The Status of Women in Gaza

Women's Political Participation

Hamas' updated 2017 "policy paper" states that "women have a central role in forming the present and future, and in building the political system." Indeed, this is the image the organization tries to project. Female leaders in Hamas' women's organization claim that the position of women within the political workings of the organization are improving, particularly on the grassroots level where many women participate in popular mobilization efforts to raise support for Hamas.

In November 2013, Hamas appointed Isra al-Mudallal to be its first English language spokesperson, in a bid to show a progressive face to its international audience. However, although Hamas has touted women's inclusion in the political movement, female representation has been consistently dismal over the past decade. The 2007 unity government with Fatah included only one female minister out of 25, Hamas member Amal Syam, who served as Minister of Women's Affairs. Seven years later in 2014, the next attempt at a unity government again included only one woman, Haifa al-Agha, in that same position. 

Women's representation is also severely limited in other decision-making bodies and forums. While Hamas brags of women's participation in the Shura Council, whose recommendations are nonbinding, women are denied representation in and access to the political bureau, whose word is binding and final. Women were completely excluded from both the 2009 reconciliation talks in Cairo and the 2014 reconciliation talks in Gaza, despite mobilizing in 2013 under the General Union for Palestinian Women to push for such initiatives. Senior Hamas official Ahmed Youssef justified the lack of female representation by saying "those who were representing Hamas and Fatah in those meetings were from high, leading positions, which are not occupied by women." Indeed, women's political participation is concentrated at the bottom. Only 3.8% of women working in legislation in Gaza occupy management level positions.

Denial of Opportunities

Women face widespread discrimination in the economic and social sectors, with limited employment opportunities and virtually no pathways to financial independence. Women's participation in the Gaza labor force is among the lowest in the world at about 22%, (global average of 50%). Accordingly, the rate of unemployment among women in Gaza is 62%, a 27% increase since Hamas' rise to power. Only 7% of employed women in Gaza are employers, while 81% are wage employees. Of those women who are unemployed, 59% is due to housekeeping and just 28% is due to studying or training (compared to 59% of unemployed men).  

Although women make up approximately 30% of the civil service, they face major discrimination in most professions. According to 2015 PCBS statistics, women constituted only 12% of doctors, 13% of lawyers, 17% of engineers and 10% of judges. While 18% of agricultural sector employees are women, land ownership is dominated almost exclusively by men, with women owning only 6% of agricultural assets and less than 1% of the natural resources. A major contributing factor to women's lack of property ownership is an enforced Sharia law stating that women are entitled to only half the inheritance of men. In reality, the situation is much worse, with around 88% of women reporting that they received no portion of inheritances to which they were entitled.

When laws are not in place to limit women's opportunity, social norms are often just as strong. Starting in 2013, Hamas instituted gender segregation in the education system, including UNRWA and Christian schools, and began to enforce a "modest" dress code in public places. The social degradation of women has even reached the level of slander, with various media sources in Gaza publishing harmful content or incitement against women, such as when Hamas-affiliated journalist Isam Shawar claimed that women were responsible for the spread of the swine flu. Such social norms stunt the ability of women to fulfill their potential from a young age, starting with decreased educational opportunities and continuing through adulthood.

Gender-Based Violence

Of particular concern is the abuse - physical, sexual, and verbal - that a large portion of women in Gaza endures. Significantly, there is no law in Gaza that prohibits violence against women within the family, sexual violence included. When women do manage to submit an official complaint, they routinely find that their complaints are not given adequate attention and are often ignored completely. The police intentionally refrain from publishing the number of complaints they receive each year, in an overt effort to discourage women from pursuing legal recourse and encourage them to solve matters within the family. Further exacerbating the situation, the administrative bodies responsible for dealing with these issues, namely the police, courts or school counselors, take little care to handle such sensitive matters discretely, and women can find themselves the subjects of public ridicule, shame and abuse when their stories spread.

In the absence of necessary laws and law enforcement mechanisms, violence against women continues at alarming rates. 16.7% of surveyed girls aged 12-17 reported undergoing physical or psychological violence at the hands of teachers or classmates. 51% of married women in Gaza have admitted to being victims of some form of violence from their husbands, be it physical, sexual, psychological, economic, or social. Perhaps as troubling as the violence itself is the prevailing norm of silence regarding this issue, as evidenced by the fact that less than 1% of abused married women chose to report it to the appropriate authorities.

A form of gender-based violence that has received significant publicity is honor killing, the murder of women and girls accused of immoral sexual conduct. Honor killings are tacitly allowed by the Hamas government, if not explicitly condoned. According to Article 18 of Penal Code no. 74 of 1936, reduced punishments may be given when the accused committed the act in order to prevent "irreparable damage to their honor." In cases where men are tried on charges of honor killing, they will often claim that it was self-defense, including protecting their honor, and be sentenced to three years of prison or less.

Yet another example of the oppressive conditions women face in the Gaza Strip is the common practice of child marriage. 29% of women in Gaza were married before the age of 18 and 13.4% before the age of 15. These numbers stand out in the Middle East, where 18% of girls are married before the age of 18 and only 3% before the age of 15.

Legal Inequality 

Women in Gaza must also deal with discriminatory practices within the judicial system. According to Islamic law, which is largely enforced by the Hamas authorities, a women's testimony is worth half that of a man's. The laws of adultery are also codified according to gender; an adulterer is punished with six months in prison, while an adulteress is jailed for two years. Similarly, a woman must pay her husband in order to divorce him, but a man can divorce his wife cost free for any reason. This policy was actually intended to "improve" the status of women, who were previously unable to initiate divorce proceedings except in very specific circumstances.

Hamas' "Code of Modesty"

In addition to the forms of gender-based oppression mentioned above, Hamas also enforces a "code of modesty" that severely restricts the basic freedoms of expression and movement. A normative dress code that Hamas has attempted to enshrine in law, mandates that women must wear a hijab, the Islamic head covering, while in schools, courthouses, or beaches. Women in Gaza have reported being approached by modesty police, who aim to enforce the dress code by intimidation. The modesty code also includes a prohibition on riding motorcycles, smoking in public, learning to drive without the presence of a man, using a male hairdresser, and even submitting complaints of incest. The far-reaching effects of the modesty code are demonstrated by the 2013 cancellation of the UNRWA marathon due to Hamas' ban on women's participation. In such a manner, Hamas has managed to restrict even a woman's ability to engage in leisure activities.