Latest / Stuff Mom Never Told You / Feminists Around the World: Doaa Shayea

Transcript

Feminists Around the World: Doaa Shayea · Stuff Mom Never Told You

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Hey, this is Anny and Samantha. I'm welcome to stuff
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: on Never Tell You Perfection. I Heart Radio.
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: With the Olympics and Paralympics around the corner, we thought
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: it would take some time to look at incredible athletes
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: around the world for our feminists around the world, because
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: you know, we love a good athlete. And yes, we
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: will be coming back to talk about some of those
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: Paralympic and Olympic athletes that are about to enter their competition. Yeah,
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: are you gonna watch it this year?
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: Here to watch it?
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: You watch it pretty consistently.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: I do watch it pretty regularly. I will be Okay,
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: I'm hesitating because I know there's a lot of there's
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: a lot of issues around it, Yes, and I'm curious
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: how it's going to play out, But yes, I will
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: be watching it.
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: Yes, I know, like I've been thinking about that with
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: soccer and the conversations around soccer because similar protests and
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: things have happened. But like we know there was some
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: teams that people weren't expecting and were excited about, and
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: I'm hoping we could see that as well for this
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: year's Olympics and Paralympics. We already got to like sadness
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: of people trying to exclude trans athletes. But at the
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: same time, we've seen trans athletes actually make it and
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: we're very excited to celebrate them as well. But yeah,
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: so as is coming around, we want to look at
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: different athletes who are doing amazing things and using their
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: platform to be activists and advocates for others. And today
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: we are talking about Doah Shehaia, who was born with
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: spina bifida and is currently living in the UK. I
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: believe Plymouth and I was like, Oh, I didn't realize
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: it was a place right politic interesting? Kay, I'm sorry.
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: So Shia is a woman of many talents, including being
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: an athlete, an activist, a speaker, and an artist. She
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: has recently made headlines in her debut competition within the
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: powerlifting world, which is very cool, but before that, she
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: was already making waves as a wheelchair racer, which started
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: at a young age. I think she started around twelve
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: eleven twelve because she has a cute sight. When she
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: started at fifteen talking about being a wheelchair racer, I
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: was like, oh, look at this, and now she'll think
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: she's like in her twenties. So I wonder if she
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: knows she still has that and here's a bit from
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: her LinkedIn embodied in three impactful words. A Muslim woman
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: in a wheelchair lies the essence of my journey, a
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: narrative that transcends labels to become the guiding lens through
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: which I navigate the world. My professional canvas involves at
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: the intersection of disability, accessibility, sport and race, with a
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: particular focus on issues encopassing women's lifestyles, fitness and health.
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: Fueled by an unwavering passion and an unrelenting drive, I
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: am on a mission to not only raise awareness, but
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: to obliterate the prevailing disability narrative. My ultimate goal is
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: to sculpt a society that is not just successible, but
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: inherently inclusive to all. With a unique blend of lived
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: experience and skill, I have been instrumental in shaping positive
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: changes with numerous charities, organizations, and communities. These transformations possessed
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: the transformative power to influence policy changes, a testament to
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: the impact of authentic representation. My commitment extends to amplifying
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: the voices of the marginalized, ensuring they are not only heard,
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: but truly seen. A fervent advocate for improving representation, equality
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: and diversity. I actively seek opportunities that align with my
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: core values.
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: And as she navigates her own activism and career, she
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: has not slowed down and learning or perfecting her skills. Recently,
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: she made headlines as she qualified and competed in the
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: World Pair of Powerlifting Championships in twenty twenty three, and
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: her work earned her a bronze medal and overall competition.
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: And with all of this under her belt, she has
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: been open and vocal about disability justice. In twenty nineteen,
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: she used her love of art to speak out against
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: ablest attitudes and insults. Here's a bit that she wrote
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: for you can find dot com titled Slay those wheels quote.
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: People don't as disability with beauty slash sexiness. But my
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: question is why why can't you be in a wheelchair
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: or have any sort of disability and not still be
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: considered sexy and beautiful. True beauty is in the heart mind,
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: and true confidence within will always radiate right through and
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: knowing you have so much more to offer, regardless of
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: looks or disability. There's more to a person than just looks.
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: Looks are only a part of what makes you who
