Palestinian women, conflict and human rights

This year 2017 marks the 100 years of the Balfour Declaration 70 years of the Palestinian catastrophe and refuge since 1947 and 1948 and 50 years of the occupation of the West Bank (WB) and the Gaza Strip (GS) by Israel. Israel occupied the WB, the GS and EJ in June 1967. In 1993, the Oslo Accords were signed between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization whereby the occupied Palestinian land in 1967 would be gradually returned to the Palestinians and final status issues resolved in 5 years. The Palestinian Authority was thus created, and given control of parts of the Occupied Territory. Though subsequent political negotiations between Israel and Palestine have failed, in 2012, a State of Palestine on the land occupied by Israel in 1967 received observer status recognition from the UN. It is in this context that Palestinians are currently living in a state under occupation.

These historical events have gravely affected the lives of Palestinians who have stayed under occupation and the lives of those who were dispossessed and became refugees outside their homeland. The lives of Palestinian women in the WB, the GS and East Jerusalem (EJ) in particular are complex. Although they share challenges women face globally, yet they are also hindered by the harsh realities of living under occupation. They are victims of violence perpetrated by an occupier and by random and or institutionalized violence by their own society. The intertwined social and political oppression of Palestinians in general, and women in particular go hand in hand, create new forms of oppression and must be tackled simultaneously. This paper will highlight how the larger political context in which violence against Palestinians takes place, overshadows social infringements on rights including health and further entrenches Patriarchal norms.

Despite considerable achievements of Palestinian women in the past decades, the two interlocking systems of oppression have kept women from full participation and limited their advancement. They have been particularly detrimental to women due to their subordinate position in society, whereby subordination-occupation and patriarchy-converge and reinforce the dynamics of each other (Aggestam 2015). Understanding Palestinian women’s living realities and the interplay of various factors may contribute to responsiveness to their needs and the upholding of their rights.

Background on Palestinian women in the occupied state of Palestine

The Middle East is plagued with images of women in the midst of conflict: caught in war zones, to fleeing in boats to remaining steadfast on their land under the Israeli Occupation. Palestinian women under Occupation are subjected to various forms of human rights violations including: arrest from streets, checkpoints and violent night raids on homes with detention, each of which causes severe physical and mental suffering. They also suffer as a result of displacement and loss of land, homes, property and livelihood, injury and death, harassment at checkpoints, lack of freedom of mobility and severance of family ties due to physical geographical barriers. Under Israeli occupation, there is no geographic contiguity between the WB and the GS. Israel has imposed an ongoing siege on the GS since 2007, making it difficult for people to come out or enter the GS. The siege also engulfed Jerusalem by a Wall making it impossible for Gazans and West Bankers to access Jerusalem without a permit.

This larger political context in which Palestinians have been forced to live in becomes the focus and the prime burden of Palestinians. Other issues especially those of women become secondary. For example, though early marriage may result in health and socio-economic complications to women, their families and society at large as maternal deaths, complications of pregnancy, premature births and malnutrition, advocating right to movement takes precedence over amending and enforcing laws on early marriage.

Women in the GS suffer even more as a result of the ongoing imposed blockade on people’s lives and the three wars Israel has waged on the GS since 2007. The Israeli imposed prolonged siege on the GS led to grave living conditions, undermining the rights of around two million Palestinians who have been experiencing increased food insecurity and psychological trauma. Women have been internally displaced, forced to live in crowded shelters lacking the most basic needs and unable to meet their own and their families’ hygiene needs and privacy. They face threats of various communicable diseases, live in general insecurity and fear for life and often are grieving loved ones. The majority of patients are denied permits for exit from the GS for medical treatment in Israel or Jordan. The World Health Organization World Health Organization (WHO) in launching its report on health in Palestine 2016 noted that 56% of patients are denied travel, the majority of whom are women. Such conditions of prolonged stress and a feeling of helplessness invariably result in increased social tensions and even family breakups further exacerbating the situation.

