Khadija al-Salami
Encyclopedia
Khadija al-Salami is the first Yemeni female film producer
. Al-Salami resides in Paris
, France
.
At an early age, al-Salami was sent to live with relatives after her mother divorced her father over severe domestic abuse. At age 11, she was forced by her uncle into an early marriage
and was raped by her husband. Some weeks later, after much protest and disobedience, her husband returned her to her uncle, who immediately disowned her and returned her to her single mother. She escaped the immense family and society pressure by finding employment with the local television station
and simultaneously attending school in the mornings.
At the age of 16, she received a scholarship to finish secondary school
in the United States
. Subsequently, she enrolled at the Mount Vernon College for Women
, in Washington, D.C.
. After a period in Yemen and Paris, she returned to Washington to earn her Master's degree
in communications at the American university. For her thesis, she produced her first film.
Since then, al-Salami has produced several documentaties for various television network
s in France and Yemen. The primary focus of her documentaries focus on women, possibly as a reflection of her life experience. She has also co-authored with her current husband, the American Charles Hoots, an autobiography, The Tears of Sheba.
al-Salami currently serves as Press and Cultural attaché
and Director of the Yemeni Information Centre at the Embassy of Yemen in Paris.
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
. Al-Salami resides in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
At an early age, al-Salami was sent to live with relatives after her mother divorced her father over severe domestic abuse. At age 11, she was forced by her uncle into an early marriage
Child marriage
Child marriage and child betrothal customs occur in various times and places, whereby children are given in matrimony - before marriageable age as defined by the commentator and often before puberty. Today such customs are fairly widespread in parts of Africa, Asia, Oceania and South America: in...
and was raped by her husband. Some weeks later, after much protest and disobedience, her husband returned her to her uncle, who immediately disowned her and returned her to her single mother. She escaped the immense family and society pressure by finding employment with the local television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
and simultaneously attending school in the mornings.
At the age of 16, she received a scholarship to finish secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Subsequently, she enrolled at the Mount Vernon College for Women
Mount Vernon College for Women
Mount Vernon College for Women was a private women's college in Washington, D.C. It merged with George Washington University in 1999 and is now known as the Mount Vernon Campus of The George Washington University....
, in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. After a period in Yemen and Paris, she returned to Washington to earn her Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in communications at the American university. For her thesis, she produced her first film.
Since then, al-Salami has produced several documentaties for various television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
s in France and Yemen. The primary focus of her documentaries focus on women, possibly as a reflection of her life experience. She has also co-authored with her current husband, the American Charles Hoots, an autobiography, The Tears of Sheba.
al-Salami currently serves as Press and Cultural attaché
Attaché
Attaché is a French term in diplomacy referring to a person who is assigned to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency...
and Director of the Yemeni Information Centre at the Embassy of Yemen in Paris.
Works
- Hadramaout: Crossroads of Civilizations (1991)
- Le pays suspendu (1994)
- Women of Islam (1995)
- Land of Sheba (1997)
- Yemen of a Thousand Faces (2000)
- A Stranger in Her Own City (2005)
- Amina (2006)