There's a group of people in Kenya.

在肯亞有一群人

People cross oceans to go see them.

人們會飄洋過海來見他們

These people are tall.

這些人很高

They jump high. They wear red.

他們跳得高，他們穿紅色衣物。

And they kill lions.

他們還會獵殺獅子

You might be wondering, who are these people?

你可能會想知道，他們到底是誰？

These are the Maasais.

他們是馬賽族人

And you know what's cool? I'm actually one of them.

最酷的是，我也是其中一員呢！

The Maasais, the boys are brought up to be warriors.

在馬賽族裡，男孩長大都要當戰士。

The girls are brought up to be mothers.

女孩長大則要當母親。

When I was five years old,

我五歲的時候，

I found out that I was engaged

我發現自己已經被配婚了

to be married as soon as I reached puberty.

一旦到了青春期，我就要結婚

My mother, my grandmother, my aunties,

我媽媽、祖母和阿姨們

they constantly reminded me that

她們都會不斷的提醒我

your husband just passed by.

妳丈夫剛剛從我們面前走過哎！

(Laughter) Cool, yeah?

（笑聲）很酷是吧？

And everything I had to do from that moment

從那個時候開始，我做的每一件事情

was to prepare me to be a perfect woman at age 12.

都是為了讓我在12歲可以成為一個完美女性的準備

My day started at 5 in the morning,

我的一天從早上5點開始，

milking the cows, sweeping the house,

為牛擠奶、打掃房子、

cooking for my siblings, collecting water, firewood.

為我的兄弟姊妹煮飯、挑水、收集柴枝

I did everything that I needed to do

我做了所有必須的做的

to become a perfect wife.

讓我成為一位完美的妻子

I went to school not because the Maasais'

我去上學不是因為

women or girls were going to school.

馬賽族的女人或女孩子都會去上學。

It's because my mother was denied an education,

而是因為我母親被剝奪了教育，

and she constantly reminded me and my siblings that

她就不斷地提醒我和我的兄弟姊妹們

she never wanted us to live the life she was living.

她不想我們過她的過去的日子

Why did she say that?

為什麼她會這樣說呢？

My father worked as a policeman in the city.

我父親在城裡當警察

He came home once a year.

他每年回家一次

We didn't see him for sometimes even two years.

有時候，我們甚至兩年都見不到他

And whenever he came home, it was a different case.

每次他回來，情況都不一樣

My mother worked hard in the farm

我媽媽在農莊裡勤奮地工作

to grow crops so that we can eat.

種植作物好讓我們有得吃

She reared the cows and the goats

她會餵牛和羊群

so that she can care for us.

這樣地養育照顧我們

But when my father came, he would sell the cows,

但是每次我爸爸回家，他便會把牛隻賣掉

he would sell the products we had,

變賣我們的產品，

and he went and drank with his friends in the bars.

然後去酒吧跟朋友喝酒

Because my mother was a woman,

因為我媽媽是女性，

she was not allowed to own any property,

她不能擁有自己的財產

and by default, everything in my family anyway

按照慣例，我們家裡面所有的東西都屬於我爸爸

belongs to my father, so he had the right.

所以他喜歡怎麼樣就怎麼樣

And if my mother ever questioned him,

如果我媽向他提出意見的話

he beat her, abused her, and really it was difficult.

他會打她，虐待她，真的，那真的很糟

When I went to school, I had a dream.

我在學校裡念書的時候，我有一個夢想

I wanted to become a teacher.

我希望成為一位老師

Teachers looked nice.

老師看來很不錯

They wear nice dresses, high-heeled shoes.

他們都會穿好看的衣服，還有高跟鞋

I found out later that they are uncomfortable, but I admired it.

雖然我後來發現它們其實不是很舒服，但我還是很喜歡

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

But most of all, the teacher was just writing on the board --

但最重要的，老師們都只是在黑板上寫字

not hard work, that's what I thought,

我想這工作不辛苦

compared to what I was doing in the farm.

跟我在農場做的比起來

So I wanted to become a teacher.

所以，我想成為一位老師

I worked hard in school, but when I was in eighth grade,

我在學校裡很努力學習，但在我八年級的時候

it was a determining factor.

發生了一件關鍵的事情

In our tradition, there is a ceremony

根據我們的傳統，有一個儀式

that girls have to undergo to become women,

女孩必須經過才可以變成女人，

and it's a rite of passage to womanhood.

