It’s truly amazing just how far The Guardian can go when it comes to blaming Israel. Angela Robson takes a look at the status of women in Gaza and carries out some interviews:
“Before the blockade, my husband used to make good money working in Israel,” she says. “With the blockade, that all stopped. When he can’t find any work and we have nothing to eat, he blames me. He is a like a crazy animal. I stay quiet when he hits me. Afterwards, he cries and says, if he had a job, he wouldn’t beat me.”
It is five years since Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip and Israel tightened its siege of the territory. Many men became jobless overnight and it is women who have ended up bearing the brunt of their husbands’ frustration.
So let’s get this straight – Israel is the reason that Palestinian men beat their wives.
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Maybe The Guardian’s journalist might like to consider that violence against women might very well be a by-product of a society that glorifies violence and terrorism, where children can spend their summers learning jihadi skills at Hamas sleepaway camps.
And what about Hamas control over Gaza, which encourages a conservative Islamic attitude towards women, curtailing their freedoms, opportunities and even their dress codes?
Nowadays, with the blockade cutting off 1.6 million Palestinians from the rest of the world, conservatism dominates much of daily life.
So, according to The Guardian, it is Israel’s blockade that has led to increasing conservatism and nothing to do with an extreme, misogynistic Hamas government. Indeed, nowhere in the article is Hamas responsible for any of the social ills afflicting Gazans. The only possible culprit is Israel.
And what of the barriers to Gazan women’s liberation?
So many doors have been closed to Palestinian women in Gaza. It’s like getting out of one prison only to find another door closed. There are many obstacles – the occupation, the blockade, the internal Palestinian division.
Considering that Israel left Gaza in 2005, it’s somewhat bizarre that “the occupation” is having such a negative impact on women’s rights in the territory.
What’s next? Will The Guardian blame Israel if Palestinian athletes fail to win any medals at the London Olympics?
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