Corps:
Palestine: Women First I from Mati Milstein on Vimeo.
Résumé:
A new generation of radical Palestinian activists is leading the fight – and they stand out from their society in the most distinct way: they are women.
"Palestine: Women First," photographed by Mati Milstein and curated by Saher Saman, is slated to exhibit at Marji Gallery & Contemporary Projects, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States in early summer 2012.
These activists are on the front lines of West Bank protest, they are beaten and face arrest and sexual harassment for their bold role. Starting with the March 15 Palestinian unity rallies in the West Bank, I began to photograph the increasingly central role played by Palestinian women activists. Most of these women are in their teens and 20s, they hold key organizational positions and lead protests against Israeli (and sometimes Palestinian) security forces, standing on the lines – in front of their male counterparts – and bearing the brunt of soldiers' blows. The women seek to both shake off Israeli occupation and to demand sexual equality and unity in their highly-fragmented and often chauvinist society.
The critical role they play counters the prevailing Western perception of the submissive and passive role of women in Arab societies. "Throughout history, women have been active in revolutions but then, after the revolution is over, men take all the leadership roles. But we intend to go for all these roles," said key activist Ashira, who said she was inspired by Egyptian women active in their own revolution.
These politically-independent women implement a strategy of strictly non-violent protests against Israeli troops, and face potentially deadly military force. But they are also fighting against sexual harassment and chauvinism by Israeli soldiers and male Palestinian activists who are both products of deeply patriarchal societies.
The March 15th women are altering the social paradigms and power dynamics that have, until now, dominated interaction and conflict in the Middle East, and they thus have the potential to change the very nature and character of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict itself. As feminist philosopher Judith Butler described it, they are undoing "restrictively normative conceptions of sexual and gendered life."
As a male Israeli photographer, I have had a unique opportunity to meet some of the key women in this movement. They have generously granted me the opportunity to learn about their actions, their goals and their motivations, and to document their political and personal lives.
"Women are often scared of being leaders," Ashira said. "But it should be encouraged. Any woman that has a chance for a leadership role should take it. That's the only way we can change society."
Hanan Ashrawi: I do not think we have a choice not to be in politics. I would much rather be in academia, write my books and teach my students, but I have to be in politics. Being a Palestinian means that you have to be part of politics because your identity is shaped by your struggle, and you cannot avoid this responsibility. In many ways, I felt that one can be a passive victim or an active shaper of reality, and I decided to be an active shaper. I have been involved in politics since I was a student, more precisely since 1967 when Israel occupied West Bank and Gaza. At that time, I was a student in Beirut and I could not go home because of the situation in the region. So I decided to get involved in politics. I became the spokesperson for the General Union of Palestinian Students in Lebanon. Later on, I was elected as a student representative from Palestine to UN. From then on, I moved to different types of public engagements and participated in a number of political elections. I also worked in refugee camps, which was not easy. When I went back to Palestine, I joined the protest movement and formed other movements for human rights and legal justice. I was constantly imprisoned and beaten up. I had the support of my family when I entered politics. My father was involved in politics and my mother was a very educated and independent woman, so they both supported my choice. When I got married both my husband and, later on, my daughters were extremely supportive of me. My husband is probably one of the few men who is actively involved in not only ending violence against women, but also promoting women in every sphere of social and political life. iKNOW Politics: As a woman politician, what kind of barriers did you face and how did you overcome them? Hanan Ashrawi: Politics is still a very male dominated realm with lots of stereotypes and barriers for women. Men always feel that it is alright for women to take risks. They think that it is OK for women to challenge authorities, to protest in the streets, to get beaten up, to face an occupation army, to be imprisoned, etc. But when the time comes to make political decisions, men feel that they need to lead and that they are entitled to be leaders. I am a strong woman who refuses to be circumvented by men and to be used as a token and as an excuse to exclude others. Confronted with this side of me, men felt really threatened. Men felt that I was not entitled to be in a decision making position, and they tried to intrude into my space, but I did not let this to happen. Men always want women to talk only about “soft” issues. I think I gradually won the respect of the men colleagues showing that I can deal with a lot more issues than they think. I stood up to our government attempting to violate Palestinian people’s rights and freedoms by arresting and detaining people without due process. I also spoke against misused public funding and advocated for good governance. I stood up to someone like Yasser Arafat, who I respected very much but with whom I also disagreed. Our relationship with Yasser Arafat was based on a mutual respect and professionalism, and people told me that I might have been the only person who could talk to him straight forward. iKNOW Politics: What are some of your political achievements? Hanan Ashrawi: The one thing I am very proud of being consistently principled, forthright and outspoken. I have refused to be intimidated and co-opted by anybody. I always speak my mind openly and I am not easily intimidated. I do not accept limits set by others. I believe in my rights to engage on my own as a human being and as an individual. I also believe that I have to use this character of mine to empower others. I use it not only in the women’s movement, but also in the human rights movement and among enlightened politicians. I am always creating support networks and mechanisms to empower others, especially young women. I believe young women are our future, and if older generation women do not create support systems and open doors for them, then it will be very hard for them. I also take a pride in the fact that I set up a number of institutions in Palestine, including the office of Ombudsman, which is now a state institution that safeguards human rights and holds authorities accountable. I also set up an institution for legality, which has 6-7 offices now. I also set up the Ministry of Higher Education and Research, and a number of academic institutions. In addition, I created MIFTAH, an organization for the promotion of global dialogue and democracy in the region. Creating all of these institutions and mechanisms to bring justice and peace is part of my contribution to the Palestinian reality. iKNOW Politics: Dr. Ashrawi, you are also known for your peace-building and peace negotiations work during the First Intifada and after it. Can you share some of your experiences and thoughts on this? Hanan Ashrawi: I participated in diplomatic negotiations and dialogue during the First Intifada as an official spokesperson for the Palestinian Delegation to the Middle East peace process. This was quite public because I was working with high-level political leaders. I also participated in the leadership committee setting up the Madrid talks, where I represented Palestinian interests. I think peace processes should be continuous and not represent only an end to a conflict. I also think that we should define peace as peace for justice. Many people define security as a military intervention, while for me security is justice. There has to be the protection of law, which brings legality to actions. For example, Israelis have built settlements in Palestine on the lands captured in 1967. I think we should have peace in the region, but it would not legalize the settlements. Legality also means that Palestinian refugees should be treated equally and fairly. iKNOW Politics: What piece of advice would you give to other women in politics and women candidates? Hanan Ashrawi: Women have to work with other women. Women should always build support systems and networks for other women, and they should not be an excuse to exclude other women from politics. Such networks should not be based around someone’s ego, but rather be formed around an important issue or cause. Although I know that not all women vote for women politicians, I should say that we should not be discouraged about this. Furthermore, women should be careful and not adopt the male approach to politics staying true to their own gender and discourse. It is an important issue because women tend to be consensus-builders and involve everyone around themselves; therefore, it is essential that women preserve their identity as women and as politicians.
