and a great sense of compassion…” -Brinda (India, MMEG Board member)
“My mother always told me to listen to others and learn from their thoughts and comments. Give some kindness and you will receive some in return. She was a no nonsense person. I like to think I have followed this advice and have certainly received kindness together with interesting experiences from MMEG Board members and many candidates over the years.” -Alison (UK, MMEG Board member)
“My mother kept many sayings close to her heart and imparted them to us. One of them was: "Keep a green tree in your heart, and one day the singing bird will come!" And this has brought a special spirit to my work” -Anthea (USA, MMEG Board member)
“My mother always taught me the importance of education in acquiring true independence. An educated woman can decide more freely about her life and follow her interests and passions. Providing education grants to women, MMEG contributes to women's independence. I am very proud to be a part of this organization” -Ewelina (Poland, MMEG Fair Committee Chair)
“Honesty about yourself and towards other was the one great value she held dearly. Part of the logic was that if you do not lie you have less to remember!” -Madeleine (South Africa, MMEG Board member)
“My mother got married at 17 and had me when she was 20, as they did in WWII. No college for her. When I wanted to apply to college years later, to study international relations in Washington, DC, my guidance counselors could only find Georgetown, which, at that time, was only admitting males. With no such thing as internet, my mom mobilized and tracked down a friend [who knew] the dean of American U’s School of International Service. Five years later, I had my AU SIS BA in hand. What did that teach me? Never underestimate the skills of a challenged mother. I believe I read the applicants’ essays differently because of my experience. I understand their struggles, and their stories about their own mothers or grandmothers or aunties fighting for them to study” -Charlotte (USA, Selection Committee Chair)
“Growing up, my mother constantly reinforced to me that achieving brilliant grades in school and getting the best education I could was just as important for me as it was for my two brothers. In spite of the very patriarchal context in which she herself grew up, she never let me forget that as a girl I could and should excel as much as the boys around me and that it was through my education - and not someone else’s status – that I would be able to live a fulfilled life in future. This is something I firmly believe for all women” -Vesna (Ghana, MMEG Board member)
“From her experience as an immigrant to the UK, and subsequently to Brazil, I absorbed from my mother a love of learning about other cultures and languages, and the importance of welcoming strangers into mine” -Colin (UK, MMEG Board member)
“My mother taught me, through her example, the importance of always making one’s self available to all people around us” -Ana (Peru, MMEG Board member)
“I learnt from my mother that education not only promotes social status, confidence, and independence for women but also helps us to be more efficient and creative both at work and at home” -Pelin (Turkey, MMEG Coordinator)
“The passion for education, everything is possible if you work hard - but it is more enjoyable when you learn in the process” -Ledda (Peru, MMEG Board member)
“My mother volunteered and served on the boards of charities and institutions that existed to help women and families. Her work for such causes as the United Way, the Visiting Nurses Association and the local hospital, inspired me through her example, to walk the walk of supporting women -- in this case to help women from around the world further their education. She also taught me how to fold clothes beautifully--thank you Mother!! -Brigid (USA, MMEG Board member)
Afia Nathaniel
(On Wed March 21, MMEG will host two special screenings of the film “Dukhtar”, in the presence of the director Afia Nathaniel, award-winning Pakistani filmmaker and 2003 MMEG grant recipient. See program details on this website)
Brown. Woman. Complicated.
This is the world I have grown up in. And this is the world which inspires me.
In Pakistan, I come from a family of strong women - women who have endured very tough lives in hope of a better one for their children. While growing up as girls, we could never go out and play in the streets or experience life outside as boys could. Cultural norms forbade it. So our entire world was made up of school, books and watching TV.
In the 80s, I watched a show which changed my life completely – Star Trek. I could suddenly experience the infinite possibilities of a world outside my own. It was a liberation unlike any other. My journey as a storyteller stems from this primary instinct.
This instinct came alive when I heard the story of a Pakistani mother on the run with her two young daughters. It was a surreal story of escape and survival spread over several years. What remained with me was this image of the mountains, a mother and child. A lonely road stretched before them - an uncertain future ahead of them.
The story took shape in film school at Columbia University where I was training to be a writer-director. MMEG supported my journey as a graduate film student. By the third year of my MFA, the story grew into a full-fledged road trip thriller. A mother was going to kidnap her ten-year old daughter to save her from a child marriage. She was going to be hunted down. Dukhtar was a woman’s search for dignity in a time when tradition, modernity and fundamentalism had come to a head. It was my way of connecting with home, with Pakistan. It was going to be deep and visceral. It was going to be a love song with some notes of uncomfortable truth.
Since the film deals with the issue of child marriage, I knew it was going to be hard to make this film but I had no idea how hard really. The problem – it turned out – was that it was: Brown. Woman. So it was automatically “Complicated”. The gender of its creator and its protagonist became a real problem for investors.
“There’s no hero in the film?” They would ask me, surprised. “There’s no item number in the film?” No Pakistani financier wanted to finance a film where there were no raunchy songs featuring half-clad women. The objectification of the female body by men is such a standard expectation in the Pakistani film industry that to go against it is to go against every single norm of industry protocol. The idea of a female protagonist who was going to be fully clothed and fully invested in taking on the world to protect her child managed to turn off every possible investor and corporate sponsor. They dismissed it as a “documentary”.
After several years of struggling to make this film - just when I was about to give up - something unexpected happened. An unexpected skype session…which led to an unexpected email. My Pakistani line producer, Khalid bhai said “Pack your bags and come to Karachi. We are going to make this film one way or the other.” A few days later, Dukhtar won a production award from Sorfund in Norway, one of the most prestigious European grants for feature films.
It was as if the universe had willed the film into being.
