writing_womans_lives_symposium_paper_book_v2

Factors such as age, gender, personality and upbringing are only one side of the coin. In my
opinion, what also contributes to such differences is perception. That is what this research highlights
as well; the impact of the Nakba was explored through the women’s perceptions which varied. On
the one hand, Najat expressed repeatedly that despite the hardships her family endured, their ‘exile’
was relatively civilized in comparison to other Palestinians, while Siham never perceived it as such.
Although many trends and observations can be pulled out from the narratives of Palestinian
women and specifically from the literature that I reviewed, I feel it is very hard to generalize the
impact that the Nakba had on Palestinians, regardless of the framework adopted.
Personally, I believe that research that captures the narratives of Palestinians who lived in
Palestine prior to the Nakba is important at this time to feed into the collective memory of the
Palestinian people, painting a picture for the younger generation; a picture of the Palestine that their
families had once known, with all its history, culture and complexity.
Keywords: Women, Nakba, Livelihood, Suvival, Dignity
Jude SAJDIi
Independent Researcher
jsajdi@hotmail.com
Jordan
Notes
1
Nakba is an Arabic word for catastrophe and refers to the expulsion of more than 750,000
Palestinians from British Mandate of Palestine in 1948, by veteran Zionist leaders and young military
Jewish officers. It is also known as the event that resulted in the ethnic cleansing of Palestine. Illan
Pappe, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine (Oxford: One world Publications, 2006).
2
Dina Mattar, What it means to be Palestinian: Stories of Palestinian Peoplehood (I.B Taurias & Co
Ltd, 2011), xii.
3
Pappe, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine.
Avi Shlaim, The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World (London: Penguin Books, 2000).
4
Rosemary Sayigh, The Palestinians: From Peasants to Revolutionaries (London Zed Books, 1979).
Rosemary Sayigh, Too Many Enemies: The Palestinian Experience in Lebanon (London Zed Books,
1994).
5
Julie Peteet, Gender in Crisis: Women and the Palestinian Resistance Movement (Colombia
University Press, 1991).
6
Sherna Berger Gluck, “Palestinian Women: Gender Politics and Nationalism,” Journal of Palestine
Studies 24, no.3 (1995), http://www.jstor.org/stable/2537876
7
Alkire, S. A Conceptual Framework for Human Security (Working Paper 2). Queen Elizabeth
House, University of Oxford (2003): 3. http://economics.ouls.ox.ac.uk/13003/
8
Alkire, A Conceptual Framework for Human Security.
9
Jiren – is an Arabic word for a boat that was used to carry and transport oranges by sea.
Bibliography
Alkire, Sabina. A Conceptual Framework for Human Security (Working Paper 2). Queen Elizabeth House,
University of Oxford, 2003. http://economics.ouls.ox.ac.uk/13003/ (accessed December 15, 2012)
Gluck, Sherna Berger. “Palestinian Women: Gender Politics and Nationalism.” Journal of Palestine
Studies 24, no. 3. (1995) http://www.jstor.org/stable/2537876. (accessed March 16, 2014)
Matar, Dina. What it means to be Palestinian: Stories of Palestinian Peoplehood. I.B.Tauris &Co Ltd,
2011.
Pappe, Illan. The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. Oxford: One world Publications, 2006.
Peteet, Julie. Gender in Crisis: Women and the Palestinian Resistance Movement. Colombia University
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Sayigh, Rosemary. The Palestinians: From Peasants to Revolutionaries. London Zed Books, 1979.
Sayigh, Rosemary. Too Many Enemies: The Palestinian Experience in Lebanon. London Zed Books, 1994.
Shlaim, Avi. The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World. London: Penguin Books, 2000.
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