“Women’s
Struggle in Occupied Palestine”
Uncredited
– Democratic Palestine, May 1984
Women’s
liberation is a matter of increasing importance in our time, for we live in the
era in the victory of socialism, the era of the steady advance of national
democratic liberation movements and the building of communist societies.
Women’s liberation is directly linked to this struggle; we cannot struggle for
the people’s liberation unless priority is given to women’s liberation. On the
other hand, women cannot achieve liberation through a simple campaign for
change in old ideas and customs. It is not enough to demand freedom in choosing
a husband, jobs and clothes, or to work in this or that association, committee
or syndicate. The women’s struggle must have a political, national and
progressive orientation aimed at changing the economic conditions which
subjugate both men and women.
Women in
general suffer class oppression as well as oppression by the men. In addition,
the Palestinian woman suffers national oppression due to the
imperialist-supported Zionist invasion and occupation of Palestine, which
inflicted grave political, economic, social and cultural destruction on
Palestinian society. From the beginning, Palestinian women realized that this
national and class oppression fell equally on Palestinian men. Thus,
Palestinian women worked side-by-side with men against the common enemy,
postponing the conflicts that might arise between them for the sake of the main
aim: liberating Palestine and establishing a democratic society as a major step
towards women’s full liberation.
The
Palestinian people have firmly faced many challenges and conspiracies aimed at
eliminating their identity and just rights. The Zionist invaders, upon
occupying major parts of Palestine in 1948, worked in accordance with a planned
policy to take possession of the land by expelling the original inhabitants and
enacting Judaization. A major component of this policy was destroying the
Palestinian economic infrastructure by imposing restrictions on agriculture,
industry, marketing and education. Moreover, laws were made to prevent the
founding of national associations and syndicates and to disband the existing
ones. The same policy was later applied in the remaining parts of Palestine
which were occupied in 1967.
Confronting
these challenges and conspiracies requires the recruitment and mobilization of
all the potentials of the Palestinian people, of whom women compose roughly the
half. The Palestinian woman’s contribution has been significant: she spared no
effort to serve her people, country and cause. This was based on her strong
belief in the people’s ability to face these challenges, despite Zionism’s
massive aggression and imperialist support. The Palestinian woman’s struggle
has progressed from being partial and instinctive to being overall and
organized. Women’s participation has taken a number of forms, including armed
struggle.
The
Palestinian woman’s struggle, as part of her people’s struggle, has passed
through three main stages corresponding to the following periods: (1) the
beginning of the Zionist invasion of Palestine until the formation of the
Zionist entity in 1948, (2) 1948 until June 1967, (3) the contemporary
Palestinian national liberation revolution.
Stage
one: Prior to the formation of the Zionist entity
In 1884,
Palestinian women were among the peasants who acted to uproot the first
agricultural settlement which the Zionists tried to build near Affouleh. This
was an early indication of women’s social and national political awareness.
After World War I and the results represented by the Sykes-Picot Agreement and
then the Balfour Declaration of November 2, 1917, the Palestinian woman’s
awareness increased. In 1920, women actively participated in demonstrations and
strikes protesting the colonial plans against the Palestinian Arab people and
demanding cancellation of the Balfour Declaration. In 1921, women made a
qualitative advance by establishing the first women’s union, headed by vanguard
women like Melia Sakakin and Zalikha Shehabi. This union played a major role in
organizing women’s efforts and in demonstrations demanding a halt to Zionist
colonization in Palestine. During the 1929 revolt, Palestinian women
participated in te demonstrations where many were martyred, such as Jamile
Azaar, Aisha Abu Hasan and Azba Salame.
In 1928,
the Arab Women’s Association was founded as a Palestinian association to work
side by side with the men in the common struggle. The founders were Khadije
Hussein, Tarab Abdul Hadi, Zakia Budeiri, Wadiha Khalidi, who chaired the
association. In October 1929, a women’s conference was held in Jerusalem.
Hundreds of women participated and condemned the repressive British measures.
The conference sent cables to the King of Britain and the United Nations. A
delegation of fourteen women was formed and met the British High Commissioner,
requesting cancellation of the Balfour Declaration, a halt to Zionist
immigration to Palestine, the discharge of the Zionist British deputy, the
release of prisoners, and a halt to torture and aggression against the
Palestinian people.
In 1936,
the women’s struggle took new forms in the context of the famous general
strike, which lasted six months. Women started collecting and distributing
material and financial aid to the rebels and to the families of martyrs and
prisoners; they sewed clothes, bought and transported weapons, carried food and
water to the rebels fighting in the mountains, and administered first aid. On
June 25, 1936, Fatima Gazal became the first Palestinian woman to be martyred
in combat; she was killed in a battle with British soldiers at Wadi Azzoun.
In 1942,
women’s solidarity associations were formed with branches in the main cities.