那是一個女性的成人禮

And then I was just finishing my eighth grade,

我當時即將要完成八年級，

and that was a transition for me to go to high school.

接著我就要上高中

This was the crossroad.

那是一個決定性的時刻

Once I go through this tradition, I was going to become a wife.

一旦完成這個傳統，我就會成為一名妻子

Well, my dream of becoming a teacher will not come to pass.

若是這樣的話，我想要成為老師的夢想便會無法實現。

So I talked -- I had to come up with a plan

於是，我必須有個計畫

to figure these things out.

處理這些事情

I talked to my father. I did something that most girls have never done.

我找爸爸商量，我做了大部份女孩子永遠不會做的事情

I told my father, "I will only go through this ceremony

我告訴爸爸：我不會完成這儀式

if you let me go back to school."

除非你讓我回學校”

The reason why, if I ran away,

我之所以這樣做，因為如果我逃跑，

my father will have a stigma, people will be calling him

我爸爸會蒙受恥辱，人們會叫他

the father of that girl who didn't go through the ceremony.

沒完成儀式女孩的爸爸

It was a shameful thing for him to carry the rest of his life.

他將終身背負這種恥辱

So he figured out. "Well," he said, "okay,

於是他想通了對我說 “好，可以"

you'll go to school after the ceremony."

儀式之後妳可以回去上學“

I did. The ceremony happened.

於是，我參加了這個儀式。

It's a whole week long of excitement.

那是一整個星期的興奮

It's a ceremony. People are enjoying it.

那是個儀式，大家都樂在其中

And the day before the actual ceremony happens,

儀式舉行的前一天，

we were dancing, having excitement,

我們都很興奮地跳舞

and through all the night we did not sleep.

徹夜不睡

The actual day came, and we walked out of the house

那一天到來，我們走出我們跳舞的房子

that we were dancing in. Yes, we danced and danced.

是的，我們一直跳，一直跳

We walked out to the courtyard, and there were a bunch of people waiting.

我們走到庭院，有一大群人在等待

They were all in a circle.

他們圍了一個圈

And as we danced and danced,

我們繼續地跳啊跳

and we approached this circle of women,

然後，我們來到這一群婦女的圈子裡，

men, women, children, everybody was there.

那裡有男，有女，還有小孩，幾乎所有人都在那裡

There was a woman sitting in the middle of it,

有一個女人坐在中間

and this woman was waiting to hold us.

那個女人在等著我們

I was the first. There were my sisters and a couple of other girls,

我是第一個。還有我妹妹和一些其他女孩子

and as I approached her,

當我靠近她

she looked at me, and I sat down.

她看我，然後我坐下來

And I sat down, and I opened my legs.

我坐下來並打開雙腳

As I opened my leg, another woman came,

當我打開雙腳的時候，另外一個女人進過來

and this woman was carrying a knife.

這個女人帶著一把刀

And as she carried the knife, she walked toward me

她拿著刀走向我

and she held the clitoris, and she cut it off.

她抓住我的陰蒂, 然後割下來

As you can imagine, I bled. I bled.

你可以想像當時的情況，我一直流血 一直流

After bleeding for a while, I fainted thereafter.

流血一陣子之後，我暈倒了

It's something that so many girls --

很多女孩子會就此死去，

I'm lucky, I never died -- but many die.

我很幸運，沒有死

It's practiced, it's no anesthesia, it's a rusty old knife,

儀式就是這樣舉行，沒有麻醉，只用一把生鏽的舊刀

and it was difficult.

想起來，那真是很不容易渡過的。

I was lucky because one, also, my mom did something

我很幸運因為我的媽媽做了些事情

that most women don't do.

那是大部份的婦女都不會做的。

Three days later, after everybody has left the home,

三天之後，當人們都離開了我們的房子，

my mom went and brought a nurse.

我媽媽去請了一位護士來

We were taken care of.

我們被照料

Three weeks later, I was healed, and I was back in high school.

三個星期之後，我康復了，也回到了高中

I was so determined to be a teacher now

我非常堅決的要成為一位教師

so that I could make a difference in my family.

這樣我可以對我的家庭有所作為

Well, while I was in high school, something happened.

當我上了高中，又發生了一件事情

I met a young gentleman from our village

我遇見了一位來自我們村子的年輕的先生

who had been to the University of Oregon.

