Portrayal Of Women In Palestine
Joe Sacco presents stories about women in Palestine through comics. In some instances, women appear to undergo violence such as rape and devaluation. Similarly, women are portrayed as having different views concerning wearing the hijab. Hamas, an outlawed group, also seems to exercise pressure on Palestine women to wear hijab. Some women believe that Hijab wearing is normal while others do not put on hijab.
Social pressure and religion are depicted as some of the drivers of women towards wearing hijab. Despite the difficulties that Palestine women face, some are emerging strong to challenge the toxic societal aspects that shield themselves from negativities of the society norms. Sacco depicts that Palestine women thrive in the male dominated society to champion for their rights and values (thesis). Apparently, Palestine women understand their values and attempt to uphold them or shield themselves from the patriarchal oriented violence perpetrated against them. The society are expected to be weak such that when one meets a tough one who stands for what she believes, it becomes a surprise. The narrator says that he met a Palestinian woman who spent 18 days in Jerusalem’s Russian compound and he describes her as, “one tough cookie” (97). From that description, the audience gets the sense that women are underrated in the Palestinian society. However, the women try to stand for their rights against violence despite the male domination.
For instance, the author writes “and still she’s bitter about the guys who squealed on her” and accused her wrongly (97). Despite all that, the woman would still remain strong after spending months in the Russian compound yet the men who underwent the same treatment felt so weak after the mistreatment. The low social hierarchy in the society is evident when the interrogator says, “we know your situation as a girl in your society. No one will marry you” (98). However, the lady courageously reply that she will be out in 25 years and his people will be waiting for her, but the interrogator may be dead (98). At a later incident, the narrator depicts the woman narrating that her captors attempted to rape her, but they did not and that is what gave her the courage to remain strong (105). In all the above instances, Sacco depicts a scenario where courageous women are taking the fight where it belongs to confront the issues affecting them in the society. One of the issues is gender-based violence such as rape. Moreover, women engage in early marriages at tender age when they do not understand the responsibilities of a family management. Early marriage is quite common in Palestine thus resulting into women giving birth to many children without any solid plan on taking care of them. In one instance, the narator writes, “the lady of the house, meanwhile, tells me through Khaled that she was married at 14” (75). Clearly, the girls may not even consent to the marriages because perhaps they are forced into them.
As a result, some group of women such as the “Palestinian Federation of Women’s Action Committees” are taking the matter seriously to stop early marriages in the country (133). The narator provides an account of a girl who got married at 15 and got two children with the first man before divorcing to get another man. The second husband threw hot water on her for refusing to “go buy tea” (133). Such instances affirms the problem of early marriages to women who end up suffering in such marriages. Lastly, Sacco thinks that women wearing hijab are denied of the right to decide for themselves.
However, interrogations of Palestinian women reveals a different picture entirely. To the narator, the women in hijab are “just shapes” and “ciphers like pigeons moving along the sidewalk” (137). However, the women in hijab are happy and talkative. In fact, the narrator is surprised that “such life-forms could initiate contact” (133). Whereas the narrator views the hijab as a problem, the women putting them on are comfortable. Despite the Hamas waged violence to force women into wearing the hijab, the conditions were changing because women had the choice to put on hijab or not. In fact, most women think they wear the hijab because of their religious belief, parental pressure, and free will rather than pressure from Hamas. One woman says, “I began wearing it before the rise of Hamas” (139) while another one says “some of my friends don’t wear it. I have talked it with three friends who didn’t and they wear it now” (133). In short, Sacco’s interaction with the women demystifies the belief that Palestinian women put on hijab due to pressure from Hamas. In conclusion, Sacco’s Palestine women at different levels of problems.
One of the major observation is that the society is male dominated and women are viewed in low regards. For that reason, gender based violence is tolerated in marriages and during women’s interactions with the law enforcement agents. Similarly, `women are forced into early marriages at tender ages of as early as 14. Men end up mistreating them, but some women groups are taking actions to help the situation. Lastly, women in Palestine wear hijab out of choice, which is a sharp contrast from the popular belief in the West that they are forced. In short, Sacco depicts the struggle of women to overcome their plight in the highly male-dominated society.
