Queen’s High School student Malak Tamimi placed first in the Rakaia to Milton regional heat for this year’s Lions Young Speechmaker Contest, which qualified her for the national finals in Hawke’s Bay later this year.
It comprised a five- to six-minute-long prepared speech followed by a one- to two-minute-long impromptu speech on a topic decided by the judges.
Malak said her prepared speech was about intersectional feminism and her experiences, not only as a woman but as a young Palestinian woman living in Dunedin.
She reflected on the different assumptions and labels people had placed on her, and the type of discrimination she had experienced.
She felt very privileged to be able to carry her story all the way from Palestine to Dunedin and now to the national finals in Hawke’s Bay, Malak said.
‘‘It’s not just me going, but it’s my communities, it’s my whānau, it’s every woman who thought she was too much or that she didn’t fit into the society’s standards.
‘‘That is who I’m carrying with me on to the finals and that is what is keeping me going.’’
Intersectional feminism recognised every woman’s experience, no matter who she was, and it did not ignore people’s identities, Malak said.
Her speech had come from the heart and touched on topics she had not spoken about previously.
It was a risk, but it had showed her that you sometimes had to take risks in life in order to succeed.
‘‘The fact that I’m able to shine light on this topic really does mean a lot to me.’’
Malak earned a spot in last year’s finals for her speech on racism, which also made mention of the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings.
There were five contestants in this year’s regional heat, all from Dunedin secondary schools.
Organiser Jenni Mattingly said no-one in the district outside of Dunedin entered, so the decision was made to host the regional heat in the city.
The calibre of the speeches was ‘‘incredible’’, Mrs Mattingly said.
‘‘The research that they’ve done into their topics and the way they delivered them was just amazing.’’
Otago Girls’ High School student Freya Glover placed second and Taieri College student Rosie Mitchell placed third.
