Ramallah – 8th March 2014: Women Journalists are exposed to right’s violations in Palestine, and there are several attempts aimed to silence them and limit their ability to express. The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) has monitored disturbing patterns of violations against women journalists, committed by the Israeli occupation forces and various Palestinian sides in the West Bank and Gaza.
Palestinian women journalists have suffered over the past years of Israeli occupation violations when they are covering different events. For example, Diala Jwehan- Al-Quds Net correspondent was exposed to many injuries and violations, the most recent was last week when she was covering clashes in the city of Jerusalem. Jwehan says:
“The occupation always targets anyone in the media field, but they see me as a weak woman, and they believe they can intimidate me by their repeated physically attacks on me. In fact, these violations gave me the motivation and determination to continue with quality and more comprehensive work in the media”.
Among the Israeli violations MADA also recalls the attack on Huda Alhodali – Associated Press photographer last year, while she was covering the evection of the “Al Nawater village” near Jerusalem, where she was pushed and treated harshly by Israeli occupation soldiers, and she fell on her back on a big stone.
Another incident, Linda Shalash Al-Quds TV correspondent was sprayed with wastewater by occupation soldiers during her coverage of the second batch of Palestinian prisoners release “Shalit Deal”, after midnight on 30th October 2013. Shalash reported to MADA
“I fell on the ground from the power of water pressure, and I was fully soaked, despite of it I continued my work and I went to the presidential residence in the province to cover the entire activities of the Prisoners, where they held a welcoming reception for them”.
Palestinian Violation against Women Journalists
On 6th March 2014, 48 hours prior to the International Women’s Day, Faten Alwan- Alhura channel correspondent was pushed and threatened by a member of security forces while she was covering a women’s protest in front of the Palestinian Authority Headquarters “Almoqata’a” in Ramallah, demanding amendments on the Penal code and the personal status for women law, especially in regard to the so-called “honor killings”. Alwan Reported to MADA:
“A security personnel in his civil cloth started pushing us and all the journalists who were present on site, including my colleague, Yahya Habayeb- Alhura TV cameraman, and when I asked him why are you doing this? He commanded me to stay away or he will confiscate the camera, and when I asked him what his name was, he told me: “you journalists need discipline”, and then he said: Thank your Lord that you are not a man”. Alwan said she insisted on knowing his name so she can file a complaint against him, but he told her: “I'm a ghost no one can punish me”.
Things did not stop there; the Ministry of Palestinian Women's Affairs withheld the honoring of Nahed Abu Taima "a journalist and Informative" because of her criticism of the government, parties and institutions for not protecting women in Palestine on her Facebook page. The Incident raised the ire of other women journalists like Amal Joma’a, Ruba Alnajjar, and Christine Alrinawe, which led to their refusal to be honored by the ministry at its honorary ceremony that is supposed to be held to mark the International Women's Day.
Abu Taima reported to MADA: “There is a heavy burden on Palestinian women, and for 20 years we have begged the successive governments to protect women by amending the legal penalties and personal status, but without a avail, and since all Palestinian laws guarantee citizens the right to freedom of expression, it is our right as journalists to express our opinions about the government's different policies especially those relating to women. The attempts to intimidate women journalists, offending and abusing them in any form, and imposing censorship on their writing are unacceptable and contrary to the spirit of the laws”.
In Gaza, women journalists face numerous threats due to their profession. Samia Alzebidi “journalist” reported to MADA that she had received several threats and in different ways from an unidentified person for expressing her opinion,and that sometimes the threat is padded and alludes to the possibility of fabrication of a moral case against the journalist if she continues her criticism of the government.
Nofuth Albakri – Alhaya Aljadeda newspaper correspondent reported to MADA - who monitored numerous attacks on her in the past years –That there are many obstacles that limit the ability of journalists to practice journalism in Gaza, and she noted that the security forces and officials exercise hiden and evident violations on the right of journalists. One example of this is the difficulty of access to information by journalists, where officials could deal with journalists in the smoothest and fastest manners, and women journalists are harassed and forced sometimes to wear a veil before entering for some events.
Albakri added: “we also face the problems of access to some places; In general the police or security can stop a taxi and inquire about the reason for our presence in the car with the driver without a man, which hinders our work and our access to many of the events. In addition, when we go to cover in the field, they push young men to harass us by entering our personal space and stand very near to us”.
On the International Women's Day, MADA express its pride of Palestinian women journalists for being role models in exercising their profession, their insistence on disseminating the suffering of their people under the Israeli occupation and siege captured in words and images, and their great efforts to showcase the reality of Palestinian women and other issues of concern to the Palestinian community despite of all the difficulties, obstacles, and repression they face.
MADA congratulates the women of Palestine and the world, especially women journalists, and it condemns all attacks on their rights, and demands all parties concerned and responsible to protect women journalists and empower them to do their work in complete freedom, and to hold accountable all those responsible for all the attacks of their rights, and we demand an end to discrimination against women journalists, and to enable them to reach leadership positions at media outlets.
