We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Samah Damanhoori. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Samah below.

Samah, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Any thoughts around creating more inclusive workplaces?

I started my journey in Saudi Arabia in 2013 when I applied to the Saudi Scholarship and got accepted to study abroad and the government will cover the expenses for the school and living. My father refused to sign the paper agreement as part of the scholarship program until I find a male companion to accompany me on my journey. My mother’s uncle agreed to come after a year as he had to work on his living situation in Saudi before he leaves his family for three years. My sister was already here in California, Bay Area, Campbell. My father agreed to let me come as long as I will be living around where my sister is living since she is married.

My sister wasn’t getting any luck with her TOEFL exam or university acceptance. After three months of my arrival her scholarship was cancelled and went back home to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. My dad expected me to leave my English language school and come back home and wait to get married before I consider traveling again. I decided to stay and apply for universities and got accepted to study Master’s in Creative Writing. After a week of my enrollment my father cancel the scholarship and the government threatened to report me to the Ministry of Higher Education if I don’t accept the ticket to fly back.

I became an activist and spoke about women’s right in Saudi in news. I asked Notre Dame de Namur if they can give me more time to figure out my money situation to finish my master’s. They gave a year as they never met a Saudi women who decided to stay. I wrote the story of Madina Papel about diversity and inclusion. I wanted to live my truth and be accepted for who I am. I wanted to learn how to accept others for who they are. I wanted to use this story to forgive my father and the government. Not knowing that I want to embrace and accept all types of people.

An international team shaped itself around the project from the co-founder to the editor. The movie got selected in seven film festivals and build the bridge back with my father.

Now I am the only founder of the company and working on feature animation about “Womanhood”/

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?

To continue the story from the previous question, I found my passion in solving problems. I became a producer/activist for “The Freedom Drive” campaign with Human Rights Foundation, CNN, and Springline Media and we helped changed the law for Saudi women to travel without a male permission. It was the same struggle that I had when i started my journey here. I wish if I had the freedom to go back to Saudi and speak with my Dad and talk out the misunderstandings we had and fly back. I wished to invite my mother and my sisters to visit me.

I became more in alignment with my passion and my purpose in this world. I produced “Black Water” song to uplift the fighting spirit in Saudi after imprisoning many activists. Produced a documentary with HBO “Escaping the Kingdom” to help tow other Saudi women find their freedom. Worked at Facebook and Apple. And never stopped speaking about Saudi women’s rights or women’s rights in venues and schools.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

To live on someone else’s rules and culture. Living in a women’s body means to be shy and wait for other to lead you and your life, to cover your body and not have fun, to not laugh out loud or be transparent with your feelings. Being a women means you can not fully be yourself. I had to leave my religion, culture, family structure, not taking risks, and what I know in the past. I made sure to rewrite every story that programmed me to not see my full potential.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

A Saudi woman means you are not allowed to drive, travel, work, or my any career decision without getting a permission from your male guardian. It means that I don’t have access to library. Knowledge is limited, restricted, and monotoned. Saudi woman means you are locked in your house most of your life waiting for your prince charming. Zero exploring and learning. Many Saudi women runaway but they chose to get married for papers, not finish their school after it has been canceled, or learn and start from scratch. There is only one Saudi woman who finished her master on her own, applied for asylum, changed a law in Saudi Arabia, worked in the Silicon Valley and started her own company.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://madinapapelanimation.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samahdaman/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007217476757
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samah-damanhoori-34b055206/
• Twitter: N/A
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCltPH9AiTTIpPTDf2yg0ntg
• Yelp: N/A
• Other: N/A

Image Credits
I will send my picture in the email