International Women's Day 2018 - Raneem Saleh
It's International Women's Day - join us as we celebrate some incredible women from a migrant background who are making a real improvement to Irish society.
Raneem Saleh is a 5th year medical student at UCD and acclaimed spoken word artist.
"International Women’s Day is a celebration of women around the world and what they have accomplished. It’s a celebration which brings together all women, from different backgrounds, and celebrates diversity and achievement.
"I think it’s a day to both celebrate achievements and also to motivate us to keep going towards our goals and our passions. Many women have gone through so much to get where they are and International Women’s Day provides that motivation for us all to keep on achieving.
"I think when you are a woman and part of a minority group, especially one with an outward sign of difference (I wear a hijab) you can’t tell what is causing the barrier. Working as a trainee doctor in a hospital, there is a definite male majority which does affect the environment. They say things like ‘You’ll probably want to work in paediatrics’, assuming that because I am a woman I want to work with children, which isn’t the case. But these assumptions shouldn’t stop any woman striving to achieve the goals she chooses.
"In the spoken word field in Ireland I think there are more women than men. In fact I was inspired to get involved by other women in college. We were inspired by the reaction from women in the US to Black Lives Matter. Looking back, my opportunities in spoken word have pretty much all been provided to me by other women. That’s pretty amazing and I hope it will continue!
"In terms of inspirational women, it sounds so clichéd, but it would definitely be my mum. I have three sisters and she raised us while also working full-time. She made sure we ate well, did our homework, were properly cared for and were supported to do whatever we wanted to do. When we moved to Ireland she supported us, while dad was working as a doctor. She also got her PhD while doing all this. Me and two of my sisters are currently training to be doctors. My youngest sister is 13 and we have high hopes she will join the family profession too…although of course we’ll support her to choose her own path!"
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