Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes WATC was originally established in 1992. This point was confirmed by Lubna Al‐Asqar, the current editor of the newspaper, in an interview conducted on the phone on December 27, 2003. Some changes have been taking place, especially in electronic media where some women journalists have seized central positions in Arab Satellite TV networks, such as Al‐Jazeera, Al‐Arabiya, and Abu‐Dhabi. Nevertheless, an examination of the journalists and commentators in the three Palestinian dailies—Al‐Quds, Al‐Ayyam, and Al‐Hiat Al‐Jadida—demonstrate clearly that the vast majority are men. Personal interview with Na'eem Tubasi, head of the Palestinian Journalists Union, December 28, 2003. According to public opinion polls taken in the late 1990s, most Palestinians thought the Palestinian media to be manipulated by the PA and not independent. All daily newspapers reflected the accepted belief that the struggle for women's rights should be secondary to the rights of the Palestinian nation and should come only after independence is achieved (public opinion polls nos. 29 and 33, August 1998 and October 1999, respectively; Jerusalem Media and Communication Center, 1988, 1999). Look at the three dailies in the period between March and April 1998. The activities of the MP are covered but the number of reports is rather limited when compared with other issues taking place at the same time, especially the attack led by the Islamist movement. Interview with Amal Jouma'ah, editor and presenter of a Palestinian women's affairs television program, September 16, 2001. Interview with women activists. These are proper names in Arabic that have no translation. See the Work Plan, National Strategy Project for Palestinian Women, prepared by the General Union of Palestinian Women, 2000 (a circulated document). The current editor of the newspaper confirmed that the public takes the newspaper more seriously, something that is encouraging them to expand the number of pages and the number of editions published (personal interview, December 27, 2003). The division between the different subject matters is not always clear. There is much overlapping between the subject such as between social and health issues. Therefore, sometimes I made arbitrary divisions in order to make the picture clearer. See issue no. 78, August 12, 1999 and issue no. 92, February 24, 2000. “Shame” is a concept prominent in Arab culture that imposes specific norms of behavior on Arab women. Arab women are also perceived as a source of shame, disgrace, or dishonor. The GUPW acted outside of Palestine under the auspices of the PLO until 1994. When its leaders returned to the homeland, they claimed to be the union that encompasses all women's organizations in Palestine. These claims have raised the tension with other organizations that were established in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and tended to keep themselves outside the union, for they did not want to identify themselves with the PA as the GUPW did. See a critique of such social habits and norms in the novels and stories of the Palestinian novelist Sahar Khalifa, especially in Lam Nauod Jawariya Lakum (We Are Not Your Slaves Anymore) and Al‐Mirath (The Inheritance).
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Oct 10, 2024
Diana Allan + 1
Open Access