palestinian women thesis
TRANSCRIPT
-
7/31/2019 Palestinian Women Thesis
1/25
ABSTRACT
AN OVERVIEW OF PALESTINIAN WOMEN MOVEMENT IN THE
FIRST INTIFADA (1987)
EVK, ELF
Department of History
Supervisor: Assoc.Prof.Dr. Recep Boztermur
June 2011, 23 pages
This thesis analyses the Palestinian women movement in the First Intifada which occurred in 1987.
Since Palestine is traditional society patriarchy dominates the Palestinian society. Therefore,
Palestinian women confronts with two major problems one is patriarchy the other is occupation.
Since patriarchy is dominant in the sociocultural life of Palestine, Palestinian women cannot
express themselves in the public life. However, the First Intifada can be regarded turning point in
terms of participating in social life with the male members of the society. Since Palestinian society
was not ready to accept the emancipation of women and the transformation of society remained
one sided because when Palestinian women were transformed Palestinian men remained in the
same social situation after the First Intifada women activism remained partially. Palestinian women
movement emerged within the national struggle of Palestine therefore, feminist movement in
Palestine in the first intifada did not continue with the same dynamics.
Keywords: Palestinian women, The First Intifada, Patriarchy, Feminism, Nationalism
1
-
7/31/2019 Palestinian Women Thesis
2/25
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................................i
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................................iii
CHAPTER
1. INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1
2. THE NATURE OF PALESTINIAN SOCIETY..5
2.1 The reasons which caused backward situation of Palestinian women...5
2.2 The case of Honor and Israel...6
3. THE SITUATION OF PALESTINIAN WOMEN BEFORE THE FIRST
INTIFADA8
3.1 The social relation between men and women n the Palestine10
4. THE SITUATION OF PALESTINIAN WOMEN DURING THE FIRST
2
-
7/31/2019 Palestinian Women Thesis
3/25
INTIFADA11
4.1 Changing social relation between men and women during the First
Intifada.13
5. THE SITUATION OF PALESTINIAN WOMEN AFTER THE FIRST
INTIFADA...14
5.1 Women Activism16
6. NATIONALISM AND FEMINISM..17
7. CONCLUSION..18
3
-
7/31/2019 Palestinian Women Thesis
4/25
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
The first Intifada ,which means shaking off in Arabic, is the resistance occurred in December
1987 by the Palestinian population in the West Bank and Gaza against the Israeli occupation. The
Intifada of 1987 was organized by the groups that had developed under the conditions of the
occupation. The Intifada involved hundreds of thousands of people, many with no previous
resistance experience, including children, teenagers and women. For the first few years, it involved
many forms of civil disobedience, including massive demonstrations, general strikes, refusal to pay
taxes, boycotts of Israeli products, political graffiti and the establishment of underground schools
(since regular schools were closed by the military as reprisals for the uprising).1Since it includes
stone throwing, Molotov cocktails and erection of barricades stone throwing is regarded as the
symbol of the First Intifada. Intifada was centered on the UNLU (United National Leadership of
the Uprising) which was a unification of four PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) parties in
the occupied territories: Fatah, the PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine), the DFLP
(Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine) and the PPP (Palestinian People's Party). From
1987 to 1991 Israeli forces killed over 1,000 Palestinians, including over 200 under the age of
sixteen. By 1990, most of the UNLU leaders had been arrested and the intifada lost its cohesive
force, although it continued for several more years. 2 Economic transformation in the occupied
territories which means the integration subordination of local Palestinian economy into the Israeli
economy , rising Palestinian Nationalism which can gather people from different political
1 MERIP IntifadaRetrieved from [http://www.merip.org/palestine-israel_primer/intifada-87-pal-isr-primer.html]2 Ibid.
4
-
7/31/2019 Palestinian Women Thesis
5/25
backgrounds in the situation of national struggle, mass mobilization especially the mobilization of
women and international context that resulted with the loss of any hope in an external diplomatic
solution are regarded as the origins of the causes of the Palestinian uprising. This analysis about
the causes of the origins of Intifada supports the Charles Tillys term of collective action as Joint
action in pursuit of common ends.3 The uprising started as a result of political situation of the
occupied territories, since it includes mass participation it was resulted in the social transformation
of Palestinian society.
