Palestinian feminism

Bedouin women protest against the increasing house demolitions in unrecognized villages in the Naqab, outside the Israeli government's "Bedouin Authority" offices in the southern city of Be'er Sheva, June 25, 2026. (Oren Ziv)

Palestinian Bedouin women in Israel are leading a quiet revolution

The fierce reaction to racist remarks by an Israeli journalist reflects the growing strength of a feminist movement fighting on two fronts.

By Samah Salaime November 6, 2026

Aida Touma-Suleiman podcast graphic

PODCAST: ‘Israel is using organized crime to control Palestinian citizens’

MK Aida Touma-Suleiman reflects on a decade inside the Knesset, and the limits of trying to fight from within a system built to exclude Palestinians.

By +972 Magazine January 22, 2026

Israelis gather in Jerusalem's Independence Park in front of the U.S. Embassy to mourn those killed in Gaza and to call for a ceasefire and an end to the cycle of violence, December 22, 2023. (Aryeh Leib)

Women’s liberation mustn’t stop at either side of the Gaza fence

Feminist principles compel us to stand with both the Palestinian women being slaughtered in Gaza and the Israeli women testifying about sexual violence.

By Samah Salaime December 22, 2023

Latest

Palestinian women, joined by Israeli and international solidarity activsits, march to the Qalandiya checkpoint during a protest against the Israeli occupation on International Women's Day, West Bank, March 8, 2012. (Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)

Palestinian women walk the tightrope of toxic ‘shame’ and occupation

The murder of a young Palestinian woman at the hands of her family highlights what many Palestinian women have been saying all along: The struggle against patriarchy and gender-based violence cannot be separated from the fight against Israel’s occupation. By Nooran Alhamdan Israa Ghrayeb, a young Palestinian woman from the Bethlehem area, lived her life like…

By +972 Magazine September 23, 2019

A still from Nur Abu Jnayeh's documentary 'Visit.'

Women filmmakers shine at Palestine’s first student film fest

The first Bethlehem Student Film Festival included a strong showing from Palestinian women from both sides of the Green Line, with films tackling patriarchy, gender stereotypes, and the occupation. By Suha Arraf The Bethlehem Student Film Festival kicked off last week, showcasing 74 student films from all over the world, including France, Algeria, Egypt, China,…

By +972 Magazine April 16, 2019

What is certain is that social norms in the Arab community are constantly changing, mainly thanks to the tens of thousands of Arab women who do not give up on themselves. (Nati Shohat / Flash90)

Wonder Women: The Arab feminist revolution on Facebook

Thousands of Arab women on Facebook are sharing, with heart-wrenching honesty, stories of female heroism that don’t always make headlines. Is a new Arab feminism emerging? And what about the new Arab man? A week ago one of my Facebook friends added me to a group for Arab women. Oh no, I thought. Not another…

By Samah Salaime October 25, 2017

Women from the West Bank city of Bethlehem march to protest honor killings and other forms of violence against women, Bethlehem, November 16, 2013. (photo: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)

Dear Arab men, leave us women out of your holy wars

An Arab teacher was recently attacked and fired for screening an ‘immodest’ film for his students, all in the name of protecting women’s ‘honor.’ This is the kind of article I am hesitant to publish in Hebrew or English. But out of my wholehearted belief that there are Jews in this world who can be…

By Samah Salaime March 1, 2016