•           CONTENT OVERVIEW           
  • ​                    DISCUSSION QUESTIONS                  
  •              RELEVANT TEACH-INS             
<
>
In this composite teaching module, we present curated segments of teach-ins focused on the theme of Women in the Resistance Movement. Our featured experts and speakers illuminate how Palestinian women have emerged as central figures of resistance, navigating and challenging the intersecting pressures of military occupation and shifting gender roles. In the face of widespread imprisonment and loss of male relatives, women often take on dual roles as caretakers and protectors, stepping into traditionally male responsibilities while continuing to sustain their families and communities. This shift highlights how occupation disrupts and reshapes gender dynamics, intensifying the burdens placed on women and girls. Simultaneously, Palestinian women act as powerful truth-tellers, using their voices, bodies, and lived experiences to document injustice, preserve memory, and resist erasure. Through storytelling, political activism, and the labor of everyday survival, they assert the right to narrate their own realities, becoming living archives of resilience, loss, and collective strength. In what ways does the occupation reshape traditional gender roles within Palestinian families and communities? How do Palestinian women use storytelling and activism as forms of resistance and truth-telling?

  1. How does the role of Palestinian women as both caregivers and political actors challenge traditional ideas of leadership and resistance?
  2. In what ways can the concept of "truth-telling" help us understand the importance of women's lived experiences in resisting erasure and preserving collective memory? 
  3. How do you think the responsibilities of Palestinian girls and young women, who often take on caregiving roles during the occupation, might affect their future?

All segments in this Composite Module are drawn from the below teach-ins. Click on the title to watch the full teach-in.

Gender Roles in Palestine 

Amahl Bishara explores how the Israeli occupation deeply affects Palestinian women as mothers and caregivers, emphasizing their suffering, loss, and the emotional weight they carry. She highlights the importance of remembering the maternal figures and support networks around children, noting how the occupation disrupts traditional gender roles, with children — especially girls — often taking on caregiving responsibilities in the absence of adults.

Gendered Impact of the Occupation

Palestinian women face a profound gendered impact as traditional roles are disrupted and reshaped by the ongoing occupation. With the frequent imprisonment or death of male family members, women often take on dual roles as both caregivers and protectors, responsibilities traditionally held by men. This shift increases the burden on women, who not only maintain households but also engage in political resistance and activism. Gender roles are further strained as women navigate the challenges of sustaining family life amidst violence and displacement, all while challenging systems that seek to suppress their voices and agency. The occupation magnifies the emotional and physical labor women undertake, reinforcing their centrality in both the private and public spheres of Palestinian life.

The Role of Women Living Under Occupation Through Lived Experiences

Janna Jihad shares how, growing up under Israeli occupation in the West Bank, her mother and grandmother took on dual roles as caretakers and protectors in the absence of imprisoned male relatives. She highlights how this experience is common among Palestinian families, with women often stepping into both maternal and paternal roles to sustain and defend their households amid ongoing occupation.

Emphasizing the Role of Palestinian Women as Truth Tellers 

Palestinian women have long played a vital role as truth-tellers, bearing witness to the injustices of occupation, displacement, and systemic violence. Through oral histories, literature, journalism, and activism, they have preserved and conveyed the lived realities of their communities, often challenging dominant narratives that erase or marginalize Palestinian experiences. As mothers, educators, writers, and activists, these women assert the power of memory and testimony, using their voices to document loss, resilience, and resistance. In doing so, they not only safeguard collective identity but also confront global audiences with the human cost of conflict and dispossession.

The Idea of Memoricide 

Dina Matar emphasizes the role of Palestinian women as vital holders of memory and social history, warning of “memoricide” — the erasure that occurs with the loss of these key transmitters of collective knowledge. She highlights their resilience and strength, noting how, even in the face of violence and displacement, Palestinian women sustain community, support one another, and embody a persistent will to live.

The Active Role of Palestinian Feminism

Stephanie Wahab highlights Palestinian and Arab feminists as truth-tellers who actively narrate and resist systems of oppression. She emphasizes how Palestinian women, often targeted because their bodies symbolize land and sovereignty, use their lived experiences to expose injustice. As “living archives,” these women embody and transmit collective memory, challenging erasure and asserting the possibility of liberation through their testimonies.

Zionists' Targeting of Palestinian Women in the Resistance Movement

Lila Adib Sharif discusses how systems of oppression specifically target women as carriers of indigenous knowledge. She explains that Zionist strategies have not only sought to erase Palestinian knowledge itself but also to eliminate its transmitters, including elders, mothers, teachers, and other women who serve as cultural and intellectual anchors across generations.