The Palestinian Woman has existed only in the shadows of feminist literature. When she makes appearances on your screens, she is shrouded in the grey rubble of her demolished home, weeping over the dead bodies of her relatives, or dripping rivers of blood from her skull. The Palestinian Woman also only exists to quench the thirst of white saviourism, her subjugation – not through settler-colonialism nor illegal occupation – but by her terrifying male counterparts, is employed as a scapegoat to ethnically cleans her. Yet the fight for Palestinian's liberation has been pillared upon the devotion of female activists and their untold stories. Due to this, I aim to use this space to highlight three of these stories belonging to Fadwa Tuqan , Shireen Abu Akleh and Leilah Khaled to illustrate the depth of impact these individuals have had on the Palestinian struggle.
Before we honour the women who saw the emancipation of their country as their duty and purpose, we must ponder why female Palestinian activist have largely been overlooked by feminist movements.
Firstly, Liberal feminism still finds itself occupied in pleasing a colonial perspective. When discussing the unsteady position feminists had on the genocide in Gaza, Afaf Al Jaberi (2025) writes, "Witnessing feminists’ hesitation to take a clear position.. demonstrates that feminism remains inherently... entangled with colonial legacies and new forms of imperialism". Jaberi portrays the dangers of privilege in unsure hands. By refusing to acknowledge the disproportioned effects of a genocide upon Palestinian women, Liberal feminism becomes selective about who is and is not worthy of being the face of the movement. Described as a new form of "imperialism", it indicates a cautious ambition to not allow women of colour to dominate the feminist conversation. Yet, at a time where right-wing ideology has seemingly pinioned the political sphere, it is indeed a detriment to the feminist movement to take such routes.
Secondly, the erasure of Palestinian women in feminist discussions aids Isreal in purple-washing its Zionism. At the start of the genocide, and very well after it too, we witnessed a multitude of news channels, political pundits and even misinformed friends claims that Israel was fighting a war against a group that saw women's rights and gay rights as non-existent. They legitimised the ethnic cleansing of over 2 million people. These cacophonies did not bring female or gay Palestinians into the spotlight, instead, it was used as a springboard for Isreal to obliterate fertility clinics and entire hospitals. Subsequently, gender-specific harms have plagued Gaza: deprivation of maternal care, shortage of feminine hyenine products and even chronic illnesses. By targeting the female population of Gaza, Israel subjects these women to "reprocide" , a "systematic targeting of a group's reproductive capacities, both biological and social, as a deliberate strategy of erasure" (Shoman, 2023). By preventing the birth of a new Palestinian generation, this tactic prevents any future generation to resist against the occupation, or even remain as proof of the indigenous people of the land. Essentially, the elimination of Palestinian women from feminist discussions, especially in pro-Isreal circles, determines the elimination of future generations of Palestinian resistance and recognition.
I would like to end this article by shining a light upon three of the most prominent Palestinian women who have contributed to the Palestinian struggle. Regardless of the many aims to conceal female defiance against the tide of neo-colonialism, these women sewed integrity, innovation, and valour into the fabric of their resistance:
Fadwa Tuqaan (1917-2003)
Born in Nabulus, a little before the Balfour Declaration was passed, Fadwa Tuqan became known for her warlike imagery, emerging as one of the many faces of Palestinian resistance. Reading her poems was equated to facing twenty enemy commandos by an Israeli general, proving the profound effects of the arts on political climates. Much of Tuqan's poetry dreamt of and gave hope to a return. A return to normalcy and a Palestine, not under occupation, but one that allowed freedom to span from the Jordan river to the Mediterranean Sea. Tuqan also wrote about Arab society at large and its patriarchal nature that prevented many women like her to valiantly sing their songs of resistance. But it was not until 1980 where she gained international recognition for her work; she won poetry prize after poetry prize from countries like Italy, Greece and Jordan. She even won the Palestinians' Jerusalem Award for Culture and Art in 1990. Fadwa Tuqan's work continues to give weight to the idea that poetry has the strength to resist against all forms of occupation and colonialism, by cementing itself into the hearts of those that experience such brutality and into the minds of those who implement it.
Shireen Abu Akleh (1971-2022)
Called the "Daughter of Palestine", Shireen Abu Akhleh was an Al Jazeera journalist for 25 years before her assassination by the IDF in 2022, as she reported an Israeli raid in Jenin. Abu Akleh joined Al Jazeera at a time where only a handful of Palestinian women were reporters, paving the path for a plethora of young women aspiring to take control of the narrative, whilst an emboldened 'PRESS' was supposed to shield them from Israeli fury. She quickly became a household name, recognised by every eye that searched for reasons why Israeli occupation had become so impenetrable. Born in Jerusalem, she was particularly attuned to the every-day struggles of. She amplified the voices of civilians living in the city of Sheikh Jarra in 2021 as their homes were demolished by Israeli authorities, to build new homes for settlers deemed illegal by the UN. It is essential to note that she was not the first, nor the last, journalist to be killed by Isreal. During the genocide in Gaza alone, more than 260 journalists were targeted. Shireen Abu Akleh did not stop reporting even when death was at her door, a reminder to all journalists and news-watchers around the globe that Palestinians under Israeli occupation deserve to have their stories told and retold.
Leilah Khaled (1944 - Present)
Born in Haifa, Leilah Khaled is a prominent Palestinian activist, primarily known for being the first Palestinian woman to highjack a civilian airline. She is a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and has always been a promoter of the armed struggle against Israeli occupation. In a 2014 interview with the Palestinian chronicle she expressed: "We cannot say that non-violent resistance alone will achieve our rights. We are facing an apartheid state.... When the balance of forces changes, then we can start thinking about negotiating". Although Khaled's contributions to the Palestinian cause have aways been labelled as violent and illegal, she echoes writers like Fanon that acknowledged the stalemate that results from diplomacy with a coloniser. Khaled's struggle illustrate that structures of colonialism and apartheid are nurtured and sustained through violence – hence, only equal forces are able to breakdown such structures.
Written by Tehreem Chaudhry