Mariam's Story

She stands before them with poise and confidence. Her entire body is covered, leaving only her face and hands exposed—but she does not hide beneath her headscarf. She wears it proudly.

She eagerly approaches the tent of fifty tired American teenagers, fifty strangers, to share her life with them—not in her first language, or her second, or even her third. She eloquently articulates with few mistakes in English, her fourth language.

I was one of those lucky teenagers who heard Mariam’s story that day, and it is something I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

Mariam was born and raised in Tel Sheva, a small Bedouin village in the southern district of Israel, bordering Be’er Sheva. The population of the village is around 13,000, and has been given the lowest rank (1 out of 10) on the socioeconomic scale.

In such Bedouin communities it is tradition for women to be married off in their teenage years. Thus, at a young age, Mariam discovered she wasn’t the woman her society was telling her to be. She wasn’t one to marry a stranger and assume the role of a housewife. She had a dream, and wasn’t going to let tradition limit it.

Given that female-entrepreneurship is simply unheard of in her community, Mariam had to fight hard for her accomplishments. Receiving no support from her family, she was left on her own to accomplish her goal of creating a natural healing cosmetics line.

In order to do so, she was forced to take out many loans to become an herbalist and get the business going. At this point in her life, she not only had no support, but also was doubted and ostracized by almost everyone in her world. Nobody in her community believed a single middle-aged woman could make it on her own—devoid of family, financial stability, and most significantly, a husband.

Despite her many obstacles, she pursued her passion with a strong faith in her own potential. She triumphed over those who shot her ideas down, and showed them how far her business, which she named Desert Daughter, could go.

Today, Desert Daughter is gradually gaining popularity, and has even received some international demand. Though you can’t currently find her products online, a website for her cosmetics is currently underway—hopefully it will emerge within this year.

In my eyes, Mariam represents female empowerment of the best form. She has successfully created her own business, but isn’t stopping there; she is now helping other women do the same by leading a weekly “how to start a business” class.

Intentionally or not, Mariam is leading a progressive moment in a society that is rooted so deeply in tradition.

Though I may have been the only one inspired by Mariam’s story, I plan to spread it as far as I can, with hope some of you will be inspired too...