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: you are. Who you are deep down is what matters.
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: My aim is to change the world's perspective on disability
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: and show that you can still have amazing hair, makeup, nails,
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: and even figure being a wheelchair and still sligh regardless
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: of wheels.
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: And if you ever see a name of pictures, she's
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: been featured in several magazines as well as with a
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: modeling agency. She is gorgeous, so yeah, she could see.
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: She got that figured out and with her talents as
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: a makeup artist. She went on to talk openly about
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: some of the insults she has dealt with. She told
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: BBC News in twenty nine nineteen, I don't feel disability
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: has been accepted. It really does frustrate me. So with
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: the makeup design, I wanted everyone to see what disabled
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: people still have to put up with. In twenty nineteen,
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: it's like the words I write on my face, retard, bedridden,
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: I got called them. It's hurtful, And yeah, if you
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: see the video, she actually does an amazing thing where
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: there's a lot of like half makeup like tutorial and
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: then half of like your regular face, but on the
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: half she had her makeup done and on the other half,
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: she had words that had been said to her and
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: used to insult her, so as a kind of like
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: awareness tactic, and the article continues with how Shehay shared
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: a video on Facebook with her inspiring makeup. A lot
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: of the time to my face, I get people saying,
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: it's such a shame you're pretty. It's wasted on you,
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: doah said. I had a guy on the bus come
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: up to me and look at me with the most
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: sympathetic look. Den He said, it really is a shame
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: you're so beautiful as you're never going to do anything
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: with it because you're in a wheelchair. I mean, what
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: can you say to that. As soon as you're seeing
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: in a wheelchair or with any disability, that beauty is gone.
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: A wheelchair is always going to be seen before I'm
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: going to be seen.
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: She has continued to speak up about the level of
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: marginalism that she has faced as a disabled Muslim woman
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: of color, and how she has learned the importance of
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: taking care of her own mental health as well as
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: learning to love and accept herself. In that same BBC article,
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: she talks about when she switched from using crutches to
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: a wheelchair. Quote Born in Yemen, Doah moved to the
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: southwest of England with her family when she was six
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: years old and swapped her crutches for a wheelchair a
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: few years later. I used to be really paranoid being
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: on crutches as I had a limp, and I was
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: always aware that people were staring at me, she said.
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: Now they still stare, but I can whizz right by
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: them and speed off. Doah said she believed people put
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: a limitation on me straight away and that was something
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: she wanted to break. I can do everything anyone else
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: can do, she added.
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: Right, and she has. Obviously she's a racer, so she
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: has got some sweet and in another interview with Disability
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: Horizons dot Com, they write about her, Doah defines herself
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: as goddess of my own hell, which means she has
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: conquered the fight to exist, be seen and be heard
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: and while facing the negativity and discrimination for being female,
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: a woman of color and disabled. And from another article
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: where she is featured as a top ten activist to
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: Know It says in twenty fourteen, she carried the Queen's
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: baton through Plymouth ahead of Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: she was also awarded the Plymouth Heralds rob Daily Award
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: for quote Overcoming adversity to excel in sports. And yeah,
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: I said she's been doing a lot, and obviously she
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: continues to do a lot, as last year she competed
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: in that powerlifting competition. I'm sure we're going to see
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: and hear a lot more from her.
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: Yes, yes, And we do have some amazing listeners who
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: are great at letting us know about some of the
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: sports stuff we might miss. So looking forward to hearing
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: from all of you. Yeah and yeah. You can contact
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: us through a variety of ways. You can email us
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: at Stephanie mom Stuff at iHeartMedia dot com. You can
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: find us on Twitter at mom Stuff podcast, or on
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: Instagram and TikTok at stuff I'll Never Told You. We're
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: lso on YouTube, or you have a tea public store
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: and we have a book you can get wherever you
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: get your books. Kanks is always to our super producer
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: Christina or executive producer Maya and your contributor Joey. Thank
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: you and thanks to you for listening. Stuff Never Told
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: You the production of iHeart Radio. For more podcasts from
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: My Heart Radio, you can check out the iHeartRadio, Apple podcast,
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.