Yasmeen Mjalli stopped at Washington University on her tour, “Not Your Habibti: A Typewriter Project,” as part of Leaders in Interpersonal Violence Education’s (LIVE) Sexual Assault Awareness Month programming April 4.

Mjalli is a Palestinian activist, artist and entrepreneur. In her presentation, she approached Palestinian feminism from three dimensions: the need to challenge the patriarchy inside the Palestinian community, the need to challenge the Western stereotypes for women of color and the need to fight Israel’s military occupation.

According to Mjalli’s website, the Typewriter Project involves typing the stories of people who have experienced sexual harassment or assault on a typewriter which then “open uncensored dialogue in public spaces around gender and sexual misconduct.” Mjalli emphasized the role of healing by shedding light on what people can do after they experience pain.

“In sharing our stories, we came to realize that we are not alone in the horrible things we experienced and the pain that came afterward,” Mjalli said. “That knowledge then gave way to healing as our voices joined a growing chorus of people demanding to be heard.”

According to the campus organizer of the project, junior Hanna Khalil, expanding the conversations around healing, specifically collective healing, was an important goal of the Typewriter Project event.

“It could be a very accelerating feeling,” Khalil said. “It definitely broadens the conversation to talk about how we can work as a community.”

According to LIVE co-president senior Monica Sass, the tour helped facilitate gender-based conversations across the University’s campus by taking individuals’ identities into consideration.

“I enjoyed her presentation for all the complexities and nuances about her identity and how they influence her work and shape her life path,” Sass said. “It’s impactful and provides a new perspective that many people haven’t thought about before.”

According to Khalil, the Typewriter Tour left a huge impact on students.

“We brought a conversation to Wash. U.’s campus that has not happened before,” Khalil said. “All the people were excited to be part of the conversation, to get to know the perspectives that otherwise may not necessarily be heard from and critically engage those ideas, such as feminism and intersection.”

After the lecture, the Center for Diversity and Inclusion hosted a follow-up event where students were able to share their experiences with Mjalli April 5.

“We collect stories from people, which become part of the archive for stories related to gender issues and sexual misconduct,” Khalil said. “The event actively pushes students to educate themselves on things that are not told directly in mainstream conversation.”