Women document their lives in the Gaza Strip

November 2011
Gaza

Last year, UNRWA trained 30 women from across the Gaza Strip in photography as a way to allow Palestinian women to document, through their own eyes and creative aspirations, what they believe are the realities facing women in Gaza today.

Equipped with basic cameras, the 30 trainees received one week of intensive training, after which they went into their communities and captured images reflecting the circumstances for women in Gaza.

The exhibition, Photos by Women for Women – Documenting Women’s Lives in the Gaza Strip, revealed the resilience, strength and courage women in Gaza represent in the face of the adverse conditions in which they live.

It was first launched in Gaza City on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women 25 November 2010. Now, the photos are available online for the first time.

View the exhibition

Highlighting the often-undocumented realities of life in Gaza, the exhibition offers viewers the viewpoint of the most vulnerable and marginalised group themselves: women. Nonetheless, it portrays the active roles they play, rather than their neglect.

The photos bring to the fore the critical situation of food and water security, shelter, health and education that impinge on the everyday life of the people of Gaza, inviting a much-needed debate about the effect on women of the ongoing conflict and blockade.