Rula Othman (Palestine)
“... that one aspect that we all shared, the beauty that lies within our Arab roots.”
Secretly, I always hoped to be the next Ghandi-like figure, except of course I was a chubby little Arab girl who awkwardly obsessed over all things sparkly and pink. Around the age of about ten, I had this dream that I would one day meet with our Arab world’s leaders and somehow convince them that we must all stick together and protect our fellow nations. I know it sounds a bit cheesy, but I was a very optimistic child. Growing up as a Palestinian especially, I always waited for the day that the rest of the Arab league would come to the rescue, so to speak, and end the occupation of my homeland. I still have hope that this will one day happen. As I grew older, I kind of accepted the fact that I couldn’t really be the next Ghandi so I decided to create my vision on somewhat of a smaller scale. My proudest accomplishment in creating the Empowered Arab Sisterhood is that it is a space composed of women from different political and religious backgrounds that have united in solidarity and have formed a bond through embracing the Arab roots they share. There is a beauty in this sisterhood in that regardless of what we believe, we are able to come together and focus on making a difference where it counts. My hope is that our Empowered Arab Sisters will set an example for the rest of the world, to show the power in solidarity and more importantly what can be achieved with just the love for one another.
Although I grew up in sunny southern California, I was always so engrained in the Arab mentality and culture. I was fortunate enough to live in a community surrounded by an endless number of loud, comforting, and very Palestinian relatives. My mother was the youngest of thirteen and my father, one of nine, so you could only imagine how big our Arab fests were. My late nights of Ramadan were spent sitting around the bonfire, munching on kanafeh, and listening to Baba tell me stories of his active years growing up in Jerusalem. I spent my coming-of-age years living in Amman, Jordan. There, I truly learned to embrace my culture. My Khalto made it her mission to teach me how to cook traditional Arab dishes and my sorority sisters will attest to that. I came close to perfecting my Arabic going to a school surrounded by native speakers. And of course being Arab and having a wedding to go to every other week immersed me in the music and dance that were so imminent of my culture. Upon acquiring my newfound Arab-ness, our family moved back to California. Forced to adapt to a whole new life once again, I slowly began to reintegrate myself into my old American life. In high school, I was aware of the struggle of merging my cultural roots with the western norms I was now living in. All throughout my community I saw girls like me, both Arab and American. The common theme with these girls was the inability to balance both their Arab and American culture. Rather than embracing the two, they chose to lead two separate lives: the life of the average American teenager at school, and the life of the perfect, can do no wrong, Arab daughter at home. In creating the Empowered Arab Sisterhood, my aim was to create a space within the academic setting that brought together women facing these same struggles. I think my favorite part about the bond with my sisters is that each feels completely comfortable expressing everything about themselves. It is open space where we’re able to empower one another by helping our sisters find the balance between our two worlds and being able to integrate the two in such a way that showcases the beauty in both the cultural roots we were raised with and the western ideals we have become so accustomed to.
I graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor’s of Science in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Following my undergraduate career, I completed a Masters of Science in Global Medicine and the USC Keck School of Medicine. I hope to go on to attain a PhD in Public Health and perhaps one day join the United Nation’s team of global health influencers. My passion lies with issues ranging from infectious disease control to health associated with female empowerment in post war populations. I was fortunate enough to lead a comfortable life and for this reason I think it is somewhat my duty to do what I can to provide this same comfort for others that weren’t as lucky as I. This is why I believe that philanthropy and the awareness of the need for humanitarian aid in the Arab world should be the focus of ΕΑΣ. I believe furthering my education is empowering and will allow me to only expand this philanthropic impact, thus empowering others. Creating and being apart of a sisterhood made up of such beautiful empowered women has made my UCLA experience truly unforgettable. I have made friendships through this experience that I know will last until my senile years. I imagine a day in the future where our daughters will carry on this legacy and inshAllah many more chapters of ΕΑΣ will be active throughout the nation. To my family and friends who have supported us throughout our journey, I thank you. And to my beautiful sisters, I wouldn’t have chosen anyone else to make this history with. I love you all and can’t wait to see what amazing things our sisterhood will accomplish." ❤
Secretly, I always hoped to be the next Ghandi-like figure, except of course I was a chubby little Arab girl who awkwardly obsessed over all things sparkly and pink. Around the age of about ten, I had this dream that I would one day meet with our Arab world’s leaders and somehow convince them that we must all stick together and protect our fellow nations. I know it sounds a bit cheesy, but I was a very optimistic child. Growing up as a Palestinian especially, I always waited for the day that the rest of the Arab league would come to the rescue, so to speak, and end the occupation of my homeland. I still have hope that this will one day happen. As I grew older, I kind of accepted the fact that I couldn’t really be the next Ghandi so I decided to create my vision on somewhat of a smaller scale. My proudest accomplishment in creating the Empowered Arab Sisterhood is that it is a space composed of women from different political and religious backgrounds that have united in solidarity and have formed a bond through embracing the Arab roots they share. There is a beauty in this sisterhood in that regardless of what we believe, we are able to come together and focus on making a difference where it counts. My hope is that our Empowered Arab Sisters will set an example for the rest of the world, to show the power in solidarity and more importantly what can be achieved with just the love for one another.
Although I grew up in sunny southern California, I was always so engrained in the Arab mentality and culture. I was fortunate enough to live in a community surrounded by an endless number of loud, comforting, and very Palestinian relatives. My mother was the youngest of thirteen and my father, one of nine, so you could only imagine how big our Arab fests were. My late nights of Ramadan were spent sitting around the bonfire, munching on kanafeh, and listening to Baba tell me stories of his active years growing up in Jerusalem. I spent my coming-of-age years living in Amman, Jordan. There, I truly learned to embrace my culture. My Khalto made it her mission to teach me how to cook traditional Arab dishes and my sorority sisters will attest to that. I came close to perfecting my Arabic going to a school surrounded by native speakers. And of course being Arab and having a wedding to go to every other week immersed me in the music and dance that were so imminent of my culture. Upon acquiring my newfound Arab-ness, our family moved back to California. Forced to adapt to a whole new life once again, I slowly began to reintegrate myself into my old American life. In high school, I was aware of the struggle of merging my cultural roots with the western norms I was now living in. All throughout my community I saw girls like me, both Arab and American. The common theme with these girls was the inability to balance both their Arab and American culture. Rather than embracing the two, they chose to lead two separate lives: the life of the average American teenager at school, and the life of the perfect, can do no wrong, Arab daughter at home. In creating the Empowered Arab Sisterhood, my aim was to create a space within the academic setting that brought together women facing these same struggles. I think my favorite part about the bond with my sisters is that each feels completely comfortable expressing everything about themselves. It is open space where we’re able to empower one another by helping our sisters find the balance between our two worlds and being able to integrate the two in such a way that showcases the beauty in both the cultural roots we were raised with and the western ideals we have become so accustomed to.
I graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor’s of Science in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Following my undergraduate career, I completed a Masters of Science in Global Medicine and the USC Keck School of Medicine. I hope to go on to attain a PhD in Public Health and perhaps one day join the United Nation’s team of global health influencers. My passion lies with issues ranging from infectious disease control to health associated with female empowerment in post war populations. I was fortunate enough to lead a comfortable life and for this reason I think it is somewhat my duty to do what I can to provide this same comfort for others that weren’t as lucky as I. This is why I believe that philanthropy and the awareness of the need for humanitarian aid in the Arab world should be the focus of ΕΑΣ. I believe furthering my education is empowering and will allow me to only expand this philanthropic impact, thus empowering others. Creating and being apart of a sisterhood made up of such beautiful empowered women has made my UCLA experience truly unforgettable. I have made friendships through this experience that I know will last until my senile years. I imagine a day in the future where our daughters will carry on this legacy and inshAllah many more chapters of ΕΑΣ will be active throughout the nation. To my family and friends who have supported us throughout our journey, I thank you. And to my beautiful sisters, I wouldn’t have chosen anyone else to make this history with. I love you all and can’t wait to see what amazing things our sisterhood will accomplish." ❤