Women In The First Intifada: A New Beginning Or An Inevitable End?

Abstract

From 1987-1993 during the First Intifada in Palestine, women were granted a new, liberating political role in the Israel-Palestine conflict. Women contributed to low-level violence protest tactics, organized boycotts and supported commercial strikes. However, by the Second Intifada, from 2000-2005, women were again confined to their previous limiting role and restricted from political activity. This paper seeks to explain this change utilizing the framework of mother, daughter and wife to show that although the First Intifada granted liberation to women, it did so within the confines of oppressive gender roles, especially for mothers and wives. The rigidity of these gender roles throughout the First Intifada explains why the lack of permanent liberation is unsurprising.