International Women’s Day: Join Palestinian Women in Our Resistance

by Global Ministries | published on Oct 10, 2014

YWCA of #Palestine issues a call for solidarity

The United Nations theme this year for International Women’s Day, celebrated annually on March 8 is “Inspiring Change.” Palestinian Refugee Women Lead the Way Forward by Taking Us Back

“Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including “her” own, and to return to “her” country.”
–Article 13, from Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The YWCA of Palestine would like to lift up the Palestinian women in our refugee camps this year who have inspired us to create a project honoring their stories called The Fabric of Our Lives. Their tragic stories of dispossession, death, and destruction and their steadfast hope for a return to their home and lands have inspired us to continue to call for the Right of Return as an essential component of a Just Peace in this ongoing conflict. The fabric of Palestinian lives was ripped apart between 1947-1949 when over 750,000 Palestinians were forced from their homes and lands in what is called al-Nakba, the Great Catastrophe. By listening to the women tell their stories about what happened that day or days, how they have survived not only this catastrophe but many more due to Israel’s ongoing occupation, the longest in history, we have come to a new understanding about the role of women’s leadership and dignity in trying to keep their families and communities together. These brave Palestinian women, with their embroidered dresses and large keys, inspire us to continue to work for freedom, justice and peace for all (goals for UNSCR 1325). The YWCA of Palestine urges our sister YWCAs as well as all organizations to working for human rights to join us this year in lifting up the lives of our elders who continue to inspire us to work hard for peace and justice.

Call for Action:

Support the YWCA of Palestine’s mission in continuing to empower women to resist economic, political, and social violence;
Come to our international conference and pre-conference Witness Visit: “Women’s Freedom, Peace and Dignity in Palestine UNSCR 1325 for Accountability” (Sept. 29-Oct. 1, 2014) [Contact us for more information.]
Support the Fabric of Our Lives Project by buying one of our dolls or advocating for The Right of Return for Palestinian refugees worldwide;
Join with Palestinian Christians in their call for ending the military occupation of the State of Palestine through morally responsible investment, boycotts, divestment, and sanctions (Kairos Palestine).