Although the first Intifada was not resulted in any drastic improvement in terms of the
political rights of Palestinian society, it paved the way for the period in which the social status of
women was transformed. Women were active in the Intifada in 1987 and this can be understood
with the result of deaths during the Intifada; one-third of deaths was women. Furthermore, the
number of women taken into custody n the 1970s was about hundreds however, in the 1980s the
number of women taken into custody was nearly around thousands.4This situation is important in
terms of defining of social identity of Palestinian women. In other words, the politicization of
women in a patriarchal society resulted with partial emancipation of them. Despite of nationalist
struggle which was regarded as driving force for the emancipation of Palestinian women patriarchy
was the worst obstacles of the improvements of the rights of women. The literature from the
Middle East makes clear that in many parts of the world where Islamic movements are on the rise,
women find themselves torn between their identities as women and their cultural identities as
Muslims. (quoted in the Kandiyoti 1991:7) 5Patriarchy limits and controls the identity of women
however, in the case of national struggle which requires the collective action women can find
3 Erica,Alin Dynamics of the Palestinian Uprising: An Assessment of Causes, Character, andConsequences. Comparative Politics. Vol. 26, No. 4 (Jul., 1994), pp. 479-498 ,p 488.4 Pappe, Ilan. Ortadouyu Anlamak NTV Yaynlar, 2011.5 Cited in R.Ray,A.C. Korteweg Women's Movements in the Third World: Identity,Mobilization, and Autonomy.Annual Review of Sociology. pp. 47-71 . p 51
5
-
7/31/2019 Palestinian Women Thesis
6/25
opportunity of emancipate them. So, some politicization processes can be resulted in the break of
traditional applications. Moreover, n this kind of patriarchal societies urbanization sometimes can
affect the impact of traditions on the activities of women. Women living in urban can be politicized
and free when compared with the women living in rural areas. Although Palestinian women living
in rural areas wanted to be active in the struggle they were oppressed by the traditional family
structure. 6
In order to examine the women movement and transformation of their social role during the
First Intifada this study is organized around the nature of Palestinian society, situation of women
before the Intifada, women movement during the uprising, result of Intifada and relation between
the nationalism and women movement. In the first chapter, the social structure of Palestinian
society will be examined by considering the patriarchal feature of Palestine. In the second chapter,
the life of Palestinian women before the First Intifada will be explained. In the third chapter,
women activism during the Frist Intifada by considering its relation with national struggle will be
examined. In the fourth chapter, after the First Intifada the life of Palestinian women and the
transformation in their life will be observed. In the conclusion, four chapters will be summarized
and some suggestions to sustain women activism will be given.
A case-study approach was used in this thesis by focusing on the Palestinian Intifada of 1987.
During the literature review it has been noticed that there are not enough sources about the
activism of Palestinian women so it was difficult to sort out the main chapters from the articles
about major topic of this thesis. After comprehensive literature review it has been noticed that
there are very few sources about the women movement during the First Intifada. Most of the
sources were article. Especially the book of Ilan Pappe who is the member of new historians ( a
6 Pappe, Ortadouyu Anlamak. p 337
6
-
7/31/2019 Palestinian Women Thesis
7/25
group of Israeli historian who have challenged the official history writing of Israel) namely
Ortadouyu Anlamak was helpful to grasp the general frame of the Palestinian society and
Middle East. Zahira Kamal and Philippa Strum were the other authors who have explained
Palestinian women and process of the First Intifada comprehensively. Another important point
during the literature review was that in the international level Palestinian women has not been
sufficiently the subject of research.
CHAPTER 2
7
-
7/31/2019 Palestinian Women Thesis
8/25
THE NATURE OF PALESTINIAN SOCETY
The characteristic of the Palestinian society similar to neighbor countries like Syria and
Lebanon is mainly determined by the patriarchal components of society. Since patriarchy is the
domination of men over women and Palestine is patriarchal society Palestinian women has been
the sufferers of society. Apart from being member of patriarchal society living in the occupied
territories under the pressure of Israeli troop the condition of Palestinian women got worsened.
Moreover, life in the occupied territories prevented any educational improvement so women did
not have chance to receive qualified and equal education opportunities. As a result of this situation
Palestinian women did not initiate any feminist movement.