In 1947, upon the UN’s adoption of the partition plan, she was alongside the
Palestinian man building barricades and fortifications, digging trenches,
transporting weapons and forming more associations, like the one called Daisy
Flower in Jaffa, which provided medical care, food and water to those fighting
to defend the land. Members of this association included Yusra Toukan, Fatima
Abdul Huda, Juhenia Khorshid, and Arabia Khorshid. Women also joined the
fighters in their attacks. Many were martyred, including Juliet Zakka, Jamile
Ahmad, Deba Atyeh, and Helwe Zaidan. The latter had taken the gun of her
husband afer he and their son were martyred; she continued shooting at the
Zionist gangs until her martyrdom on April 9, 1948. On April 10, 1948, Hayat
Balbisi, who taught school in Deir Yassin, upon hearing of the massacre there,
left her parents’ house in Jerusalem and hurried to the village. There she was
martyred while helping the people and protecting school children from the
Zionists’ savage artillery.
Stage
two: May 1948-June 1967
Women’s
struggle, like the entire Palestinian national movement, suffered a recession
after 1948. The reasons are obvious: the partition of Palestine, with the
Zionists occupying the major portion, the West Bank annexed to Jordan, and the
Gaza Strip placed under Egyptian administration. The reasons for the recession
can also be traced to the nature of the leading Palestinian national
bourgeoisie, whose interests were now directly linked to either the Jordanian
or the Egyptian regime.
A new
characteristic of this stage was that women began to join political movements,
but this was minimal and limited to women with higher education. In general,
women’s activities in this period were charitable and social endeavors, with
some superficial political work. Still, gains were made in the 1948 occupied territories,
and more women in the West Bank and Gaza Strip responded to educational
opportunities.
Upon the
occupation, the constrictions imposed upon women in the traditional society
were compounded by the restrictions imposed on all Palestinians in the Zionist
state, which perpetuated the British Emergency Defense Regulations to control
the population under occupation. The Zionists aimed to make the Palestinian
Arabs ignorant; social activities, clubs and national associations were
prohibited while avenues to continuing education were blocked. Roughly the same
policy, in different forms, was applied by the Jordanian regime in the West
Bank.
In the
1948 occupied land, Palestinian women encountered difficult economic
conditions. They could not be employed in the productive sector and were
generally barred from higher education. Thus, women tended towards agriculture
and marginal jobs. Their social and political activities were limited to those
of a few who were able to work through the Communist Party, Rakah. In the early
sixties, more women managed to continue their education. At the same time, the
founding of Al Ard (the Land) movement afforded an independent Palestinian
political framework. Women immediately joined this movement, and some like
Najaa al Asmar rose to leading positions.
In the
Gaza Strip, the women’s role was minimal due to the economic and social
backwardness prevailing there. Yet they participated in demonstrations: in
1954, protesting against the project to resettle Palestinians in the Sinai
desert; in February 1955, protesting the Israeli attack on the Gaza railway
station; on March 7, 1957, after the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, which had
been occupied during the 1956 tripartite aggression on Egypt. Women also
participated in the continuous one-week demonstration which helped to foil the
plan to internationalize the Gaza Strip.
In this
period, women also participated in the big demonstrations in the West Bank
against the imperialist-reactionary plan to form the Baghdad pact. This demonstration
was prohibited and brutally attacked by the Jordanian regime, resulting in the
martyrdom of many, including Raja Abu Amashe. Many others were arrested in
similar demonstrations, such as Widad Qumri, Suad Hureish, Nahil Oweida.
In the
Gaza Strip, women displayed greater interest in educational opportunities, this
being allowed by the Egyptian regime. Thus, their employment opportunities
began gradually improving with the possibility of becoming a teacher, doctor,
engineer or social assistant. This gave women new and broader prospects for
joining the national struggle alongside the men.
In 1964,
the General Union of Palestinian Women was founded, after the establishment of
the PLO. This allowed a greater number of women to participate. Through the
Union, many women attended the Palestinian National Council held in Jerusalem
at that time. The union held its first congress in Jerusalem in 1965 and
branches were set up in many cities and villages of the West Bank and Gaza
Strip. Later in 1966, upon the Jordanian regime’s decision to close all PLO
Associations, the union was closed. Yet it continued to function secretly
through associations and operating sewing centers, as well as first aid and
nursing courses, and political and cultural sessions.
Stage
three: The 1967 occupation and the rise of the Palestinian Resistance
After
occupying the remaining parts of Palestine, the Zionists started once more
enacting their plans to empty the land of its inhabitants; more Palestinian
families were displaced, mainly to neighboring Arab countries. Under military
rule, political, social and ideological activities were prohibited for
Palestinians, while their land was confiscated. There were laws aiming to make
the population ignorant, interference in education and prevention of employment
opportunities, to push Palestinians to emigrate. Students were arrested prior
to exams, teachers expelled and universities closed. There were efforts to rob
and distort the Palestinian national heritage. Later, on the political level,
the so-called civil administration was imposed, while the national associations
and municipalities were repeatedly attacked.
