Press Releases

On 22 July 2023, BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights launched its short book titled "Palestinian Women’s Stories"* which includes stories of eleven Palestinian women, highlighting their challenges and experiences. The stories were written by Palestinian young women from Mandatory Palestine and Lebanon. The launching was carried out in partnership with the Majed Abu Sharar Media Foundation in Lebanon, as well as Ibdaa Foundation, and Shoruq Association in the Dheisheh refugee camp, Lajee Center in Aida Camp, Addar Association in Nazareth, and the Talai' Association in Gaza.

The launching program featured remarks on the project “Palestinian Women's Stories'” and the book, presented by Ms. Ahlam Al-Wahsh, a Palestinian activist. In her speech,  Ahlam emphasized the importance of nurturing a generation of Palestinian youth capable of documenting and conveying the stories of Palestinian women's struggles, particularly in the face of the Israeli colonial-apartheid regime. She underscored that the struggle of Palestinian women is not a product of the moment but rather has persisted since the inception of the colonization project in Mandatory Palestine until today. Mrs. Samaa Abu Sharar, the director of the Majed Abu Sharar Foundation, also delivered a speech in which she stressed the importance of collective work among the Palestinian people in exile and within Mandatory Palestine, and the significance of refugees themselves conveying their own stories, especially women. As part of the event, a story from the published collection was read by Ms. Asma Awis, which was well-received by the attendees.

It is worth noting that the book "Palestinian Women’s Stories" is a result of a year-long program that included a series of meetings and training sessions addressing the role of women in the context of colonization , the art of writing and storytelling, and photography. After completing the training program, each participant wrote a story documenting the experiences and events in the life of a Palestinian woman within the context of Israeli colonization in Palestine.

The project’s main goal is to highlight the presence and role of women in society, as an independent and distinguished actor in the struggle, liberation, and return movements. The published book challenges the traditional discourse that portrays women as secondary actors to men. This project is part of BADIL's strategy, which aims to empower rights holders, especially  women and youth who are marginalized, with the necessary tools and skills to amplify their voices and their struggles as Palestinians and women. 

*Palestinian Women’s Stories is “Hakayat Filistiniyat” in Arabic.