2.1 The reasons which caused backward situation of Palestinian women
According to Zahira Kamal the reasons which caused backward situation of Palestinian women
are: 1) the distorted and backward socioeconomic structure that has traditionally prevented
women from potentially great contributions in the production of goods and 2) an ideological
structure that is based that is based on ancestral traditions. 7 The cultural codes which are
defined by patriarchy and inherent by women unconsciously is another problematic issue of
Palestinian women. The accepted role of men is being in outside so men can be easily part of
politics and have the right to protests against Israeli troops whereas women are generally live at
home and can only be spectators of reactions of men. Moreover, the term of honor is defined
with the existence of women and regarded men as the protector of honor of women. Therefore, the
emancipation and political reactions of women becomes more difficult under the any fear of loss of
their honor. When women start to think any reaction against Israeli they have to consider any
7 Zahira Kamal. The Development of the Palestinian Womens Movement in the OccupiedTerritories: Twenty years after the Israeli Occupation. Palestinian Women of Gaza and theWest Bank. (ed.) Suha Sabbagh. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1998) Pp 270. p 79
8
-
7/31/2019 Palestinian Women Thesis
9/25
violence especially sexual violence. Since when they were arrested interrogation will be
inevitable. In her article Rosemary Sayigh gives this example: R.E. tells me unemotionally of her
two weeks in the Moscobiya, when they tried to force her to sign a confession that she belonged
to the PLO. Apart from interrupted sleep and continuous discomfort, interrogation was
accompanied by forced stripping, name calling (prostitute) and threats of rape. 8 Therefore, for
Israel any intimidating attitude of Israeli forces can prevent the demonstration and political activity
of Palestinian women.
2.2 The case of Honor and Israel
Moreover, since men were regarded as the protector of honor any violence against women can
be resulted with the reaction of men or can discourage women any activism against Israel. Israeli
reading of Arab psychology leads to sexual aggression or threat being used against them as a
means of intimidating the population as a whole. However, this expectation of Israel did not reach
its goal. As Sayigh explains with this sentence that Up to now this form of pressure has not been
successful: the politicization of women appears to be increasing rather than lessening. 9Another
cultural code was represented with the process of hijabization. Before the Intifada, in the late
1970s Islamic movement, especially Mujama alIslami, restored hijab which was not related to
authentic Palestinian dress and imposed wearing of hijab on the women in Gaza. Hijab which is
the traditional head cover of Muslim women gained importance during the Intifada. During the
years after Intifada hijab was imposed on all Palestinian women as a result of politicization of
hijab. During the year of Intifada a few women activists did not wear hijab. However, in December
1988 a year after Intifada it was impossible to walk the streets without hijab. For example, graffiti
8 Rosemary Sayigh. Encounters with Palestinian Women under Occupation.Journal ofPalestine Studies. Vol. 10, No. 4 (Summer, 1981), pp. 3-26 .p 69 Sayigh, Encounters with Palestinian Women under Occupation. p 7
9
-
7/31/2019 Palestinian Women Thesis
10/25
sprung up all over the Strip with the statements such as , Daughter of Islam abide by sharia
dress! In May 1988 religious youths broke into classrooms and demanded that schoolgirls wear
the hijab10. The Intifada pave the way of ideological transformation of hijab and empowered the
impact of patriarchy on women. By declaring bayan (which means political manifesto) women
were oppressed and forced to wear hijab. Although the Intifada process started the period of
emancipation among Palestinian women the pressure of traditional groups prevented the activities
of women. The interaction of women activists with different political fractions resulted with
different outcomes. Generally, the attitude of leftist groups was positive towards women activists
and women could easily express themselves within these groups. Women in the movement,
particularly those in the leftist parties, were concerned with gender inequalities that were
manifested in the marginalization of women in the social, economic, and political spheres both in
their parties and in their societies and thus developed a gender (or feminist) consciousness.
11However, the role of traditionalist groups was different. They wanted to control women within
the borders of their traditional point of view. Especially, Hamas tried to control women by
declaring bayan and using graffiti. It can be inferred from the historical background of Palestine
that since historically Palestinian society struggled for the independence and the education level of
society was not so high the emancipation of women has always ignored. The priority was given
national struggle and traditional political fragments regarded women as inferior than men so
women within the sociocultural character of Palestinian society was not active in the decision
making process of society.
CHAPTER 3
10 Rema Hammami. Women, the Hijab and the Intifada. Middle East Report. No. 164/165,Intifada Year Three (May - Aug., 1990).pp. 24-28+71+78. p 24-2511Randa Nasser,Fidaa Barghouti,Janan Mousa. Feminist Attitudes and Praxis AmongPalestinian Women Activists. Feminist Formations. Published by The Johns Hopkins UniversityPress (2010) . Volume 22, Number 3, Fall 2010, pp. 146-175 (Article). p 2
10
-
7/31/2019 Palestinian Women Thesis
11/25
THE SITUATION OF PALESTINIAN WOMEN BEFORE THE FIRST INTIFADA
Before the First Intifada in 1987 similar to other Middle Eastern societies women in the
Palestine have been subordinated by the dominant figures of the society. Since the educational
background of Palestinian women varied from well-educated to uneducated it is difficult to
observe any striking movement before the First Intifada. A relatively small number of women were
educated during the pre-intifada period. Among them were a few women from the societal elite,
largely from Christian families. Some were daughters of post -1948 refugee camp families.
