Palestinian women are on a daily fight with patriarchy and have been struggling with countless challenges from domestic abuse to being deprived of education and the patriarchal culture overall.
In an article for Palestinian Researcher and Journalist Najla M. Shahwan, she explains that the two major issues that Palestinian women in occupied Palestine and Gaza face, being “the Israeli occupation and internal patriarchal control.”
In this context, the Minister of Women’s Affairs Amal Hamad has debated the countless issues Palestinian women are facing, according to Palestinian Prime Minister Shtayeh. She specifically mentions the effects of domestic violence along with the COVID-19 pandemic’s implications and the violence inflicted by the Israeli occupation on women.
In recent protests, women have been physically attacked and sometimes even illegally arrested, like the case with activists Mona Al Kurd, Asala Qassim, and many others. Women who get jailed in Israeli prisons are robbed of their basic human rights, be it education or even privacy.
Not only Palestinian women are victims of the occupation’s violence, but they also suffer from violence in their own households. In August 2019, 21-years-old Palestinian Israa Ghrayeb from West Bank was hospitalized after being beaten by her family. During her stay at the hospital and according to video footage, Ghrayyeb was still being violently attacked and died later after being discharged. The murder sparked protests against the discriminatory laws and a social media campaign titled ‘We are all Israa Ghrayeb’ was launched to support her.
Ghrayyeb’s case is not new as many Palestinian women are subject to domestic abuse. In that year alone, and according to the General Union of Palestinian Women and Feminist Institutions, at least 18 women were killed by their family members due to honor-related issues. Additionally, a 2017 report by UN women indicated that 50% of Palestinian women and 63% of Palestinian men believe that women should be able to tolerate violence for the sake of keeping the family together.
Heba Alsaidi, who is a Palestinian data entry specialist living in the Gaza strip, comments on her life in Gaza as a woman and explains how society is intertwined with the patriarchy. She lives in a suburban area, where women are barely allowed to get an education after 16 years of age.
“In my neighborhood, I can count using one hand how many girls made it to university instead of marrying young and having kids,” Alsaidi said. “We have to suffer from everything here. If it’s not education, it’s social status, and if it’s not that, it’s the right of movement and everything else.”
Alsaidi has hope for a better future. She believes that education is the way towards a more equal and just society where men and women have equal opportunities.
“It’s hopeless for the old generation to be part of the change when they’ve been told their whole lives that they can control a woman’s life in any way they want.” Alsaidi told Kayani Project.
Today, Alsaidi and many other Palestinian women aim to shift the power dynamics in the current generation and implement it in the curriculums or even families, maybe then, women would be equal participants in the society.