Mobilising women: social change and political: organisation in the west bank and Gaza strip, 1967-1990

Abstract

This thesis examines the mobilisation of women in the Palestinian national movement in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The introduction seeks to place the issues raised in the body of the thesis within the general context of the experience of women in Africa and Asia. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the nature of Israeli occupation, and the development of Palestinian responses to it. The thesis then offers a historical account of the growth of Palestinian women's organisations in the context of anti-colonial, and nationalist, politics. Subsequent chapters consider the impact of social issues on the role of women within Palestinian society, and the relationship of women's organisations to the national movement. Within this context, the underlying theme of the thesis is the nature of the relationship between the politics of nation, class and gender under military occupation.