PA Minister: Women have played an important role in armed resistance against Israel
Official PA TV Live broadcast a conference on Bedouin women in Palestinian society that took place in Hebron. According to independent Palestinian news agency Ma’an, the conference was sponsored by the District Governor of Hebron, Kamel Hamid, the PA Ministry of Women’s Affairs and the PA Ministry of Local Government. The conference was held in cooperation with the Catholic Relief Services, CRS and funded by the US Agency for International Development, USAID.
PA Minister of Women's Affairs Rabiha Dhiab: “Everyone talks about the Palestinian woman and her important role throughout the struggle’s various stages and throughout the century. She was the man’s fundamental partner in all areas of life. Likewise, she participated in the struggle together with him – side by side in the armed or military struggle and she was also a prisoner and a captive… This doesn’t mean that our entire nation has to go to prison, not necessarily. We must act in all directions…
The problem of violence isn’t a local problem; it’s a global problem… We are under occupation; it cannot be that we will continue sitting idly, waiting for the occupation to leave. We must act because this is part of our firm stand, part of our awareness of everything that is taking place in the region. Therefore, we are always willing and ready to support the Palestinian woman and also receive support from our brothers, the men.
I think Yasser Arafat said one year at the Conference on Women: ‘We don’t want to only increase the woman’s participation; we favor her filling a full role in this rifle pit, behind this weapon, alongside her brother.’ I don’t mean only the [actual] weapon here, but the weapon is knowledge, hope and all these issues.”
PA Minister of Women's Affairs Rabiha Dhiab: “Everyone talks about the Palestinian woman and her important role throughout the struggle’s various stages and throughout the century. She was the man’s fundamental partner in all areas of life. Likewise, she participated in the struggle together with him – side by side in the armed or military struggle and she was also a prisoner and a captive… This doesn’t mean that our entire nation has to go to prison, not necessarily. We must act in all directions…
The problem of violence isn’t a local problem; it’s a global problem… We are under occupation; it cannot be that we will continue sitting idly, waiting for the occupation to leave. We must act because this is part of our firm stand, part of our awareness of everything that is taking place in the region. Therefore, we are always willing and ready to support the Palestinian woman and also receive support from our brothers, the men.
I think Yasser Arafat said one year at the Conference on Women: ‘We don’t want to only increase the woman’s participation; we favor her filling a full role in this rifle pit, behind this weapon, alongside her brother.’ I don’t mean only the [actual] weapon here, but the weapon is knowledge, hope and all these issues.”