Staff members from the Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development (PWWSD) based in the West Bank describe the impact of the current Intifada on women, and the education work which they undertake to empower Palestinian women.

Life under siege

The Geneva Convention and all international agreements on human rights prohibits the collective punishment enforced by the Israeli occupation such as curfews, closures and sieges of Palestinian towns and villages. Since the start of the Intifada, the Israeli army has set up 90 new checkpoints all over the West Bank and Gaza. This has severed access to towns and villages and hampered the lives of Palestinians in all sectors. Particularly those working in the informal sector, consisting of 56-62% of women, have been severely hit during the eight months due to Israeli closures, curfews and military action. These women, often heads of households, are unable to generate the income to keep their businesses and they have to endure the consequences of disastrous impoverishment. Moreover, in villages, teachers cannot reach their schools. Village girls who have lack of mobility are losing their education. Parents have special fears for daughters and thus may restrict their mobility and therefore their access to education.

Deadly closures

The Israeli closures have repeatedly caused the death of sick or injured Palestinians. In October 2000, the ten years-old Ala' Adul Azeez died at the entrance of Nablus when Israeli soldiers at the military checkpoint prevented her from going to the hospital for two consecutive days. Pregnant women are also facing severe psychological pressure, as they fear that they might not be able to receive medical care or reach hospitals. In the recent past, Palestinian women have repeatedly given birth at the checkpoints. Unable to provide their newborn with basic health care has in some cases led to permanent physical impairment of the mother or the baby.

Economic downfall

More than thirty thousand Palestinians have been wounded. Women are suffering enormously as they see their children and husbands being killed or injured. The death of the breadwinner and the injury or physical disablement of the head of the family has led to dramatic economic consequences for thousands of Palestinian households. In these destitute families, women suffer great financial difficulties as they carry the burden of feeding their children and the older members of their family. In Palestinian society, like in many other societies, women assume the caretaker role. Their distress leads to diminished productive, social and political roles as well as to psychological, physical and material suffering. In many cases, widows are left without means to survive. In order to sustain the family, their eldest children are compelled to work as street vendors, often working in very unhealthy conditions and earning only a few shekels a day. Moreover, recent surveys show that many Palestinians who previously worked in Israel are currently unemployed. Presently, 64.2% of the Palestinian population live under the poverty line as a result of the Intifada and the Israeli closures.

The fears of Palestinian mothers

In Palestine, the average household has an average of 6.3 children. Over half of the population are below the age of 16. Under the present Israeli aggression, this strains women enormously as they are the primary individuals who worry about the psychological and physical well being of their children. Fears for their children are not unfounded as the random use of rubber bullets and live ammunition by the Israeli Occupying forces has caused the death of many innocent children. Parents are often afraid to send their children to school and prefer to keep them at home as a number of students going to or leaving school have been injured and even killed by Israeli soldiers. As most of the Palestinian cities and villages do not have playgrounds or parks, children traditionally play in the streets which are now unsafe and cause additional stress on parents.

Psychological impact

While immediate direct physical harm is the most obvious form of violence, indirect violence can often have much more long lasting social and psychological effects. The current situation has caused many women to live with a constant feeling of insecurity. Armed fire in civilian and residential areas puts a large amount of pressure on women. They worry about both themselves and their children. They have to address the fears of their children such as the inability to focus, anger, panic attacks and nightmares. Many families have been forced to leave their homes, especially at night when bombing is the most intense. In addition to worrying about their safety, women have the added burden of taking care of their families and organizing where their family will stay for the night, how they will eat, and how their children will stay clothed and cared for. The gory scenes of killing on television, the continuous threat to life and the daily harassment of Israeli soldiers further causes great psychological pressure on Palestinian women and children. Symptoms such as nervous breakdowns, anxiety, insomnia, loss of appetite and vomiting, involuntary urination, breathing difficulties, high tension, rebelliousness or isolation have appeared in numerous cases on adults and children.

House demolitions, land confiscation and settlements

Apart from the emotional torment of Palestinian women, the material losses they face are enormous. Since 1967, the Israeli authorities have demolished over 6 thousand Palestinian houses as a punitive measure. This happens when the family is suspected of military engagement in the Palestinian resistance or under the pretext of the lack of building permits. Presently, Palestinians are prohibited from building in 60% of the West Bank and 87% of Jerusalem. With the recent shelling of Palestinian towns and the continuing of Israeli repressive measures, Palestinian women have often lost all their belongings, including house, furniture, golden accessories (which constitute traditionally the family's saving) and land properties. Israeli Occupation bulldozers still confiscate and uproot thousands of hectares of Palestinian agricultural land, expelling farmers and their families. Israeli settlements, bypass roads and military posts are illegally occupying the Palestinian territories, confining Palestinian families to live within apartheid-like enclaves. Many Palestinian mothers have not seen their children as the barriers put in between the Palestinian enclaves prevent freedom of movement and travelling.