Despite the social restrictions of the Palestinian society especially in villages, Palestinian women took an active role in the Palestinian struggle six decades before the First Uprising ‘Intifada’.
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Palestinian female activists collecting donations for the revolutionaries 1938. Source: Walid Khalidi: Before Their Diaspora |
Adlah Fatayer and Fatma Abul Huda 1947, Source: google images |
Samples of Women Freedom fighters
fatima Al-najar |
Wafaa Idris |
Hanadi Jradat |
Women Activism in Palestine
by Maath Musleh
Monday, April 16th, 2012
These popular committees worked hand in hand with the Unified Leadership of the Intifada to implement the monthly program,” said Amal Wahdan, a former member of DFLP. “The women were the pillars of the neighborhood popular committees.”
Palestinian women in 1936 revolution |
“Palestinian women had great effect on the national activities during the First Intifada to the extent that the Israelis opened a new jail for Palestinian women political prisoners in Abu Kbeer near Jaffa along with Israeli criminal prisoners,” said Ms. Wahdan. “Palestinian women were subjected to all sorts of punishments and harassment.”
Although these punishments failed to push women off the field, they added to the social obstacles that women managed to overcome at the beginning of the uprising. “Two years into the uprising, and after many women being arrested, families started to fear for their daughters especially when reports started spreading of an increase in sexual assaults and rape cases practiced by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF),” said Fadwa Al-Labadi. “The biggest obstacle that challenged women’s participation later on was the evolvement of Hamas as a political power on the street. They used to prevent women from participating in the actions of the uprising unless they met several standards of decency.”
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The biggest challenge I face, and the most serious I would say, is getting the approval/blessing of my parents,” said Linah Al-Saafin, an activist in the popular resistance. “Somehow, I managed to break their tight resolve on banning me from going to protests in the West Bank villages.”Every week in the different villages of popular resistance, you can clearly see the women standing in the front line of the demonstrations. Most of these young women leave their houses secretly to attend these demonstrations.
Being a woman, a 48-Palestinian and person with disability has, in many ways, imposed extraordinary difficulties on my political activism in general,” said Budour Hasan, a law student and woman activist. “The biggest challenge I continue to face is the staunch opposition of my family. My family’s opposition means that I have to carry out the bulk of my political activities under the radar.”In the organizational meetings of the new youth groups, the numbers of women are mostly larger than those of the men. With the dominant role of women on streets, women have an equal role to that of men in the decision making within the new youth groups. Nonetheless, many challenges remains, and the fear of the repetition of the scenario of the first Intifada exists.
I haven’t had any problems in the protests themselves,” said Ms. AlSaafin. “There may have been some underhand sexism from the guys around me at the beginning, such as telling me to stick with a group of women, but the more we got to know each other in the tight circle of activists the more we were treated as equals.”Women’s involvement in the youth movement is not just merely a trend of the new Arab Spring as it is more prominent among men. It is a window of opportunity to prove that they can be an equal partner in a society that still to a large extent discriminates against them.
As women, we face patriarchal patterns also through activism, as in society in general,” said Abir Kopty, a woman activist and former elected member of Nazareth local council. “I’m active in the struggle because it is my duty to my people, and I want to be a full partner. Palestine is witnessing the revival of women’s activism and leadership in the popular resistance. When more and more women join, we will make a change in women’s status.”
The liberation we Palestinian women are fighting for is not just national liberation,” said Ms. Hasan. “We believe that through popular resistance, we can also challenge gender subordination and entrenched stereotypes.”
I am involved because I want my people’s rights,” said Ms. Kopty. “I cannot ignore the injustices I see every day, and it will not end if I stay home.”When speaking to those women putting their lives at risk in the front line of the resistance, you sense the determination that is not likely to despair. “Our strong presence in civil society and the frontlines of most demonstrations is a cornerstone for full, inclusive liberation,” said Ms. Hasan. “What keeps me going is the incessant drive for dignity, freedom and justice that every Palestinian and oppressed person has.”
The men involved in the popular resistance tend to coordinate more with the young women than the men. “They are very active and you can depend on them,” said a 25 years old activist, a Fateh member who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Their courage in weekly demonstrations makes us respect them and trust them.”
Despite the big role women activists have acquired in the recent youth movement and struggle against occupation, the road remains long for a large-scale mobilizing of women in the Palestinian struggle. Many social restrictions remain to be broken. But the year of 2011 certainly took the role of women in the Palestinian struggle to a new level. For the first time, women decided to act equal rather than seek permission for an equal role.
River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian
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