Palestinian Gandhis Part III: Activism Begins at Home

The third installment in our "Palestinian Gandhi" series highlights the work of longtime Palestinian activists Mona Al-Farra. Al-Farra, a life-long Gaza resident, is interviewed below. Pam Bailey provides this introduction:

Many of the “Gandhis” featured in this video series are relatively unknown, even within some areas of the Gaza Strip. As small as it is (about twice the size of Washington DC), southern Gaza is considered culturally different from northern Gaza, for example. And residents rarely travel between them or know the people outside of their “stomping grounds.” However, Mona El-Farra is well-known everywhere, and even to many activists outside Gaza.

A physician by training and a human and women’s rights activist by practice, she is a native Gazan, born in Khan Younis, in the southern stretch of the Strip. Mona was transformed into an activist at the young age of 13, during the 1967 (“Six Day”) war. She and her family hid in the basement of their home for about five days, then came face to face with Israelis for the first time – but as occupiers. From that day on, she joined the demonstrations protesting the occupation. The war had another effect – it decided her career. Mona decided to go to medical school because of what she saw during the war -- the wounded people overcrowding hospitals without adequate medical equipment. However, as you will learn from the video, she has since branched out into many other charitable endeavors.

Another distinguishing characteristic of Mona is the fact that although she is Muslim, she does not wear a hijab -- whereas most women in Gaza do. What many people do not realize is that in the 1980s, when Mona was growing up, most Palestinians in Gaza did not wear the hijab (or the accompanying long overcoat called a jilbab). The traditional Islamic dress did not come into “vogue” in Gaza until the outbreak of the first intifada, when – for many Palestinians -- it became an emblem of their identity and resistance to occupation. (Note – this was well before Hamas took over governance of Gaza in 2006. Although this form of dress has become more entrenched under Hamas, it did not begin with the party.) While Mona is a firm believer in the right of women to dress as they please, she also eloquently makes the point that women have long played strong roles in Palestinian society – no matter what they wear.

An Interview with Mona Al-Farra:

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