International Women's Day and the Palestinian militant

Written by: Captive Yasser Abu Bakr

People all over the world celebrate a special day for women, which is "International Women's Day", on the eighth of March of each year, and the reason for choosing this date is the memory of a labor movement and a protest march in which 15,000 women took to the streets of New York City in 1908. To demand reduced working hours, better wages, and the right to vote in elections.
And with the adoption of the date globally by the United Nations in 1975, the celebration becomes every year under a different title, and on this day for our Arab nation, for Palestine, and for the Palestinian revolution, there is a lot that is important for everyone to see.
And if we were to confine our discussion to the Palestinian woman only and her role in the struggle, then what is indicated is the importance of her struggle role in many aspects, i. Arab women have taken initiatives since the twentieth century, reaching positions in many fields of work until Palestinian women excelled in education and various fields over their male counterparts.
About women in the eyes of poets, headed by the internationalist poet Mahmoud Darwish, the writer Dr. Muhammad Abu Hamida says, “Women occupy a large area in Mahmoud Darwish’s poetic discourse? As they represent, by reason of their hesitation, in his poems the third semantic axis after the axes of earth, plants, and trees.” This is the case in the Palestinian revolution and the Fatah movement, where women are the guardians of our survival, as the Declaration of Independence said, and they continue to be seen as partners and fighters.
In the context of the Palestinian struggle, we recall the year 1921, the founding of the first Palestinian women’s union, and the pioneers of this union, Zuleikha Al-Shihabi, Melia Sakakini and others, up to the struggle period within the framework of the modern Palestinian revolution in 1965 AD, such as the first female prisoner of the modern Palestinian revolution, Fatima Bernawi, and the likes of the martyr Shadia Abu Ghazaleh, and the likes of the fighter Laila Khaled And many of those who followed their path through martyrdom and the experience of detention.
The General Union of Palestinian Women was established after the first constituent Jerusalem Conference in 1965 under the slogan “Towards Unifying the Efforts of Palestinian Women’s Organizations for the Liberation of the Usurped Homeland” in order to organize and mobilize the energies of Palestinian women wherever they are in the service of the Palestinian cause and the struggle for equality. The preparatory committee consisted of the sisters: Zuleikha Al-Shihabi, Samira Abu-Ghazaleh, Souad Al-Kilani, Fayza Abdel-Majeed, Salma Al-Khadra Al-Jayousi, Wadi’a Khartabil, Rashida Al-Masry, and Al-Hajja Andaleeb Al-Amad.
With the intense efforts in Palestine and abroad, and the role of the Women’s Union, and the struggles of women in general in the political factions, and outside them, they were able to achieve part of their hopes and dreams, and to be neighbors and partners with men, as a large number of women became involved in decision-making in the public and private sectors, as well as in civil institutions and trade unions. And political factions, and we find among them women directors, ministers, and members of councils such as: the legislative and local councils, owners of private companies, and directors of civil institutions...etc.
But we must refer here to our sister, the Palestinian woman who struggles in detention, where we suffer with her in detention. Addameer’s 2020 report states that “the occupation forces have arrested more than 13,000 Palestinian women since 1967, and during the year 2019, the occupation forces continue to arrest Palestinian women and girls, whether from the street, while crossing checkpoints, or after storming their homes at night, with police dogs to intimidate the family.” And destroying the contents of the house.And upon arrest, the occupation army blindfolds them and ties their hands behind their backs, and puts them inside military jeeps, and during that they are subjected to torture and ill-treatment.” Young women and university students are also targeted and subjected to medical neglect and administrative detention as well.
Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association affirms, at the conclusion of its report, "and based on the testimonies and permits obtained from Palestinian female and male detainees, that the occupation has continued for more than 50 years in violating the rights of Palestinian female prisoners in detention and interrogation centers, prisons, hospitals, medical clinics, checkpoints, and checkpoints. These violations affect all categories of Palestinian women, including teachers, students, mothers, children, and others.”
All salutations to the woman on her International Day, and all salutations to the struggling Palestinian woman through this quick view despite much that should be written about her, reminding the male and female prisoners and the freedom due to all detainees, male and female prisoners as a priority for the Palestinian leadership and the free world, and God is with us.