Experience of Palestinian Women prisoners – solidarity as well as hardship

JVL Introduction

Palestinian women incarcerated by Israel are rarely written about. Their numbers have always been small compared with male political prisoners but, of course,  there is always a particular vulnerability for women.  This article looks at the experiences of some women who have been imprisoned, focusing more on the solidarity they find from each other than on the cruelty experienced from the Israeli State.  It looks at how activist knowledge and advice is shared, how women from different parts of Palestine and different social backgrounds are thrown together when “normal” circumstances would make that difficult if not, eg in the case of women from Gaza and the West Bank, impossible. This, as they say is “Education, consciousness-raising and campaigning from behind bars” and reminds me of the stories of the ANC leaders on Robben Island. Israel, of course, try to clamp down on this but the women’s ingenuity is a testimony to another form of Sumud (steadfastness).

LL

This article was originally published by Le Monde Diplomatique on Fri 3 Jan 2025. Read the original here.