Illiterate women were able to obtain work only as domestic laborers, and it was hoped that a basic
education would enhance their chances of getting better jobs. 12There are some obstacles which
caused the subordination of women in the Palestinian society. The first obstacle was the political
disorder that prevents women from any emancipating activities. On the grounds that Palestinian
national struggle which was started even with the beginning of the Mandate Regime of Britain was
regarded the prior problem of Palestine. The second obstacle which was related to first one was
that the underdeveloped social character of Palestinian society particularly within the period of
national struggle could not make any political activism of Palestinian women possible. The most
important example was their dominant male culture which defended honor killing for controlling
of female members of society. Freedom and struggle are impossible in a society in which strict
application like honor killing is implemented. Therefore, under the threat of being killed women
could not be active within the feminist resistance. There were also other characteristics of
Palestinian women under the living conditions of occupation. The main characteristics of West
Bank women was being apolitical and being passive outside of their home. Similar to other
12 Shaarawi,. Harem Years, p 8. cited in. West Bank Women and the Intifada: Revolutionwithin revolution. Strum. Palestinian Women of Gaza and the West Bank. (ed.) SuhaSabbagh. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1998) p 75
11
-
7/31/2019 Palestinian Women Thesis
12/25
traditional societies in Palestine the labor of women was ignored since they were working all the
times at home. On the grounds that they labor within home for their family and their husband are
both member and the supporter of traditional family Palestinian women did not have any salary. As
a result of this situation women were the unpaid workers of the Palestinian society. It was men
who went into the paid workforce, men who mingled in cafes and played backgammon after work,
and men who socialized outside the home. 13 West Bank women were generally conservative and
had rural characteristics. It can be predicted from the rural structure of West Bank women that it is
difficult to see any reaction against male dominant Palestinian society. Moreover, in rural areas
there was usually clear gender-based division of labor.
Rural women fetched the water and men herded flocks, for example, while some seasonal
jobs, such as picking olives and harvesting were done by men and women together. Women
occasionally did mens work, but West Bank men, like those everywhere, normally played no
role in the womens work of child rearing, cooking and housekeeping. Men controlled money
no matter who earned it and were viewed as the primary breadwinners. 14
3.1 The social relation between men and women n the Palestine
The social relation between men and women are also determined with the traditional sociocultural
aspect of society. In this kind of society the social interaction between men and women is nearly
impossible. For close relation a man must be the husband of woman. A woman has been regarded
under the responsibility of a man. If a woman is not married, father has the traditional
responsibility. Moreover, marriage transfers the responsibility of women from father to husband.
13 Salman, M. p 15 cited in West Bank Women and the Intifada: Revolution withinrevolution. Strum. p 64
14 Ibid.
12
-
7/31/2019 Palestinian Women Thesis
13/25
Within this circle Palestinian woman was not responsible from herself. Traditionally, couples do
not met in advance. So, this kind of marriage style resulted with passive and apolitical women. For
example, women are regarded so passive and defined under the oppression of men that in the
marriage process t was her father who decides the marriage of his daughter.
It was her fathers obligation to get the best possible mahr (bride price), which was both
compensation to her family for loss of her labor and her means of support should be divorced.
Traditionally, a low value was placed on female literacy, considered irrelevant to marriage and the
production of children.15
There were a few women who were challenging this ideology. The main common trait of those
women was their educational background they were educated in universities. These women are
important feminist figures since they were the first people who struggled for the right of
Palestinian women.
Beginning in 1978, they established four womens work committees that, along with a number
of leading nonpartisan women- primarily from academia- constitute the womens women
movement. The emphasis was on bringing committee members into the national liberation
movement and empowering them by making them part of the decision-making process. Thus local
subcommittees were in place when intifada began. 16 The members of these committees
contributed to the education of women which helped the economic liberation of women.