Quickly, we went into shooting mode. The mountains of the north beckoned. It was a road-trip film which meant we were literally on the road for two months in deep mid-winter navigating a tough terrain. The situation could become precarious in a flash. There were bomb blasts in certain areas, landslides in others. Our filming schedule planned for these contingencies to stay fluid and safe.
There in the mountains, as the sole female crew member in a group of 40 men, I found my voice. I found my freedom as a storyteller. The light on the landscape moved in glorious ways. And I became its slave. This was the moment I had been waiting for all those years; imagining it, preparing for it, receiving it. The frames for Dukhtar sprang from deep within. It was an unforgettable experience.
Dukhtar went onto premiere at Toronto in 2014. At Toronto, our film’s opening night screening sold out within the hour and we saw long rush lines for it outside the theater. The programmers told us it was very unusual to see this kind of excitement for a first-time filmmaker. There was a real hunger in audiences to see a film from a part of the world not known for cinema. Dukhtar’s word of mouth grew from strength to strength standing tall against Hollywood and Bollywood films. Extra screenings were added - all sold out.
In Pakistan, we saw new kinds of audiences coming to cinema theatres for Dukhtar. Women, especially grandmothers, brought their entire families so they could watch the film. School teachers took their students from school to watch the film. We had woven a message of social change in the soundtrack of the film and released several music videos. A special qawwali was composed “Ya Rahem Maula Maula” sung by the fantastic Rahat Fateh Ali. Usually qawwalis are from a man’s point of view. This was going to be a feminist qawwali. Many celebrities came forward on twitter with “ISupportDukhtar” highlighting the issue of child marriage. People talked about the soundtrack, the film and hence about the issues. It was a very fulfilling moment as a storyteller.
From Busan to Stockholm to Dubai to Japan. Dukhtar continued to gain traction and critical acclaim in the international market. Suddenly, there was a tsunami of interest. Suddenly, it seemed that audiences were willing to embrace: Brown. Woman. Complicated.
In New York, Dukhtar became the “Critics’ Pick” by Village Voice followed by the People Magazine’s “Pick of the Week”. Indiewire labelled it “groundbreaking”, LA Times “a stunning, emotive work that takes to task oppressive patriarchy” with Women and Hollywood calling it a “gorgeous thriller”.
The brown female gaze had turned a male genre of the road-trip thriller on its head and made it all her own. It became Pakistan’s Official Submission for Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards®. This is not the kind of news you expect coming from Pakistan.
Two years ago, Dr. Stacy Smith, a researcher at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, analyzed the 1,000 highest grossing films from 2007 till 2016. She found that only 4% of the directors in that decade were women. Of these 4% there is not a single sole directing credit for a South Asian woman.
Statistics like these don’t daunt me. If anything, they urge me to do what I do best – tell stories which speak to my own truth and experiences. To continue to mine the very specific while exploring its universal aspect. To continue to fight to tell the untold perspective. We cannot change the industry overnight but we can certainly change the face of the game, one film at a time.
Dukhtar is but the start of a long journey. For out there in the universe, there is going to be more of this: Brown. Woman. Complicated.
Afia Nathaniel
For us at MMEG, every day of the year is Women’s day…. with March 8 being an extra special day!
Each year, around the world, International Women’s Day recognizes and celebrates women and their accomplishments. The first international celebration of this day was in 1911. Many of us know that it was subsequently officially established by the United Nations as the “UN Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace”, and the March 8 date fixed in 1975. But do we know that the UN Charter, signed in 1945, was the first international agreement to affirm the principle of equality between women and men?
This year, of course, appears to be a banner year for achievements in women’s rights and gender parity. A considerable amount of work by different organizations, groups and individuals has gone into these achievements. The campaign theme for this year’s International Women’s Day - “Press for Progress” - does not take these achievements for granted.
At MMEG, we continue to work hard to support and empower exceptional women from all over the world through educational grants. We have invested in women’s education since 1983, awarding over 350 grants amounting to over $3 million. Again, this year, thanks to financing from individual donors, corporate donors and family foundations, we hope to award some 30 grants.
On March 21 and 22, MMEG will mark International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month with screenings at the World Bank and IFC of the movie “Dukhtar”, directed by Afia Nathaniel, a 2003 MMEG grant recipient and acclaimed filmmaker. Check out the program details on the MMEG website!
#PressforProgress https://www.internationalwomensday.com/Theme
Barbara Garlock saw an ad for this year’s annual Arts & Crafts Fair in November and decided on a whim to take the subway downtown to shop for gifts for her three daughters and the hostess of her book club. Little did she know, she’d come home a big winner! And so would MMEG.
Barbara is semi-retired and has had what she calls a ‘peripatetic’ career, working as a buyer for Macy’s, a management consultant, a grant writer and Executive Director for community-based non-profits, and as a Board member for organizations working on behalf of children and victims of domestic violence. She notes that she is a “connector” in this world, looking to connect people of similar interests and objectives to achieve common goals, primarily those serving the interests of women, children and those in need.
On the final day of the Fair, Barbara bought five door prize tickets before leaving; she took the time to chat with volunteers and Board members and learned about the aims of MMEG: to change the world for good one woman at a time. Just as she boarded the train to return home, she got a call saying that not only had she won the prize of a wine gift basket, she had also won the grand prize of an IPhone X!
Barbara has since met with members of the Board to collect her winnings and to learn more about the great women whose education we support in MMEG; she has offered to continue to work with us to support our work and help us ‘connect’ with the wider philanthropic and non-profit world. We welcome her participation to the MMEG family of volunteers.
And who got the grand prize? Her eldest daughter, an architect in New York City who was ecstatic with her special lucky birthday gift.
by Brigid Holleran