The realities of Occupation and the lack of political and economic stability affect all facets of life. The barriers by the Occupation are the largest determinant of life and living of Palestinians and magnify all other barriers. As an example, Occupation, with its restrictive measures including blockades, restriction on mobility, wars, deters Palestinian economic growth by creating a difficult environment for labour participation and job scarcity in which women are hardest hit. The hundreds of checkpoints and the Wall make it very difficult for women to travel and move across towns and cities.

The Palestinian Territory occupied in 1967, falls under the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and the International Human Rights Law (IHRL). IHL stipulates that civilians must be protected against dangers arising from military operations and shall not be the object of attack. It also forbids the destruction of private property unless necessary for military purposes and provides specific measures for protection of women (Norwegian Refugee Council Nov 2015). On the ground, the realities of life under Occupation reflect a harsh disregard of Israel’s responsibilities as an occupier state.

The UN Women’s Rights Commission singled out Israel with five resolutions in its annual meeting in March 2016 condemning Israeli violation of the rights of Palestinian women. Since 2006 the Human Rights Council passed numerous resolutions condemning human rights violations of Palestinians by the state of Israel but without translation to on the ground obligations and accountability checks.

The Palestinian Ministry of Women’s Affairs, as part of its strategy to protect Palestinian women from Israeli violations, included in its strategic objectives the need to develop women’s protection mechanisms in facing Israeli violations including provision of quality social health and legal services to young girls and women victims of violence by the occupation. Additionally, to strengthen individual and institutional capacities to empower women victims of Israeli violence to reach resources and services as well as promote women’s steadfastness in facing the impact of the occupation. The strategy also calls for using international mechanisms towards the accountability of the occupier in relation to Violence Against Women (VAW) whilst improving surveillance and documentation (Ministry of Womens Affairs 2016).

Palestinian women in a patriarchal society

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS 2015), Palestinian women have one of the highest literacy rates in the Middle East (ME) (94.4%) only somewhat lower than men (98.4%). Despite high education rates, yet women’s participation in the formal market is low, often attributed to the challenges of occupation (movement restrictions, challenges to production sectors), gender stereotypes and culture-based restrictions (requiring families permission to work, difficulty in accessing credit, restrictions on working with males). The average daily wage of women in the private sector in the West Bank (WB) is 76% of male workers (The International Labour Organization 2014).

Although the legal age of maturity is set at 18 years, early marriage is still practiced. According to applicable laws, the legal age of marriage is 15 for females and 16 for males on the WB and 17 for females and 18 for males in the GS (PCBS 2015a). 28.6% of women in the GS and 21.4% of women in the WB married before the age of 18 (PCBS 2015b). Despite the patriarchal society, 10.6% of Palestinian households are headed by females (PCBS July 2014). The total fertility rate in 2014 was 4.1 births per woman, while 57.2% of married women 15–49 years old use a family planning method. The average population growth stands at 2.8 (PCBS://www.pcbs.gov.ps).

Assessing Palestinian women’s health status under Occupation narrowly, considering only traditional women’s related health indicators such as maternal and reproductive health is flawed. In the Palestinian context, the health status of women is shaped by poverty but also by other contextual Occupation-related pressures by which Palestinian women are challenged and affected. Around a quarter of women marrying before the age of 18 (PCBS 2015b) may be attributed to tradition, but also as a means for protection of women from economic hardships exacerbated by Occupation. This also strengthens patriarchal powers.

Palestinian women are not only affected by the political environment, but also by violations emanating from its patriarchal society with infringement on women’s rights exacerbated by the conditions of Occupation. Besides Occupation, is a structural oppression backed by a Palestinian legal system which, despite efforts to amend laws by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and women’s and human rights organizations, contributes to the social oppression of women with inequalities and favouritism towards males. Often, advocates of Israel may play on the internal patriarchy related violence to overshadow violence inflicted through Occupation

