Activists, Lobbyists, and Suicide Bombers: Lessons from the Palestinian Women’s Movement

This essay offers an overview of the recent history of the Palestinian women’s movement beginning with the first intifada (1988-93), passing through the post-Oslo years, and ending with Al Aqsa Intifada (2000–present) in order to highlight the silences of this movement regarding issues of sexuality, militarization, and religion. Amireh argues that these silences were justified by a hegemonic national prioritization paradigm that evaded dealing with women’s issues and by a smear campaign conducted against women activists and NGOs by a vocal Islamist movement that, unlike the secular national movement, places gender and sexuality at the center of its transformative project.