CHAPTER 4
THE SITUATION OF PALESTINIAN WOMEN DURING THE FIRST INTIFADA
15 Shaarawi, Harem Years,p 8. cited in West Bank Women and the Intifada: Revolution withinrevolution. Strum. p 64
16 Strum. West Bank Women and the Intifada: Revolution within revolution p 65
13
-
7/31/2019 Palestinian Women Thesis
14/25
1987 was the crucial year for the Palestinian women. Because of the fact that, uprising was not
only the reaction of Palestinian society against the Israel rather it was the uprising of Palestinian
women against both Israeli forces and patriarchal structure of Palestinian society. With the uprising
Palestinian women started to appear physically on the Palestinian national struggle. The early
days of the uprising in the occupied territories yielded striking images of Palestinian women
marching in the streets, schoolgirls throwing stones at soldiers, older women carrying baskets of
stones on their heads to supply younger demonstrators, women arguing and tussling with the
authorities to win the release of an arrested boy. 17There are two basic aspects of the First Intifada
on the Palestinian women. The first aspect of the Intifada is that when women started to show
physical resistance against the Israeli forces they noticed that they can be successful against Israel
with solidarity. Therefore, it can be inferred from this case that women with this self-confidence of
success and increasing sense of solidarity started to think that they could achieve their aims in
domestic level that is, against the patriarchy. Moreover, the sense of emergency also inspired the
politicization of Palestinian women. Before the Intifada women did not notice the importance of
the politicization of women and women from refugee camps and from villages did not participate
in these activities. Joost Hiltermann cites the opinions of Nablus activist from his interview with
this sentence that: because our program (before the uprising) was explicitly political,
economic, and cultural, women were afraid to join, but during the uprising, our program began to
address reality. Now women are more eager to join, because they want to address problem in their
real lives. 18The second aspect of Intifada is that it created the sense of consciousness among
the Palestinian women. Palestinian women started to go outside of their home and had experienced
direct interaction with Israeli forces and Palestinian who were suffered from with Israeli attacks.
17 Joost R. Hiltermann. The Women's Movement during the Uprising.Journal of PalestineStudies. University of California Press. Vol. 20, No. 3 (Spring, 1991), pp. 48-57. p 4818 Hiltermann. The Women's Movement during the Uprising. p 49
14
-
7/31/2019 Palestinian Women Thesis
15/25
As a result of this direct interaction women had experienced the process of awareness. As
Hiltermann states that working on behalf of prisoners and their families, they would contact
lawyers, collect clothing for prisoners, and arrange prison visits via the Red Cross. Women also
distributed leaflets, discussed politics openly (often for the first time) and urged people who
remained unconvinced to participate in uprising 19 As a result of this physical participation the
world view of Palestinian women started to be transformed. Since physical involvement made the
communication of Palestinian women possible, women who were well-educated affected other
Palestinian women who came from rural areas. When well-educated Palestinian women trained the
other Palestinian women this education was resulted with the sociocultural progress in the long
term. Moreover, the participation of women during the Intifada resulted with the emancipation of
them. As a result, this participation gave the way of conscious generation. Furthermore, the
examples show that Palestinian women movement has some different characteristics when
compared with the reactions of previous times.
First example indicates that not only Palestinian women were bothered from the Intifada but a
few Israeli women were reacted during the Intifada as well. Close to 200 Beit Sahur women were
joined by about a dozen Israeli women peace activists when they took the authorities by surprise
by holding their Womens Day march three days early, carrying Palestinian flags, singing and
chanting slogans. 20
Moreover, it was not only the women who participated in demonstration suffered from the
violence but women who did not participate in any demonstrations become the victims of the
19 Hiltermann. The Women's Movement during the Uprising. p 50
20 Strum. West Bank Women and the Intifada: Revolution within revolution. p 66
15
-
7/31/2019 Palestinian Women Thesis
16/25
conditions of occupation as well. Some of the women who died during the Intifada were passer-by
killed by chance on their way home from school or market during a demonstration. 21
4.1 Changing social relation between men and women during the First Intifada
Another important characteristic changed social relation between men and women partially.
Today still there is traditionally determined distance between the genders in Palestine, the First
Intifada brought about some improvements in terms of social interaction between men and women.