Nevertheless,
Palestinian women played a greater role in the national struggle in this
period. This was basically a continuation of their previous role, yet with
broader activities and greater commitment. It was now clear that the national
cause was a question of the very existence of the Palestinian people as a
whole. Furthermore, the rise of the Palestinian resistance organizations gave
new inspiration and opportunities for struggle. In this period, Palestinian
women’s struggle within the revolution was characterized by the following:
Military
Activity
Women
were active militarily as compared to the foregoing periods and the traditional
role of the Arab woman. Yet this was still limited to a number of vanguards. In
addition to storage and transport of weapons, women now started to carry out
operations. In October 1967, Fatima Bernawi was arrested after planting a bomb
in a cinema in Tel Aviv. On November 21, 1968, Shadia Abu Ghazale was martyred
while preparing a time bomb; she was the first women martyr at this stage. In
February 1969, a number of women (Rasmieh Odeh, Aisha Odeh, Mariam Shakshir,
Latifa Hawari, Rashide Obeid) were arrested, accused of planning and executing
two of the greatest military operations at that time: the explosion at the
Supersol supermarket and the attempted explosion at the Hebrew University in
Jerusalem. Women such as Leila Khaled, Amine Dahbour, and Therese Halasa
participated in special operations. Other women were arrested while
transporting weapons, like Abla Taha. Women played a great role in the
experience of the early seventies in the Gaza Strip, when the freedom fighters
controlled the Strip by night. Women also took part in attacks on Israeli
patrols, throwing Molotov cocktails and stones, which is considered a new form
of resistance by many observers. In July 1968, many women were arrested in the
West Bank and the Gaza Strip, accused of aiding the resistance fighters. Others
were expelled: Isam Abdul Hadi, Abla Taha, Huda Abdul Hadi, and Nawal Titi.
During 1968, the number of women in Nablus prison reached sixty, forming 20% of
the inmates. Women prisoners were subjected to monstrous physical and
psychological torture.
Poliical
Activities
Realizing
that a conscious, organized leading role cannot be maintained unless guided by
revolutionary organizations, women began to join the organizations of the
Palestinian Resistance, as well as forming women’s unions, syndicates, clubs,
associations and social committees.
Women
became more active in demonstrations. The most outstanding was that of April
1968 in Jerusalem where women dressed in black protested against the planned
Israeli military exposition. Women have been active in the mass uprisings and
strikes, in distributing political publications and slogan-writing on the
walls. Women were active in the first Land Day demonstration in the Galilee in
1976, when Khadije Shawahne was martyred. Other women have been martyred in
demonstrations of solidarity with political prisoners, and protesting the
Sabra-Shatila massacre: Lina Nabulsi, Muntaha Hourani, Taghrid Batmeh, Ihsan
Abu Draz, Maysoun Kastanawi, Aziza Hussein, Elham Shahbari. Many others were
wounded. In a month of mass uprisings from March 12 to April 12, 1982, sixty
women were wounded, while the number of women imprisoned rose to 150.
Economic
Activities
The
number of working women has increased during the last ten years and reached 17%
of working-age women. Women carry out a major part of the agricultural work.
Increasing interest in higher education can be noted, giving women more employment
opportunities. The percentage of women doctors, engineers, teachers and other
professionals has increased, allowing women to demand equality in wages and
benefits. This also advanced women’s participation in syndicates, and the
founding of new associations and committees, such as the Women’s Work
Committee, the Working Women’s Committee and the Union of Palestinian Women’s
Committees.
Social
Activities
Palestinian
women have managed to change some of the old traditions, such as the wearing of
veils and adornment, and choosing a husband. Women were active in starting
youth centers, clubs, summer camps, kindergartens, nurseries, literacy
campaigns, political and cultural debates, and nursing and first aid courses.
Women have given great attention to the families of martyrs and prisoners, and
formed various committees to this purpose. A noticeable social phenomenon is
marriages between Palestinians of the 1948 occupied territories and those of
the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Another such phenomenon is refusal to marry
outside the occupied territories, especially if this would impose emigration.
Women have also defined social relations on a correct basis, promoting
discussion of important political and economic questions, rather than gossip
and talk about the latest fashions. Through all of this, women have managed to
gradually change the old view of women as being only fit for housework.
Cultural
activities
Women
have played a great role in raising cultural awareness among the Palestinian
people and protecting the national heritage. Many committees were formed to
preserve traditional handicrafts, and magazines are published, such as The
Heritage And Society Magazine. Women have engaged in literary activities,
writing stories and poems, and working in the press. Women have contributed to
art through paintings and sculpture. They participate in folkdancing and song
groups, and have been active in the initiation of theater groups. Women have
also devoted attention to organizing libraries and engaged in literary,
historical and social research.
Conclusions
and tasks
Through
this preliminary survey of the struggle of Palestinian women, we can conclude
the following:
The
Palestinian revolution in general and women in particular have urgent tasks in
order to promote the advance of the women’s struggle in the occupied
territories: