An interesting Article by Maryam for Aljazeera Opinion ..... AJ opinion ...Maryam Aldossari Researcher of Gender Inequality in the Middle East
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Western feminism and its blind spots in
the Middle East
The message leading Western feminists are sending to
Palestinian women is loud and clear: your suffering does
not matter.
In our current era where digital platforms wield
unparalleled influence, X – previously known as
Twitter – is the closest thing we have to a global
public square. Within this vast marketplace of
ideas, a subset of Western feminists have
unilaterally assumed leadership roles,
fashioning themselves as the gatekeepers of who
is a real “feminist” and what truly constitutes
“feminism”.
Since October 7, these “leading feminists” have
been bombarding this all-important digital
landscape with posts vociferously condemning
the Hamas attack on Israel, while excusing or
simply ignoring the ongoing collective
punishment of more than two million
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip that followed.
Some even attempt to frame Israel’s
indiscriminate bombardment and total siege of
the tiny enclave, which already claimed the
lives of over 5,000 men, women, and children,
as acceptable retaliation for Hamas’s actions
and lawful “self-defence”.
Let’s be clear: What is in question here is not
their condemnation of the violence Hamas
inflicted on Israeli women, but their apparent
indifference to, and in some cases enthusiastic
endorsement of, the violence currently being
wielded against Palestinian women.
These so-called feminists are not only failing to
show any empathy or support for the long-
standing suffering of Palestinian women, but
are also joining in the increasing efforts to
silence those expressing any hint of sympathy
for them.
Whenever someone, especially someone with a
certain public profile, posts a message on X
supporting Palestine and acknowledging the
decades-long suffering of Palestinian people
under Israeli occupation and oppression, they
are faced with the same loaded questions many
times over: “Do you support Hamas?”, “Do you
condemn the attacks on Israeli civilians?”
In response, some feel intimidated and reverse
course, while others either refuse to engage or
try to challenge the assumptions of these self-
appointed public interrogators. But however
they respond, they face the same barrage of
abuse, intimidation and insults from those who
“stand with Israel”, including many prominent
Western feminists.
Phrases and labels such as “anti-Semite”, “rape
apologist”, “support for rape and kidnapping of
women”, “support for a terrorist group that
governs with Sharia law”, and notably, “not a
true feminist” are liberally bandied about.
So I want to ask all those feminists in the West
who are not only making posts, signing
statements and writing columns unconditionally
supporting Israel’s “right to defend itself” but
also working tirelessly to “cancel” anybody who
dares to either put a spotlight on decades of
Palestinian suffering, or call for an end to
Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza,
which is killing and maiming hundreds of
women and girls every single day: Is this what
you call feminism?
Your brand of feminism, which seemingly
applies only to a certain subset of
predominantly white, Western and Western-
aligned women, is difficult to stomach. You
rightly condemn the violence Hamas inflicted on
Israeli women. Yet you are not only silent on
the suffering of Palestinian women, but are
trying to silence anyone else who is brave
enough to speak up for them.
Today, Gaza’s women and children are not only
under heavy bombardment, but also on a
starvation diet thanks to Israel’s “total siege”. Is
this not a crime against women that merits
attention and condemnation? How can you call
yourself a feminist while excusing, even
supporting, punitive, genocidal actions of a
powerful state against a helpless people trapped
in an open-air prison? How can you so easily
brush away the harrowing experiences of
hundreds of thousands of women who lack the
power to change their circumstances?
Western feminism’s apparent indifference to
statements like that of Israeli Defence Minister
Yoav Gallant, likening Palestinians to “human
animals”, is deeply alarming.
If your feminism does not make you stand up
for a people who experienced little other than
ethnic cleansing, oppression and occupation
since 1948, who have been trying to survive
under a crippling blockade for 17 years, who
are being defined as “human animals”, and
who are now facing what can only be described
as a genocide, then what it is for? If these
realities do not encourage you to take a stance,
it’s hard to imagine what will. Are Palestinian
women somehow not women enough to be
deserving of your feminist advocacy?
I hope this weighs on your conscience: By
endorsing Israel’s right to “defend itself” at any
cost, you’re condoning violence against women
and children – the very demographic you claim
to champion. By ignoring the plight of the
Palestinian people, by trying to brand as “anti-
Semitic” and “anti-feminist” everyone who
dares to support their struggle, you are making
it evident that not all lives – not all women –
hold the same value in your eyes.
Your message to the women trying to survive
under Israeli bombs, women cradling the
corpses of their murdered children, is loud and
clear: you do not matter.
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