When we went to demonstrations or participate in clashes in the beginning of the Intifada, we met
groups of young men. We did not speak to them; because of the social customs we were raised
with, and also prove to people that we were there to confront the soldiers not to meet boys. But,
later on, we would talk to them every day. 22As indicated with this example that in a traditional
society in which patriarchy is dominant, flirtation is impossible and the notion of honor killing is
in effect women always become the victims of moral value of society. Since Palestinian women do
not have equal social and cultural opportunities the case like Intifada can give a chance of
communication between genders. Furthermore, in the first year of Intifada Palestinian women
confronted with new sensibility apart from serving time in prisons, wrestling with strange men, and
in, smaller numbers, achieving a measure of economic independence. 23 Another striking example
is that in the first year of Intifada the attitude of even some rooted groups of society changed. A
womens committee member commented, really, the shebabs which means young men,, [sic]
respect for us increased because of our awareness, and our role in the streets and in the
21 Ibid.22Strum. West Bank Women and the Intifada: Revolution within revolution. p 69
23 Strum. West Bank Women and the Intifada: Revolution within revolution. p 70
16
-
7/31/2019 Palestinian Women Thesis
17/25
neighborhood committees. Our initiatives gain us the respect of all the people, not just the young
men. 24
CHAPTER 5
THE SITUATION OF PALESTINIAN WOMEN AFTER THE FIRST INTIFADA
In the Middle Eastern countries until the Intifada (1987) there were no dramatic shifts in
perception of the gender issue. Similar to other Middle Eastern countries in the Palestine also there
was not any influential reaction against patriarchal social life. Generally, reactions come from the
women who were the elite members of the society with highly educational background. Apart
from these highly educated elite women other women were generally regarded as inferior than
men. The role of women in patriarchal societies is generally determined by male members of
society. Furthermore, the moral values of the Palestinian society define women as the property of
men, even the male members of her family has the right to protect her honor. The first Intifada
paved the way of partial freedom and awareness for Palestinian women in the Occupied territories.
It is difficult to claim that First Intifada resulted with full emancipation and awareness among the
members of the Palestinian society. However, it will be beneficial to give some examples from the
Palestinian society. First example is related to the unchanging traditional point of the view of the
society. According to Palestinian society, similar to other patriarchal societies, even the honor of
women is determined with the desire of the general norms of society the participation of women to
any political activity resulted with the exclusion of the women. For example, women ex- prisoners
began to be treated as contaminated, regularly being denied jobs and having difficulty in finding
husbands25. It can be inferred from this example that activist women were generally excluded.
24 Strum. West Bank Women and the Intifada: Revolution within revolution. p 6925 Strum. West Bank Women and the Intifada: Revolution within revolution. p 72
17
-
7/31/2019 Palestinian Women Thesis
18/25
Since, the Palestinian society was not ready to accept the sacrifice of any woman. Moreover, the
November 15, 1988, Palestinian Declaration of Independence, however, was written with the care
after extensive debate about its content. It portrays women in a traditional, nurturing, but politically
passive role: We render special tribute to the brave Palestinian woman, guardian of sustenance
and life, keeper of our peoples perennial flame. Accompanying, Palestinian National Council
defined the Palestinian masses as the unions, their vocational organizations, their students, their
workers, their farmers, their women, their artisans, their academics26 As indicated from these
two examples that after 1987 Palestinian women were defined separately. However, these two
declarations do not mean Palestinian women have gained special identity in everywhere.
Particularly, some groups who wanted to continue ex status quo did not accept the emancipation of
women. Hamas can be regarded most important figure that ignore the active role of women in the
society. Furthermore, the case of marriage was partially transformed. On the ground that, as a
result of increased social interaction among genders many women found prospective husbands
while doing political work. However, still most of women wanted the traditional marriage because
of the pressure from their parents. Moreover, traditional marriage namely mahr meant they
would have security in case of a marriage ended. 27 First Intifada affected Palestinian women in
socioeconomic level. Since Israeli occupation after the Intifada worsened the economic conditions
of the Palestinian society. As a result, the socioeconomic situation of the members of the
Palestinian society, particularly situation of women, was slowdown. Moreover, one or two years
after Intifada, Palestinian women did not show any progress. Even today Palestinian women do not
have equal rights with men. However, it is difficult to claim that the situation of Palestinian women
turned the pre Intifada period.
26 Ibid.
27 Strum. West Bank Women and the Intifada: Revolution within revolution. p 73
18
-
7/31/2019 Palestinian Women Thesis
19/25
5.1 Women Activism
The first Intifada triggered women activist in Palestine and opened a new period in terms of
women right. The number of women who participated in protests and become conscious of
injustice against them increased. However, the reason of the regression of activism is not the
Palestinian women. The major reason, and also obstacle, against the progress of women activism is
the unchanging situation of male members of the society. Since as the major agent of patriarchy
men are the dominant figure in decision making process. When they do not show any progress or
efforts of Palestinian women will be temporary. In short, the reason of Palestinian women comes
from the role of men and when they do not change, any solution becomes useless. Finally, since
Palestine still has problems with the conditions of occupation and Palestinian society was faced
with the Second Intifada it is difficult to conclude the result of Intifada. Moreover, in the first
months of 2011 people were called for the Third Intifada via the internet. (BBC News) 28 Although
the second Intifada was ended officially the period of Intifada does not end in sociocultural and
socioeconomic level.
