Zahira Kamal is 65 and is director of the Center on Palestinian women, under the Unesco. Between 2003 and 2006 made history in front of the first Ministry of Women Affairs. Degree in Physics and Chemistry, lives in Jerusalem, Ramallah and works in Madrid as speaker of the Fourth International Congress on Islamic Feminism. Feminist won his first battle when he convinced his father that he failed to their brothers the savings to the University and send it to Cairo.
How acquired feminist consciousness?
My father died when I was very young I had to take care of seven of my siblings, I say with pride that we all went to college and take up good positions. That made me realize the importance of education. At that time we called feminists do not, frankly. Our struggle was the liberation of the Palestinian people victim of an occupation. Western feminists were women whose struggles did not fit with our basic needs of independence, education and health. Later I realized that our efforts were also feminists, because we wanted to empower women through higher education and female literacy campaigns.
How were your label feminist men?
fell like a bomb. They thought we had become communist and I do not know what else. But then we did several workshops to explain that, according to the Koran, Islam promotes freedom, liberation of the people, equality, and that is an erroneous interpretation of sharia (law governing the moral life and Muslim) the that discrimination was behind the woman.
When he perceived that his was an international movement, which flourished in several Arab countries?
Until 1985 we were quite isolated and had no access to books, would not let us pass across the border, and of course there was the Internet. But the women's conference in Nairobi this year we opened to the world. We saw that something was moving. We realized that we were fighting for the empowerment of women, and learned of the exchange of experiences.
What are the achievements of their struggle in Palestine? Many
. We have reduced from 50% to 8% illiteracy among Palestinians. In the 80's there were very few women in college today are the majority. Bachelor of science in women you could count on the fingers of one hand. Now they are mostly women. In engineering, for example, five women and now accounts 20%. We've been involved in legislative discussions for human rights, trying to reform laws that discriminate against women and dating to the Ottoman Empire or the British colonial influence. The civil and criminal law still discriminates against women. We can not move without the permission of a parent, spouse or 'guardian', a figure who was sometimes a brother or a son. Do not let us decide who we marry and the legal age for marriage is too low. Now we are fighting for these changes.
How feminism has made its Israeli occupation?
We realized that the battle we fought for independence and social change was not reflected in the Palestinian Authority. It was a contentious issue. We started using the slogan that if women and men we formed groups in the struggle for independence, we also had to build together our Palestinian state. In 1996 five women were elected in a Parliament with 88 seats ... is progress.
What is the dimension of feminism in Palestine?
is small but is experiencing political and social progress. What happens is that we have not heard from our brothers in the Islamic parties. I hope in the future to improve our cooperation with them, because we too are Muslim But feminists, convinced that there must be changes for women. Changes for the better. Most Muslim women supporting initiatives to improve education for women, but there is debate in areas as matrimonial law.
What do you expect the Madrid conference of feminism?
I look forward to meet other Muslim women to see how they are carrying out the struggle of women to see what changes have been achieved and bring strategies to better communicate our struggle as well as add support for the battle for independence Palestine. Two
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