Democratic Palestine : 34 (ص 28)
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- Democratic Palestine : 34 (ص 28)
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organizations created by the resistance outside Palestine, in the
same language?
While searching for an answer, we will briefly refer to a few
points: Firstly, the general condition of life has pushed the
Palestinian woman from her traditional position into a new
one. Secondly, the Palestinian resistance in exile established a
series of women’s organizations, but administrative measures
and overly general slogans did not invariably lead women to
more advanced positions. This is aside from the fact that the
bureaucracy, in accordance with its mentality, has often
hindered women’s initiative and impeded their progress. In this
sense, the active process of both Palestinian women and men
was too large for the bureaucratic limits of the existing
organizations, with the exception of some attempts made by
the left wing.
Due to their particularity and the varied forms of the
Palestinian political organizations’ struggle, the women’s
struggles in the occupied territories were more fruitful and
thorough. This enabled women to be more obviously present in
the overall national struggle and to take effective initiatives.
The difference between the status of women in occupied
Palestine and those in exile confronts them with a new issue:
fighting for a moral and political reform in the PLO institu-
tions in order to overcome the conditions which prevent them
from undertaking their real role, and to obtain representation
equal to their practical contribution to the overall national
struggle.
Developing the women’s status in the overall national
struggle requires two forms of struggle: firstly, against the oc-
cupying enemy, uniting the struggle for the emancipation of
the land and the woman; secondly, against the traditional view
of the woman as weak and only suited for simple tasks and
evening pastimes. This struggle is necessary because no view
which is void of full respect form women will ever find the path
to the homeland.
COUNTERING OCCUPATION
Before the June 1967 war, women were engaged in the
establishment of charitable societies. This activity remained a
social privilege connected to high social status and some liberal
well-to-do circles, rather than leading to active social in-
volvement. The meaning of working in such societies was close
to what we can term «social aesthetics,» with each husband
boasting of his kind wife, or the wife boasting of her famous
husband.
With the June defeat, the meaning of the welfare society
changed radically. Women’s activities no longer remained
within the limits of pretension and prestige. They became acts
of resistance against occupation. Occupation itself raised a new
question: If the gentle woman of welfare work was to continue
her activity under occupation, she should of necessity alter her
attitude to this activity - not by her will alone, but in the sense
of objectively meeting the requirements of the new situation,
where any social action is a rejection of occupation. If not, the
welfare lady should give up her place to others who do not care
about «social aesthetics» and instead concentrate on the
struggle for the national cause. In this sense, occupation and
resistance to it have been reformulating the structures of social
action, as well as the intellectual state of the forces involved.
28
The consciousness which evolves in the comprehensive daily
conflict between the Palestinians and Zionists affects the
society as a whole, including women and their societies. Before
occupation, these societies, in their traditional form, carried
out a series of welfare, cultural and educational activities.
Under occupation, however, the political element became the
dominant factor in all women’s activities. It is essential to
stress that the replacement of the moral by the political was not
the result of any voluntary or organizational action, but rather
an objective reflection of the new situation. Based on the new
situation, women began to play a significant if not leading role
in the national arena.
There is no doubt that the Palestinian women’s movement
was formed within the same historical context as the Palesti-
nian national movement. The two are inseparably interlinked.
The trends in the Palestinian women’s movement were formed
within the trends and conflicts of the Palestinian national
movement. Palestinian women never started their women’s
activities in order to afterwards join a particular political cur-
rent; not did they join a particular political organization in
order to later go over to the field of women’s activities. They
would rather make their choice and approach the political
organization which expressed their interests in its daily strug-
gle.
In this sense, the political choice of women was not only
subject to class interests and general ideological attitudes, but
also to their own aims as women, their quest for emancipation
and open recognition that they are equal human beings capable
of independent, creative activity. This is what renders the
Palestinian women’s movement, theoretically and perhaps also
in practice, too big for the existing political organizations,
because women do not aspire to an organization that speaks of
women’s liberation in general. Rather, they aspire to an at-
titude that is cognizant of the particularity of the woman’s
situation in society. It is this which motivates the Palestinian
women’s movement both. within and outside the organizations
simultaneously. It is in them because of unity of action and
national aims. It is out of them because it does not see any
correct solution for its problems in the programs and practice
of these organizations. Therefore, it is no wonder that women
are usually organizationally active between 18 and 25 years of
age. Thereafter, their role recedes and is consequently reduced
to their personal and family lives. This reduction, to whatever
degree, is not solely due to the ordinary problems of marriage,
family, traditions, etc. It is also due to the absence of correct
and comprehensive programs dealing with the status of
women.
In this connection, the researcher faces a simple or com-
pound paradox with two aspects: First, finding a formula that
Satisfies the needs of women is extremely difficult; second,
Palestinian women do play a leading role in the national
struggle. This role is not dependent on the role of the
organizations, but is essentially due to the state of occupation.
It is as if this occupation, being organized, multi-faceted
repression, has without any desire on its part solved a
theoretical problem and created for women ideal conditions
for discovering their capacities. In this way, they have pro-
ceeded from being a plaything, cook, «tender unequal half,»
the mother of kids, etc., to being women confronting occupa-
Democratic Palestine, August 1989 - هو جزء من
- Democratic Palestine : 34
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- أغسطس ١٩٨٩
- المنشئ
- الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين
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