CHAPTER 6
NATIONALISM AND FEMINISM
Many of the womens movements in the third world have been tied to nationalist and anti-
colonialist projects.29 In the especially third world countries nationalism and feminism can be
related. Since until nationalist movement there was no room for women in order to express
themselves and raise their voices. By means of nationalist struggle women started to take active
28 Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12902273
29 Ray, Korteweg .Women's Movements in the Third World: Identity, Mobilization, andAutonomy.p 55
19
-
7/31/2019 Palestinian Women Thesis
20/25
role in their society as a result of this interaction the self -confidence of women increased. It can be
inferred from this idea that national struggle triggered feminist movement.
Bharati Ray (1988) maintains that womens consciousness did indeed expand in unexpected
ways, and thus womens emancipation was directly served by the struggle for Indian
independence30. However, the opponents of Ray, Thapar and (1994) and Sarkar (1992) argue that
while participation in the anti-colonialist struggle did indeed expand the sphere of movement for
middle class women, ultimately, because women's interests were secondary, the liberation they
achieved remained a by-product of national liberation.31
In other words, according to Thapar and Sarkar feminism is not the direct aim and result of
nationalist movement it was improved in unexpected ways. Nationalism might inspire womens
movements. However, feminism does not continue its argument with the nationalist discourse.
Moreover, the tension between nationalist and feminist argument has another side. Some according
to some academicians feminism and nationalism are inseparable arguments. Beall et al (1989)
argue that separating the womens movement from the nationalist movement generates a false
dichotomy between these two struggles. They articulate a position, based in socialist- feminism,
that national liberation is a form of class struggle and should take precedence over gender and race
struggles32. Moreover, Rosemary Sayigh asserted in her article that PFLP leader George
Habashs two pamphlets put womens liberation on the same footing as national and class
liberation.33 In the case of Palestine the relation between feminism and nationalism seems
impossible. Since in the Palestinian society patriarchy is dominant and feminist ideology emerged
30 Cited in Ray, Korteweg. Women's Movements in the Third World: Identity, Mobilization, andAutonomy. p 5631 Ibid.32 Cited in Ray, Korteweg. Women's Movements in the Third World: Identity, Mobilization, andAutonomy. p 5733 Sayigh, Encounters with Palestinian Women under Occupation. p 4
20
-
7/31/2019 Palestinian Women Thesis
21/25
as a reaction against patriarchy it is difficult to combine these two opposite ideologies. Any
complain coming from Palestinian women activists was regarded unnecessary since the nature of
patriarchy accepts subordination of women. Moreover, nationalist movements include military
action however; the object of feminist movement does not include any military action. In other
words, feminism is not originated in any nationalist movement. Feminist movement might come
into prominence within the process of nationalist movement by the increasing participation of
Palestinian women.
Sharoni (1995) suggests that while the Palestinian nationalist struggle, like others before it,
has not adequately dealt with issues of gender, the Intifada itself has created a distinctive
Palestinian women peace movement on the one hand and an Israeli womens peace movement on
the other. 34
CHAPTER 7
CONCLUSION
This study was done by considering historical process in order to correlate the major arguments
of Palestinian women movements in the First Intifada. The condition of Palestinian women before,
during and after the First Intifada was examined. Three terms namely; patriarchy, feminism and
34 Cited in Ray, Korteweg. Women's Movements in the Third World: Identity, Mobilization, andAutonomy.p 57
21
-
7/31/2019 Palestinian Women Thesis
22/25
nationalism were discussed. The first Intifada indicates the importance of collective action in the
Palestine which is a traditional society in the national struggle. As a result of its traditional culture
it is difficult to observe any collective action. However, the Intifada of 1987 is the indication of a
drastic change in terms of collectivity among the members of society coming from different
segments. Palestinian women are the most important segments of the first Intifada. Moreover,
several authors have focused on motherhood as the motivating identity for womens social
action.35This argument might be partially true, because most of the Palestinian women might not
be aware of the importance of the protests they were joining. Since there was no unified women
committee for seeking womens rights before the First Intifada, it is difficult to claim that during
the Intifada women demanding their rights with their feminist identities. However, during the First
Intifada most of women might not predict that they will have autonomous identity within their
societies. Before the First Intifada maybe during the first period of Intifada Palestinian women did
not aware of their identities. They were generally defined with their male relatives. In other words,
they were defined as the mother, sister, or wife of martyrs or their male family members who
were in the prison. Therefore, women were not recognized with their names or their activities.
Intifada paved the way of transformation of women identities. Safa, (1990), Schirmer (1989), and
Rodriguez (1994) argue that even traditional mobilizations can result in transformed identities, also
Haj (1992) for womens activism as wives and mothers in the cause of Palestinian liberation, and
Agarwal (1992) for womens activism in defense of their environment36. According to Ilan Pappe
although the socioeconomic situation of Israeli women was better than the Palestinian women,
Palestinian women were more active than Israeli women. 37This deduction can be commented in
two ways; on the one hand it is difficult to generalize the political activism of all women by giving
35 Cited in Ray, Korteweg. Women's Movements in the Third World: Identity, Mobilization, andAutonomy.p 5136 Ibid.37 Pappe, Ortadouyu Anlamak. p.334
22
-
7/31/2019 Palestinian Women Thesis
23/25
example of Israel on the other hand, it can be inferred from the case of Israeli women that any
situation of struggle inspires women for reaction. Moreover, although Intifada caused partial
improvement and changes in the life of Palestinian women, especially in the Gaza and West Bank,
the period after the Intifada showed that the women activism was not permanent. Since all the
Palestinian women who participated in protests were not aware of the implication of their activities
and male being the dominant figure in the Palestinian society was not passed any transformation
when these movements happened and lastly Palestinian society was still under the conditions of
Occupation so it was difficult to focus on different concerns. For Palestinian women during the
Intifada mostly national struggle was their primary concern. Zahira Kamal as one of the important
Palestinian feminist activists explains in her article what should be done for improvements of
women activities in Palestine by pointing out five major points.
First, the Palestinian womens movement must keep working to widen its popular base.
Second, the womens movement must attempt to maintain social balance in its membership. Third,
there should be greater effort to organize housewives. Fourth, more attention must be paid to the
problems of workingwomen and the exploitation to which they are subjected. Discrimination
occurs whether they are working on Israeli projects or in national institutions. Fifth, it is essential
to coordinate the work of unions with that part of philanthropic societies38.
Apart from the detailed assessment of Zahira Kamal there should be different implementations:
initially, the activities of Palestinian women should continue with the modernization activities.
Then, all Palestinian women should have equal educational opportunities in order to experience
similar social transformation process. Lastly, there should be more interaction between global
38 Kamal, The Development of the Palestinian Womens Movement in the OccupiedTerritories: Twenty years after the Israeli Occupation. p 86
23
-
7/31/2019 Palestinian Women Thesis
24/25
feminist movements and Palestinian feminist movement in order to solve their problems by
looking wide perspective.
REFERENCES
Alin, Erica. Dynamics of the Palestinian Uprising: An Assessment of Causes, Character, and
Consequences. Comparative Politics. Vol. 26, No. 4 (Jul., 1994), pp. 479-498
Hammami, Rema. Women, the Hijab and the Intifada. Middle East Report. No. 164/165, Intifada
Year Three (May - Aug., 1990).pp. 24-28+71+78.
Hiltermann , Joost R.. The Women's Movement during the Uprising. Journal of Palestine Studies.
University of California Press. Vol. 20, No. 3 (Spring, 1991), pp. 48-57
24
-
7/31/2019 Palestinian Women Thesis
25/25
Kamal , Zahira. The Development of the Palestinian Womens Movement in the Occupied Territories:
Twenty years after the Israeli Occupation. Palestinian Women of Gaza and the West Bank. (ed.) Suha
Sabbagh. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1998) Pp 270
Nasser , Randa., Barghouti , Fidaa, Mousa , Janan. Feminist Attitudes and Praxis Among Palestinian
Women Activists. Feminist Formations. Published by The Johns Hopkins University Press (2010) .
Volume 22, Number 3, Fall 2010, pp. 146-175 (Article).
Pappe, Ilan. Ortadouyu Anlamak NTV Yaynlar, 2011.
Ray, R., Korteweg , A.C. Women's Movements in the Third World: Identity, Mobilization, and
Autonomy. Annual Review of Sociology. pp. 47-71 .
Sayigh, Rosemary. Encounters with Palestinian Women under Occupation. Journal of Palestine
Studies. Vol. 10, No. 4 (Summer, 1981), pp. 3-26
Middle East Research and Information Project. The Intifada. (2011). Retrieved from
[http://www.merip.org/palestine-israel_primer/intifada-87-pal-isr-primer.html
Facebook drops 'intifada' page for promoting violence (29 March 2011). BBC NEWS MIDDLE
EAST. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12902273
25