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Why we need feminism to call for a cease-fire in Gaza
The feminist approach urging collaboration instead of competition, which is a pillar of Indonesia's foreign policy stance, is crucial to urging a cease-fire in Gaza and halting the rise in civilian casualties, most of which are children, women and people of other vulnerable groups.
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Patients and internally displaced Palestinians shelter on Nov. 10, 2023 at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas militant group. Heavy fighting encircled the hospital as Israel said it had killed dozens of militants and destroyed the group’s underground tunnels, key to Hamas’s guerilla tactics. (AFP/Khader Al Zanoun)
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ombating genocide and military occupation to acknowledge women and other non-male genders as fully human is the essence of feminism. Priority must be given to feminism for its noncompetitive nature, which entails collaboration rather than competition in pursuing a gender just society.
In addition, feminism is a social movement that mobilizes individuals to advocate for the equality and freedom of all people.
We argue that the violent and discriminatory actions of the Israeli military have gravely harmed the rights of Palestinian women. It is critical to demand a cessation of hostilities in Gaza to avert worsening of the protracted conflict and its severe consequences for vulnerable populations, such as children and women.
The Israeli government has thus far maintained heightened security along the borders of the contested territories between Palestine and Israel. Israel has enacted policies that demand the obedience of Palestinian society, in particular Palestinian women.
Israel’s policy for Palestine, ranging from the private to public realms, was in place even before the current war and remains unchanged to this day.
First, it places limitations on personal mobility. As a result of the restriction on free mobility, pregnant women, female laborers and female students are allegedly subjected to unique challenges that jeopardize their access to necessities, such as health care, education, respectable employment and a sufficient standard of living. Physical violence and checkpoint measures disproportionately affect Palestinian women, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in 2014.
Second, Palestinian women desiring to wed men from the West Bank or Gaza are ineligible for obtaining a union/marriage certificate. In 1997, after a couple’s successful family reunification application, the Israeli Interior Ministry was presented with an opportunity to bestow permanent resident status upon the spouse from the occupied territory.