他念過美國奧勒崗州大學

This man was wearing a white t-shirt, jeans, camera,

這個人穿白色T-shirt，牛仔褲，帶著照相機，

white sneakers -- and I'm talking about white sneakers.

還有白色的運動鞋，白色運動鞋呢!

There is something about clothes, I think, and shoes.

我想應該是衣服還有鞋子的關係

They were sneakers, and this is in a village

然而在這村裡

that doesn't even have paved roads. It was quite attractive.

根本沒什麼鋪好的道路。所以鞋子蠻引人注目

I told him, "Well, I want to go to where you are,"

我告訴他：”我想去你所在的地方。“

because this man looked very happy, and I admired that.

因為這個人看來很快樂，我很嚮往這個樣子

And he told me, "Well,

他告訴我，”喔，

what do you mean, you want to go?

妳想去，是什麼意思？

Don't you have a husband waiting for you?"

妳沒有丈夫在等妳嗎？“

And I told him, "Don't worry about that part.

我告訴他：”這你不用擔心

Just tell me how to get there."

只要告訴我怎樣可以去你那個地方就行。“

This gentleman, he helped me.

這位先生幫了我。

While I was in high school also, my dad was sick.

我在念高中的時候，我爸爸病了

He got a stroke, and he was really, really sick,

他中風，病得很嚴重，很嚴重

so he really couldn't tell me what to do next.

所以他沒辦法告訴我下一步應該怎做

But the problem is, my father is not the only father I have.

問題是，我爸爸不是我唯一的父親

Everybody who is my dad's age, male in the community,

社區裡每個和我爸爸同年紀的男性

is my father by default --

按照慣例都是我父親

my uncles, all of them -- and they dictate what my future is.

還有我叔叔們，所有人，都可以主宰我的未來

So the news came, I applied to school

然而消息傳來，我申請學校

and I was accepted to Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia,

我被美國維吉尼亞州林奇堡的蘭都爾夫女子學院錄取了

and I couldn't come without the support of the village,

但是如果沒有村子的支持，我不可能前往

because I needed to raise money to buy the air ticket.

因為我得湊錢買機票

I got a scholarship but I needed to get myself here.

我拿到了獎學金，但是我需要自己想辦法來到這裡

But I needed the support of the village,

我需要村子的支持，

and here again, when the men heard,

當男性們聽到這個消息，

and the people heard that a woman had gotten an opportunity to go to school,

還有大家聽到一位女性得到去學校念書的機會

they said, "What a lost opportunity.

他們說：”多可惜啊，

This should have been given to a boy. We can't do this."

這個機會應該留給男孩，我們不能這樣做。“

So I went back and I had to go back to the tradition.

於是，我知道，我必須要回到傳統。

There's a belief among our people

我的族人有一個信念

that morning brings good news.

早晨會帶來好消息

So I had to come up with something to do with the morning,

於是，我必須在早上做點事情

because there's good news in the morning.

因為好消息都是發生在早上。

And in the village also, there is one chief, an elder,

在村子裡，有一位長者領袖，

who if he says yes, everybody will follow him.

只要他同意，其他人都會跟隨他

So I went to him very early in the morning, as the sun rose.

所以在一大清早，太陽剛剛升起的時候去找他

The first thing he sees when he opens his door is, it's me.

讓他一打開門，第一個可以看見的就是我

"My child, what are you doing here?"

他問：“我的孩子，妳在這裡做什麼？”

"Well, Dad, I need help. Can you support me to go to America?"

我說：“父親，我需要幫忙。 你可以支持我去美國嗎？”

I promised him that I would be the best girl,

我答應他，我會是最好的女生，

I will come back, anything they wanted after that,

我一定會回來，之後他們希望我做的事情

I will do it for them.

我都一定會去做。

He said, "Well, but I can't do it alone."

他說：“好！但是我不能一個人作主。“

He gave me a list of another 15 men that I went --

他給了我一份有十五個男性的名單

16 more men -- every single morning

總共16個男人，我每天早上

I went and visited them.

逐一去拜訪了他們

They all came together.

然後，他們全部都聚集在一起。

The village, the women, the men, everybody came together

村子、女人、男人，所有人都來了

to support me to come to get an education.

支持我來這裡接受教育

I arrived in America. As you can imagine, what did I find?

我到了美國。 你猜，我發現了什麼？

I found snow!

我發現了雪！

I found Wal-Marts, vacuum cleaners,

我發現了沃爾瑪超市，吸塵器，

and lots of food in the cafeteria.