Strong patriarchal structures, religion and traditions largely determine the role and life of Palestinian women. Whilst the Palestinian basic law stipulates that Palestinian men and women are equal before the law, it also recognizes Shari’a – the religious law governing Muslims, derived from the religious precepts of Islam, particularly the Quran and the Hadith- as a main source of legislation. Shari’a is subject to conservative interpretations invariably influencing discriminatory provisions (PASSIA 2015). The situation is exacerbated by the de facto legislative gap created in Palestine as a result of the paralysis of the Palestinian legislative council in the aftermath of the Hamas takeover of the GS in 2007. This has negatively affected the policy, legal and legislative context related to women’s issues especially the family law – which is a mixture of Ottoman, Jordanian and Egyptian regulations enforced by religious courts in both the WB and the GS-whereby amendments related to discriminatory laws and regulations and others cannot take place.

Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist movement founded in the 1980s espousing political Islam, or governance according to Islamic law has been controlling the GS for the last decade. Its power base in the GS was strengthened after Hamas won the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections followed by its taking control of the GS in 2007.

The resulting split between the WB and the GS has further exacerbated matters. The legislative body in the GS has become subservient to ideology, where orientation and legal provisions are cast in an ideological, religious context with further encroachment on women’s rights. For example, the Hamas government in the GS enacted various legislation related to the inadmissibility of coeducational schools, (Example Education Law 2013). Human rights activists have objected to Hamas’s initiatives in recent years to impose Islamic dress on female lawyers and school students, as well as the prohibition against couples walking hand in hand in the streets of Gaza. Other restrictive measures include banning girls from riding behind men on motor scooters, forbidding women from dancing, mixing with men in cafes, imposing the hijab on women at courts, schools, the media and universities, banning women from receiving hair salon treatment from male hairdressers and or participating in sport races. This split forces people to live under two different ideologies: one on the GS and the other on the WB. To Hamas, Women’s Right is ‘Western’ and women’s rights are not independent of family and society.

Some, on the other hand argue that the prolonged years of Occupation with the resulting deterioration in the socio-economic conditions have led to loss of Palestinian males of their status in a patriarchy and thus loss of their masculinity. As such, women become the prime victims of this loss of masculinity.

Results of a 2011 survey of the Palestinian society indicated that 37% of married women or those who have been previously married have been subjected to one or more form of violence through their husbands during the prior year. Psychological VAW was the highest (58.6%), followed by Physical (23.5%) and sexual (11.5%) (PCBS 2011).

Despite the numerous human rights violations against women through the inherent patriarchal structures, power imbalance and the traditional norms, the effect of such violations is often overshadowed by the pressing national priorities. Nevertheless, a national committee to combat (VAW) was established in 2008 and a national strategy to combat VAW 2011–2019 was drafted to promote principles of the rule of law to protect women’s rights and develop institutional mechanisms to protect and support abused women. In relation to violence resulting in killing/death of women, there were 27 females who were killed for various reasons in 2014 (with a two fold increase from 2012). In 2014, the Palestinian Authority amended article 98 of the penal code of 1960 related to reduction of sentences for those who commit honour crimes and applied in the WB. Despite the amendment, leniency in sentencing for perpetrators of such crimes remains (https://www.alhaq.org).

With the recognition of the State of Palestine at the UN in 2012, Palestine has acceded to various international human rights treaties and conventions including: the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

With its Accession to CEDAW in 2014, the state of Palestine has obligations to provide for realizing equality between men and women in terms of equal access and opportunities in political and social life. This accession without reservation to CEDAW will hopefully pave the way towards harmonizing legislative frameworks to be in line with international standards. In this regard, efforts have been underway with some success towards mainstreaming women’s rights through attempts by the government and civil society organizations working on reforming legislation. The progress – despite various efforts – has been minimal due to Occupation and the stronghold of patriarchy. The Palestinian Personal Status Law, under which discrimination against women is exercised, has not yet been amended in line with Palestinian international obligations. Other obligations under CEDAW include: age of marriage, divorce, alimony, child custody, inheritance all of which need to be revisited.

