For creative young women seeking a measure
of independence, social pressure to conform
adds another layer to the claustrophobic
environment
NIGEL O’CONNOR is an independent
Australian journalist and writer. He spent
the past four years living and working in
Palestine and recently relocated to Cyprus.scars inflicted on people often
go unseen. The normalisation of
extraordinary circumstances places
added pressure on women in their role
as mothers while trying to cope with
everyday lives themselves.
“I recently visited a woman and
her family still living in a caravan after
their house was destroyed,” Lara
recounted. “She’d sent one of her
babies to live with her extended family
because the caravan was not a healthy
place. Her husband was injured during
the war and cannot work so she was
trying to survive with some money
given by neighbours and family. She
struggles to afford milk and medicine
for her other child and felt humiliated
living there.”
A claustrophobic environment
With 1.8 million people squeezed into
an area half the size of Singapore –
mostly descendants of refugees who
fled ancestral homes following the
creation of Israel in 1948 – the Gaza
Strip is one of the most densely-
populated territories in the world.
Temporary refugee camps have grown
into vast, overcrowded labyrinths of
multi-storied homes.
These are fertile recruiting
grounds for militant groups
and Hamas political cadres. As
unemployment, poverty and isolation
have increased during the blockade,
so too has social conservatism.
For creative or young women
seeking a measure of independence,
social pressure to conform to
conservative norms adds another layer
to the claustrophobic environment.
“Everything in Gaza is getting more
closed in,” Lara explained. “I think
this is from the blockade and the many
wars. The bad things that happened
in this small place has impacted how
people treat and see each other. In thepast, I could walk freely in the streets
but now I feel that everyone is always
looking at each other, especially if you
are a woman. These looks pressure
you and your psychology. They want
to know why you are walking on the
streets or even doing anything.”
Such attitudes often prove to be
obstacles for women wanting to work,
but Lara is thankful that her parents
believe she should express her talents.
“Society here does not always
accept working women,” she said.
“Luckily I was raised in an open-
minded family. They allowed me more
independence and the freedom to
choose my studies and what I wanted
to be. If I do something wrong, society
will blame my family, so they gave me
freedom in ‘holes’ to avoid problems.
And because they follow our Arab
culture and traditions, I was raised to
be committed to them.”
For Lara, everyday examples of
women exercising independence
provide inspiration for her to continue
being herself.
“There are independent women
here who work. They depend on
themselves and they feed the whole
family,” she said.
“You’ll find women working
amongst all classes of society,"
Lara continues. "Some are educated
and work in companies and offices,
and most of them are financially
independent. Then, there are women
who go to work every morning to find
any job, just to provide the most basic
things for her family.”^ agleFt A graffiti of a Palestinian
woman with a weapon along
the Separation Barrier,
dividing Israel and Palestine