Women have played an important role in all civilisations, when it comes to education, independence, and liberation.
Here are eight inspiring Palestinian women who have played a very important role in protecting the Palestinian identity and chronicling the suffering of their people.
1. Mai Ziadeh (1886-1941)
Palestinian poet Mai Ziadeh
Born and died before the existence of the state of Israel, Ziadeh was a Lebanese-Palestinian poet, essayist, and translator. She was a part of the Nahda movement, also known as the Arab Awakening, in the early 20th century. She was known as the “Pioneer of Oriental Feminism”. Writer Gibran Khalil Gibran deeply loved her until his death, though they have never met. They only shared literary ties and ideas. Ziadeh was inspired by a number of poets such as Byron, Shelley, and Gibran.
2. Karimeh Abbud (1893-1940)
Palestinian photographer Karimeh Abbud
Abbud was the first Palestinian professional woman photographer and one of the first female photographers in the Arab world. She captured a number of photos between 1925 and 1930 that help chronicle and document the beauty of the Palestinian lands.
3. Hind Al-Hussinie (1916-1994)
Palestinian activist Hind Al-Husseini
She was the first Palestinian woman to establish an orphanage after the 1948 Nakba. The orphanage was dedicated to taking care of the Palestinian children who lost their parents in the Nakba. It was established with only 138 Palestinian pounds.
4. Fadwa Tuqan (1917-2003)
Palestinian poet Fadwa Tuqan
Tuqan was a prominent poet who was given the name “Poet of Palestine”. Her works chronicled the suffering of the Palestinian people under the Israeli occupation. She studied literature in Oxford University. Her prominent works include Alone with the Days (1952), In Front of a Closed Door (1967), and Longing: Inspired by the Law of Gravity (2003).
5. Queen Rania (1970)
Queen Rania
Born in 1970 Kuwait to Palestinian parents, she had to flee Kuwait after the Gulf war. Her family settled in Jordan, where she married King Abdullah of Jordan and became the Queen. She has an active role in promoting education as well as empowering women’s leadership, and speaking up for refugees.
6. Shireen Abu Akleh (1971-2022)
Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh
Abu Akleh was a prominent Palestinian journalist, whose career spanned over 25 years. She is a role model for Palestinian women and a figure for the nations’ resilience. On the 11th of May 2022, she was shot dead by the Israeli occupation forces when she was reporting the attacks on the Jenin refugee camps. The Israeli forces then attacked her home and confiscated the Palestinian flags inside. They also attacked Palestinians in her funeral and attacked her coffin, showing the oppression that Palestinians live in, where they are not even allowed to mourn and bury their dead.
7. Muna El-Kurd (1998)
Palestinian activist and journalist Muna El-Kurd
She is a Palestinian journalist and activist known for sharing and documenting the Israeli atrocities against the Palestinian people in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza strip. In 2021, her family, along with 11 other families, were threatened to be kicked out of their homes by the Israeli forces in a violation of International law. On the sixth of June 2021, she and her brother, poet and journalist Muhamed El-Kurd, were detained by the Israeli occupation and questioned for several hours. They were both named on the Time 100 during this period.
8. Ahed Tamimi (2001)
Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi
Tamimi is a prominent Palestinian activist in the occupied West Bank. She is known for her videos and images in which she confronts Israeli soldiers when they were raiding her home in 2017. During this raid, her 15-year-old cousin, Mohammed Tamimi, was shot. Ahed then responded by slapping and kicking the soldiers out of their home. She was detained for her resilience, and was charged of assault, incitement, and throwing stones. During her trial, the judge asked her “how did you slap the soldier?” to which she responded “untie my hands and I’ll show you how.” Tamimi is now studying law to help “hold the occupation accountable”