In the words of the UN Special Rapporteur Dubravka Simonovic, the United Nations human rights expert at the end of her first official visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian territory /State of Palestine in 2016 ‘the occupation does not exonerate the State of Palestine from its due diligence obligation to prevent, investigate, punish and provide remedies for acts of gender based violence under the areas and persons under its jurisdiction’ (https://www.reliefweb.int). This puts the Palestinian government in the limelight to reflect its responsiveness on its obligations.

Palestinian women’s contribution despite challenges

Despite the numerous sociocultural and economic and political challenges hindering in many ways the realization of their potential and dreams, Palestinian women have contributed to their struggle for liberation from Occupation and from the stronghold of patriarchal oppression. They have survived in an atmosphere of violence, have taken a variety of roles throughout the spectrum of conflict and have made remarkable strides in their rights and development as women in all fields (Natil, 2016). In this difficult path, Palestinian women have drawn on their leadership experience in civil society, advocacy work and mobilization on their political, social and economic rights. They have been the victims of violence but also resisting violence with all means as «frontliners» (Shalhoub-Kevorkian 2009). They have joined governments as Ministers, have been elected to Parliament and have headed various governmental and non-governmental organizations. They have won international prizes, established numerous organizations to promote women’s rights and have continually resisted Occupation. For example, Hanan Al-Hroub won in 2016 the Global Teacher Prize for teaching excellence competing against 8,000 applicants while another school’s principal coached her team towards winning the first place in the Arab Initiative: the challenge on reading Arabic

The UNSCR 1325 in 2000, calls for the participation of women in decision-making and peace processes, stresses their role in conflict resolution and peace building and advocates the protection of women’s rights. It acknowledges the disproportionate impact of violent conflict on women and recognizes the critical role women should and can play in the processes of peacebuilding and conflict prevention, including peace talks, conflict mediation, and all aspects of post-conflict reconstruction. To that end, Palestinians have drafted their National framework for the implementation of UNSCR 1325 with endorsement of the Government. A National Action Plan was also drafted in coordination amongst stakeholders. Adopting the National Action Plan displays Palestine’s commitment to assuming the role of a responsible state actor in the international community (commitment to rule of law and respect for human rights, including those of women). It announced to the world Palestine’s desire to act with greater responsibility and has bolstered the argument that the State of Palestine is fully prepared to assume the responsibilities of full membership in the UN.

Many local Palestinian women have taken leadership roles in unofficial peacemaking -conflict resolution efforts. Despite the fact that the Palestinian Authority approved demands of Resolution 1325, inclusion of women in the negotiation process remains minimal and significantly absent from the negotiating tables. Formal negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel started after the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993 and have continued intermittently until this day. The last round of negotiations took place between 2013 and 2014. No women’s organization has been involved in the talks; women’s influence over the peace talk agenda has largely been absent.

Looking forward

There is a long way ahead for Palestinian women who are victims of occupation and Patriarchy. There are no rights under Occupation with its complex mixture of economic, security, political, environmental and humanitarian consequences. Infringements on Palestinian women’s rights and the rights of all Palestinians emanating from Occupation will be eradicated if and when Occupation ends. Violence against Palestinians in general and women in particular will thus continue so long the occupying power does not comply with implementing international resolutions and conventions especially those related to rights of the Palestinian people. Thus, peace will be the best guarantor of human rights.

Furthermore, achieving women’s rights and equality will materialize if the innate structural forms and norms of Patriarchy are abolished and women are backed by a strong women’s agency that is actively involved in protecting women’s rights. Palestinian women aspire to active participation in creating their independent sovereign state with greater equality and respect to human rights. Palestinian women must be granted opportunities to realize their full potential to participate in meaningful ways towards national liberation, enrichment of their state and their active participation in an environment of respect and equality

Neither source nor form of infringement on Palestinian women’s rights should be downplayed as one invariably affects the other. The commitment to national struggle must be seen in parallel to commitment to women’s struggle and gender mainstreaming.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Varsen Aghabekian was a former associate professor at the school of Health Professions and the School of Publichealth-Al-Quds University. Her research interest includes women and heath, and women in politics. She serves as the Commissioner General of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights.