Voice of Women
Issue no. 288
May 8th, 2008
In this issue:
Persecution, blackmail and violation of rights
When men lose their jobs
Persecution, blackmail and violation of rights
By Itaf Dauglas, Nablus
Palestinian women have stood firm and endured much pain and hardship in their struggle to survive. Yet because of the deteriorating economic situation, some have become desperate and have been forced to search for jobs inside of the Green Line (in Israel). But even there they continue to suffer under the occupation. Many have stood patient through their struggles, many have had their rights violated and many continue to work in spite of the hardships and the difficulties that they face, determined to live with dignity and refusing to beg for money from anyone.
Palestinians who work in Israel suffer in many ways. They face problems commuting to work and problems at their jobs. They are frequently threatened with blackmail by their employers who are concerned only about profit. Some also experience verbal or physical abuse by their employers.
"Our financial situation has continued to get worse since the start of the Al Aqsa Intifada," says JK, a woman from the north of Nablus. "We were barely able to meet our daily needs after my husband became unemployed due to health problems. I tried every possible way to find a job. I went to some of the organizations that fund small projects and I was able to get a loan with which I bought several sheep. But with my other responsibilities and the expense of raising the sheep, this project became even more demanding than taking care of myself and my family, and eventually I was forced to sell them to pay off some of my debt."
A worse alternative
"After selling my sheep," JK continues with a sigh, "I began searching for a different job, but with no luck. I then heard about someone who could take me into Israel to work in a Palestinian city inside of the Green Line. They said I could work for a farmer picking cucumbers. So me and a number of other women from my village and the neighboring villages started going there daily to work. It takes us four hours to get to work; we have to leave the house at around 3 a.m. in the morning. We face many difficulties while traveling through the back roads: sometimes we are forced to hide for hours behind hay and rocks in order to get to work safely. Whenever we got caught by Israeli soldiers they would detain us for many hours. Several times they transferred us to the investigation offices, accusing us of plotting an attack against Israel. Even if they didn't arrest us, the Israeli soldiers would detain us for hours under the burning sun. Our Israeli employers would not make an effort to save us from this ordeal by getting work permits for us so that we could enter Israel without problems."
"When we finally manage to get to work, our problems with our employers begin. They yell at us as if we are their slaves. They give us orders to finish our work quickly and to harvest a large quantity. They only provide us with a half hour break to eat the food that we bring with us from our homes. After we are done with work the supervisors usually come to make sure that we did not steal anything from the land. If anyone gets caught stealing, their punishment is severe: their salary is docked and they are given a warning and sometimes fired."
JK says that the struggles that she and the other women that work in Israel face do not end there. The greatest problem is when their rights are violated when their employer refuses to give them their wages, sometimes calling the police and claiming that they do not work for him in order to cheat them out of their money, or even threatening the worker with her honor (ie. accuse her of an immoral act which would severely damage her standing in her community). If that happens, the employee usually surrenders her rights and has no option but to quit her job.
There are many women like JK who work in Israel and are subjected to this kind of treatment. Some work at Israeli settlements, where conditions are even more dangerous and difficult, but the poor economic situation forces them to go to such drastic measures. Their lives are constantly danger in this kind of work and yet their only option is to remain silent in order to keep their jobs so that they can provide food for themselves and for their families.
Systematically exploited
"Palestinians who work inside of the Green Line face many difficulties and the women experience harsher conditions than the men in terms of their wages and the type of work that they do," says Shar S'aad, Secretary General of the Federation of Trade Unions. "Many employees that work in Israel experience serious violations of their rights. Because of the closure that Israel has implemented, we are unable to follow up and make sure that these employees' rights are preserved when they work inside of the Green Line. Israel closes roads in order to prevent workers from entering Israel without legal permits. There are more than 10 000 workers that work with legal permits as regular employees and more than 75 000 workers that work in Israel without permits, meaning that their jobs are irregular, which contributes to the drastic increase in unemployment and poverty."
"Israel also arrests and detains workers and forces them to pay large fines. And when they are arrested they are forced to sign an oath that they will not come back again. If they are caught again they are subjected to a long interrogation. By the end of 2007 about 6 600 of those who worked inside of the Green Line had experienced arrest."
An Israeli human rights organization criticized Israel for taking advantage of the Palestinian workers inside of the Green Line, blocking the roads and preventing them from moving freely. "Israel has increased its acts of violence against and oppression of these employees, using its power illegally, such as using blackmail to obtain information," it said.
