The Emergence of the Palestinian Women's Movement, 1929-39

In 1929, Palestinian women inaugurated their involvement in organized political activism with the founding of a women's movement. This article examines the first ten years of that movement, highlighting its contradictions, strategies, and achievements against the background of mounting political conflict and the Arab Revolt. Arguing that the movement, though not "feminist" in the contemporary sense, had a pronounced gender consciousness, the author shows how the women's implicit critique of gender norms constituted a major element in their oppositional strategies and tactics.