Munira Al-Shatti interviewing women in a heavily polluted and impoverished village in the Jordan Valley: (photo: Leila Jarman)Contrary to many Westerners' beliefs, Muslim women in the Middle East are not an inactive and voiceless minority, especially when given the proper tools, training, and opportunity. This misconception is continuously fueled by mainstream Western media outlets and has contributed to the unnecessary divide and misunderstanding between the East and West in terms of the role of women. Shamefully, I myself-a liberal and open-minded 22 year old enrolled in International Studies-was not able to grasp the idea of a traditional, Muslim, Middle Eastern woman as being empowered until my colleague and I began production on a documentary film about Asma Raja and Munira Al-Shatti.

Despite threats to their families and not having received any formal journalistic training, these two Muslim women produce and broadcast a groundbreaking socio-political radio program from Amman, Jordan entitled "Voice of the Valley." Since the start of their radio show in 2008, Asma and Munira have become the voice of the voiceless inhabitants of the Jordan Valley. Located on the eastern/Jordanian side of the West Bank, the Jordan Valley is an agricultural hub where most, if not all of the inhabitants are living in poverty as well as struggling with the severe water shortage (Jordan is the fourth poorest country in the world in terms of water.) On top of all of this, due to tribal-nepotism, the local governmental municipalities are rampant with corrupt officials who sit around making excuses for otherwise inexcusable inefficiencies as they drink their coffee and smoke cigarettes. Asma and Munira's radio show exposes the corruption of these local officials and its related social problems. It also provides a soapbox, so to speak, for members of the community as well as Jordan Valley farmers to speak their mind about the issues facing them on a daily basis.

Munira broadcasting "Voice of the Valley" from Radio Al Balad in Amman.: (photo: Leila Jarman)The two women, themselves coming from the neglected and tribally dominated Jordan Valley, had always been interested in pursuing journalism but did not have the proper training and tools to do so. However, in November 2006, Asma and Munira attended a training session hosted by Radio Al Balad (an Amman-based community radio station) to learn about the fundamentals of radio broadcasting. Soon after, they began producing weekly field reports for the radio station. Realizing that it desperately needs its own media outlet and a voice for women in the community, Radio Al Balad decided to establish an all women-run community radio station in the Jordan Valley. Unfortunately, the Jordanian government denied (without reason) a license to establish the radio station. Two years and many field reports later, Asma and Munira launched their own radio show on Radio Al Balad, 92.4FM.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world in New York City, I began a friendship with my colleague, Leila Jarman, whom I'd met in a college class called, "Middle East in the 20th Century." We soon realized that we had a similar aspiration in life: to make a documentary film. Already having plans to study abroad in Jordan, I suggested that we shoot a film there and urged that it have something to do with women's issues. After some initial research online, we found the inspiring story of Asma and Munira. We promptly contacted the head of Radio Al Balad, Daoud Kuttab, who then acted as our English-speaking liaison as neither of the women speaks English. Before I knew it, I was sitting dust-covered, sweaty, and incredibly nervous in a meeting room with the women in Radio Al Balad's office in Amman. After some awkward silences and questionable facial expressions, I presented to them the idea of making a documentary film. After a polite nod of their heads, the rest is history. Six months and many revelations later, Leila and I wrapped up the production of our first documentary film entitled Voice of the Valley.

Watching these two women through a camera lens for four months as they defied misconceptions of traditional Middle Eastern Muslim women has been a life-changing experience for me and Leila. We had never seen a woman so effortlessly command a room full of men the way that Asma did during a meeting with local farmers, or the way that Munira did when confronting the local officials about the trash-filled streets in a nearby village. Although these women are what many Westerners would superficially classify as religiously conservative and culturally traditional, I don't think a piece of fabric will be getting in their way anytime soon.

The co-authors are in the middle of editing what will be a feature-length documentary. More info at voiceofthevalleyfilm.com.