One year has passed since the world witnessed the intensification of war crimes and the horrific genocide in Gaza, perpetrated by Israel. This is the start of a blog series, which offers a nuanced feminist understanding of the longstanding, intersecting systems of oppression in Palestine. This piece interrogates power structures and uncovers the interconnectedness of patriarchy, militarism and colonialism in perpetuating the ongoing violence.
One year has passed since the world witnessed the intensification of war crimes and the horrific genocide in Gaza, perpetrated by Israel. It has not stopped, and the violence continues to seep into neighbouring countries, affecting the lives and the political stability in the region.
This is the start of a blog series that will explore different narratives outside the reductionist existing binary and will employ a feminist analysis framework for understanding the violence in Palestine as gendered – not as the result of a “conflict” but as a result of the intentional politics of settler colonialism–the systemic displacement and subjugation of an Indigenous population by a settler group, enabled by patriarchal structures and militaristic powers.
These blogs will provide analysis on what feminist alternatives are there and unpack the root causes of violence through a feminist lens including: how settler colonialism, patriarchy and militarism intersect, analysing their impact on women, racialised groups, social structures, environment, and the broader political economy in Palestine.
The current dominant narrative of two groups — the Palestinians and the Israelis — fighting over the land is misleading. It overlooks the deeper, historic power structures of settler colonialism, patriarchy and militarism, and shifts the focus from the liberation of oppressed people to resolving a conflict. Such reductionist frameworks overlook the systemic nature of settler colonialism, patriarchal structures, and militarism and the role of imperialist powers in perpetuating the imbalance of power. In Palestine this has manifested in decades of violence. This includes; unlawful occupation, forced displacement, dispossession, ethnic cleansing, exploitation of resources and labour, and apartheid.
By ignoring the long-term gendered impact of systematic displacement, land appropriation and compounded patriarchal structures, these narratives fail to acknowledge the historical and ongoing injustices faced by Palestinians including Palestinian women. Settler colonialism is obscured, and the fundamental issues of Indigenous rights, self-determination and gender justice are overlooked.
Our aim through these blogs is to open up space for thoughts, imagination, and discussions on how justice, feminist peace and equality could be achieved, hoping to advance a feminist agenda for liberation grounded in equality, justice, solidarity and collective action.
A Feminist Lens on Ending Systemic Violence
A feminist and decolonial critique of the so-called peace processes reveals the fundamental shortcomings as they surface the realities of colonisation and power imbalance. Peace agreements and mediation attempts have failed due to deeply entrenched power imbalances, geopolitical interests and the lack of acknowledgment of the settler colonial nature of Israeli occupation, which has meant that the root cause of the violence has not been adequately addressed.
The substantial military and financial support provided by economically and militarily dominant states, plays a significant role in enabling Israel’s defiance and violations of international law. The U.S., for example, has consistently provided military aid to Israel and has used its veto power to block UN Security Council resolutions critical of Israeli actions. This alignment helps sustain Israel’s settler colonial policies and allows for the continued expansion of control over Palestinian lands and the ethnic cleansing of the Indigenous population.
Examining systemic violence through a feminist and intersectional lens helps us understand how deeply rooted this oppression is in overlapping power structures. It also reveals the urgent need to move beyond the dominant “conflict” narrative, which often seeks a superficial balance of power, and towards more profound and transformative justice.
Towards a Feminist Liberation Agenda
The agenda for feminist liberation is deeply intertwined with the broader struggle for justice, equality and self-determination. This liberation agenda aims to dismantle all forms of oppression by recognizing the deep interconnection between colonialism and patriarchy. The fight against colonialism is inherently linked to the fight against patriarchy, as both systems rely on hierarchies of power, domination, and control. Gender-based violence and apartheid systems are tools used to maintain these oppressive structures, reinforcing one another. Thus, the call for liberation must simultaneously demand an end to both colonial and patriarchal violence in order to achieve true justice and equality.
Justice could begin by dismantling settler colonial systems and patriarchal structures, as well as the apartheid regime through the restoration of Palestinian inalienable rights and sovereignty. A decolonial approach to justice would also include delegitimizing Zionist narratives that have justified land expropriation and the erasure of Palestinian history and identity. Restoring the names, cultural heritage, and historical significance of Palestinian places that have been renamed or erased is a key aspect of this process, as it should not only include the removal of physical barriers like the separation wall, but also decolonisation of narratives, where the dignity and self-determination of Palestinians are restored.
Such an approach necessarily brings the collective decolonial struggle of the Global South at the forefront, harnesses solidarity and movement building, and creates stronger links with other similar contexts, than merely looking at it as a particular issue between the two people.
In pursuit of moving towards a feminist liberation agenda, we will continue to collectively develop and advocate for feminist narratives with Palestinians and partners. These narratives examine the complex layers of oppression, as well as the gendered and racial violence created, reinforced, and sustained by colonial and patriarchal power structures. Through our blogs we will explore the root causes of militarism, colonialism, patriarchy, and the economic and environmental exploitation and dispossession in Palestine.