© Ashraf Amra/APA imagesWomen in Gaza mark International Women’s Day by calling for the release of Palestinian prisoners, 7 March.
"In
Gaza we don't lead normal lives, we just cope, and adapt to our abnormal lives under
siege and occupation," said Dr. Mona El-Farra, a physician and a long-time women's rights activist in the Gaza Strip. On
International Women's Day, when many of the world's women are fighting for workplace equality and an end to domestic violence, Farra and the majority of Gaza's women fight for the most basic of rights.
"
It is difficult to live in this small piece of land, where basic needs like clean water, regular electricity, proper sanitation and means of recreation are not met. Women in Gaza are particularly traumatized by the continuous Israeli military attacks," said Farra.
A 2009
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) report highlighted the suffering of Palestinian women under the illegal Israeli-led siege imposed on Gaza, and under the 23 days of
Israeli attacks in 2008-2009 which killed over 1,400 Palestinians, including 112 women.
The report noted Gazan women's continued struggle "as they attempt to come to terms with their grief and their injuries; with the loss of their children, their husbands, their relatives, their homes and their livelihoods" ("
Through women's eyes," 28 September 2009).
For Hiba an-Nabaheen, 24, a media studies graduate from Gaza's Palestine University, the biggest issues facing women in Gaza are the
poverty and unemployment that result from the siege.
Comment: It's sad that even with clear evidence of the incompetence of the LAPD in this case, the public is still brainwashed to excuse them. Just a variation of "supporting the troops" regardless of their psychopathic actions.