還有學校餐廳裡的不同食物。

I was in a land of plenty.

我在一片豐盛的土地上

I enjoyed myself, but during that moment while I was here,

我很享受這裡的生活，但在這期間

I discovered a lot of things.

我發現了很多事情

I learned that that ceremony that I went through

我知道了我十三歲所經歷的那個儀式

when I was 13 years old, it was called female genital mutilation.

它被稱為女性割禮

I learned that it was against the law in Kenya.

我得知在肯亞是違法的

I learned that I did not have to trade part of my body

我得知了，其實我不需要用我的身體來作為接受教育

to get an education. I had a right.

的交換條件。我有接受教育的權利

And as we speak right now, three million girls

至今，在非洲有三百萬的女性

in Africa are at risk of going through this mutilation.

處於經歷這種割禮的威脅

I learned that my mom had a right to own property.

我學到我媽媽有權去擁有自己的財物

I learned that she did not have to be abused

我學到她不應該被虐待

because she is a woman.

只因為她是女性

Those things made me angry.

這所有的事情都讓我很生氣憤怒。

I wanted to do something.

我想做些什麼

As I went back, every time I went,

我每一趟回去村裡，

I found that my neighbors' girls were getting married.

都會發現我鄰居的女孩被安排結婚了

They were getting mutilated, and here,

她們都經歷割禮，

after I graduated from here, I worked at the U.N.,

我在這裡畢業後，我去了聯合國工作，

I went back to school to get my graduate work,

我回到學校裡去做碩士研究時，

the constant cry of these girls was in my face.

我看見這些女孩子不斷在哭

I had to do something.

我必須做些什麼

As I went back, I started talking to the men,

我回去後，我開始跟男士們

to the village, and mothers, and I said,

跟村子，還有母親們說話，我說

"I want to give back the way I had promised you

”我想尊守我的承諾，

that I would come back and help you. What do you need?"

我說我會回來幫忙，你需要什麼？“

As I spoke to the women, they told me,

當我這樣跟婦女說，她們會告訴我，

"You know what we need? We really need a school for girls."

”妳知道我們的需要什麼嗎? 我們很需要一所女子學校

Because there had not been any school for girls.

因為那裡從沒有給女孩子的學校。

And the reason they wanted the school for girls

她們之所以想要一所女子學校

is because when a girl is raped when she's walking to school,

是因為當有女孩在上學途中被強暴

the mother is blamed for that.

母親卻是被怪罪的一方

If she got pregnant before she got married,

如果她在結婚前懷孕

the mother is blamed for that, and she's punished.

母親會被責怪而她會被懲罰

She's beaten.

她會被打。

They said, "We wanted to put our girls in a safe place."

她們會說：“我們需要把我們的女兒帶到一個安全的地方。”

As we moved, and I went to talk to the fathers,

然後我們搬了，我去跟父親們商量

the fathers, of course, you can imagine what they said:

理所當然 你可以猜他們說了什麼

"We want a school for boys."

我們要一所男子學校”

And I said, "Well, there are a couple of men from my village

我說：“有些我們村子的男人

who have been out and they have gotten an education.

他們也出去接受教育了

Why can't they build a school for boys,

為什麼他們不回來建立一所男子學校？

and I'll build a school for girls?"

而我來建立一所女子學校?”

That made sense. And they agreed.

這個說法很合理。最後他們都同意了

And I told them, I wanted them to show me a sign of commitment.

我跟他們說，我希望他們可以對他們的承擔有所表示

And they did. They donated land where we built the girls' school.

然後，他們便捐出了一塊地讓我們建立一所女子學校

We have.

我們做到了。

I want you to meet one of the girls in that school.

我想讓妳見一見學校裡的一名女生。

Angeline came to apply for the school,

Angeline來學校報讀，

and she did not meet any criteria that we had.

可是，她不具備任何我們要求的條件

She's an orphan. Yes, we could have taken her for that.

她是一個孤兒。沒錯，我們可以因此讓她入學

But she was older. She was 12 years old,

但她比其他同學年長， 當時她十二歲

and we were taking girls who were in fourth grade.

我們收的是四年級學生。

Angeline had been moving from one place --

Angeline曾經經歷了無數的搬遷

because she's an orphan, she has no mother, she has no father --

因為她是孤兒，沒有母親，也沒有父親

moving from one grandmother's house to another one,

所以，她只能從一個祖母的房子搬到另一個，