When men lose their jobs
By Hana Abu Dgeem
With Gaza under an ongoing Israeli military closure, the Palestinian economy has become paralyzed. Thousands of men have been left unemployed, having lost their source of income. In this context, many women have entered the work force to prevent their families from falling apart, without much space for debate of this shift of family roles. Many of these women will take whatever work they can find, even if they have a university degree in a completely different field.
Sales clerk with a university degree
As I entered a women's clothing store in the center of Gaza City, a friendly clerk smiled at me and greeted me warmly in the usual manner with which most of us are familiar. When I informed her that I was a journalist and asked if I could interview her she began telling me about the circumstances in her town. "The situation is depressing," she said. "Instead of having an office job I am stuck here selling clothes."
She told us her name was Hanaa and she had graduated from the Islamic University of Gaza three years ago where she had majored in computer science. "Since I graduated I haven't been able to find a job, not even in the government or in a private organization, despite the fact that my college grades and my qualifications are above average. But it's been three years now and I haven't been able to get out of this situation."
"My father is unemployed and I have three brothers who are younger than me who need to finish high school and get college degrees. So I need to work, regardless of what kind of work it is." She took a deep breath. "I got this job when I came here once with a friend of mine. I heard Abu Mohammed, the owner of the store, saying that he needed a woman to work at his store since it only sells women's clothes and it's difficult for a man to handle this kind of job. I told myself 'Why not? It is better than nothing!' So I've been working here for three months and getting a good salary."
Better than begging
When I met Um Sa'eed, she refused to speak to me until I had promised not to publish her full name. She said that most people consider it shameful for women to work outside of the house. "But it's better for women to work than to have to beg from people on the streets," she said. Um Sa'eed works as a weekly housekeeper for respectable, well-to-do families, which allows her to earn some money while still preserving her dignity.
"One of my neighbors once asked me to help her clean a house," she told me. "That day I got a small sum of money for my work. Then she urged me to go with her to clean other houses. At first I refused. But then she began introducing me to some of her relatives and after a while I became popular among the respectable upper class families. Now I make quite a decent amount of money working for them. At first, doing this kind of work was not easy for me, especially after experiencing the luxurious lifestyle that Abu Sa'eed used to provide for me. But what can you do when you are in need?"
We asked how her family reacted when she began working. "At first, Abu Sa'eed didn't like the idea. But I convinced him that we needed to do this for our family. My oldest child, who is fifteen, asked me, 'Mom, do you work as a maid?!' I explained to him that what I do is honorable work. I asked him if he would rather that I work for respectable people cleaning their houses or sit on the street and beg for money. He looked at me and realized that that would be worse."
Why does your wife work?
Hundreds of women are beginning to enter the work force. In many cases their husbands do not really approve of the idea of them working but realize that it is necessary under their financial circumstances. Shareefa, a 33-years-old woman, told us that that if her husband was ever able to get his job back at the factory he would make her stay home and would not allow her to work any more.
Shareefa works as a tailor at a small factory for one of the clothing stores in Gaza. "Ever since I was a little girl I loved to sew," she told us. "I attended several training courses that were offered by UNWRA. Before I got married, I used to work at a factory. But when I got married my husband would not let me work any more. 'No wife of mine leaves her house to work,' he told me." But after her husband was laid off from the concrete factory where he worked, Shareefa started working again. "My husband was hesitant to let me go back to work, but he did not have much of a choice," she said. "We have six children who don't understand anything about this world except that they need to eat and drink. But I'm certain that if my husband ever goes back to his job he will force me to stay at home, disregarding my desire to work. That kills me."
Munira's situation is similar, although I only spoke to her husband, Faisal, and did not have the opportunity to speak to her. "I do not believe that women should work but sometimes the circumstances force us to do things we don't like," he told me. "That is to say that due to the closure I lost my job and so I was forced to allow my wife to work at a daycare center. She used to work at the daycare before we had children, but when we had our first child I felt that my child's needs should come first. So I wanted her to stay at home."
When Kasem, another man, overhead my conversation with Faisal, he interrupted us. "What difference does it make if your wife works because she likes working or because of financial difficulties?" he said in amazement. "Either way, she is going out to work! But some men think that only if she is working due to financial difficulties it is okay, but if it's for her own fulfillment then it's wrong. What age are we living in?!"
Kasem, like many of the women we spoke to, said that often whether a woman is permitted to work or not is really about men asserting their authority and their decision is usually not based on whether or not they agree with the idea of women working but is made out of their desire to stay in control and satisfy their own needs.
Under the current circumstances, it is difficult to tell whether the increase in the number of women that are entering the work force in Gaza is due to the difficult financial situation or to a growing awareness among men of the important role working women play.
