The Palestinian-Israeli Conflict through a Third-World Feminist Lens | Rajeshwari Sharma

Understanding militarism and war through a gendered lens requires looking into ways in which militarism both demands and generates gender inequality.

THE MIDDLE EAST has been in a state of conflict ever since the end of World War II, and this conflict has undoubtedly shaped the history of feminist organisations in both Israel and Palestine. Feminism in Israel and Palestine have evolved largely due to endogenous causes and hence nationality, ethnicity and identity constitute an important element of these two movements.

To make a feminist sense of the conflict in the Middle-East, it is important to look beyond the representation of women in common narratives and pay attention to voices that remain silent, their multiplicities and how often they are misrepresented by meta-narratives.

Feminist movements in Israel were able to express themselves more quickly as they had a geographical space for expression, but the Palestinian women’s movement developed in exile and dispersion. Nonetheless, feminism in both Israel and Palestine were largely initiatives of the young educated generations. Most of the advocates of these moments were also based in America. Palestine women’s movement is largely focused on highlighting the challenges faced by women due to Israeli occupation

Although feminist conflict theory has garnered much attention in recent years, mostly advanced by Western theorists, it has not yet been able to adequately decipher the situation in third-world countries. The critique of ‘white feminism’ argues that it cannot fully elaborate on the struggles of ‘Third World women’, and the ‘West-white’ theories often portray Third World feminists as a homogenous entity.

Third World feminism and transnational feminism emerged as an antithesis to white second-wave feminism. They emphasised on the various forms of resistance that Third World women employ in their struggle against oppression, while rejecting false universalism that white feminism is based on.

In order to fully comprehend the oppression and resistance of Third World women, third world feminists focus on the intersections of gender, race, class, ethnicity and nation that are specific to their geographic space.

War creates a state of exception, which increases governmentality exercised by securitised states, leading to a trend in culture of impunity and excess use of state violence. Bodies of women caught up in this exception then become subject of masculine power, exercised not just by the hostile party but also by their own people. The state, which then operates through this culture of impunity, justifies various from of atrocities including sexual violence committed against women. Militarised masculinity exacerbates patriarchy and polarises gender roles during war, which eventually increases power abuse. The painful experience that women are currently going through due to the war is visible in social media. Mothers’ demand an end to the current Palestine-Israel war because they want their children ‘alive and not dead’ – it expresses clearly how bestial this war really is.

Ever since Israel was established in 1948, there has emerged a political crisis in the region which is one of the leading issues of the Middle-East. The issue transcends national boundaries, as international politics played an important role in transmogrifying it.

In this international political chessboard, women were and are considered as the symbolic ‘carriers of national identity’ in the discourse of nationalism in both Israel and Palestine. Their fertility is a major topic of discussion and is viewed as a resource for both countries. In a similar vein, both sides celebrate their female citizens’ biological abilities to uphold their distinct national and ethnic identities.

The postcolonial ideology prevalent in understanding feminism in Israel and the Palestinian territories are essentially predicated on the recognition of the various power relations in which women are the victims in the interconnection of national and gender struggles.

Women in these regions have played an important role as peacemakers and even during this on-going war, their efforts to maintain peace is still unbroken. Despite the inexorable differences in opinions between women from these two regions, they have united in their demand for an end to the war, as the destruction caused due to it is devastating.

(Author: Rajeshwari Sharma works as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science, Sanchaman Limboo Government College, Gyalshing, West Sikkim)