From the first job and the first salary to living away from family and making fateful decisions, how do young people take their first steps towards independence in light of economic, living and social pressures?
When can we say we are independent? Is it when we start working and make ends meet, or when we leave the family home and become responsible for our decisions?
In this episode of BBC Extra, we explore the meaning of independence for young people in the Middle East and North Africa region, and the challenges they face in transitioning to a new stage of their lives, where the desire for freedom intersects with financial and social responsibilities and parental expectations.
In the episode, we host the educational content creator, Ahmed Abu Zaid, who moved from working in civil engineering to creating content, and we talk to him about the decisions he made to build his professional path away from the expectations surrounding him.
In the studio, we meet university student Farah Najah, who moved from Tunisia to Lebanon to pursue her studies, and found herself facing the challenges of adapting to new environments and managing a limited budget, while continuing to rely on the support of her family.
In Syria, we get to know Sarah Abu Amr, who made her way in the world of plastic arts despite her family’s initial opposition. In Algeria, we meet the former athletics champion, Kawthar Al-Salmi, who was forced to give up her athletic dream after suffering an injury, to find financial independence in cooking and preparing bread.
Presented by: Maryam Al-Toumi and Ghida Fayyad
Prepared by: Futoun Raad
Supervisory Producer: Samah Dakour
Editing: Farah Daja and Nadim Dashkia
Supervision: Nancy Al-Naqeeb
The BBC Extra television program sheds light on the unique human stories of our lives that we live and tell to the youth of the Middle East and North Africa region, weekly every Thursday on BBC Arabic at 5:30 pm GMT.
