The Conflict Between Pfwac And Wac s Feminist Women s...

Critiques It is quite tempting to suggest that the fraught relationship between PFWAC’s and WAC’s feminist women’s activism and the larger national struggle could be solved, by some degree, by the dissociation with nationalist ideologies. However, the fraught nature of the Palestinian national situation does not realistically allow for Palestinian women’s activists to disengage fully from nationalist discourses. Firstly the disengagement from nationalism would distance, and most likely demolish, any relationships or partnerships held by PFWAC and WAC with other organizations, many of whom have nationalist ties or sentiments. In breaking ties with other organizations PFWAC and WAC risk losing support, both monetarily, physically, and†¦show more content†¦Yet the continued intersectional identities of each organization challenges the notion that feminist work or organizations must disentangle themselves from other forms of activism or other forms of theorizat ion that may not fully align with traditional western understandings of feminism. Conclusion Palestinian women activists within both PFWAC and WAC engaged with nationalism and nationalist rhetoric in their work to promote gender equity and inclusion. The work of PFWAC and WAC attempts to listen to marginalized women within the West Bank and Gaza respectively and then help those same marginalized women to enter into public life in various forms with the support of the organization. The feminist activist work of PFWAC and WAC has been seen as disrupting larger â€Å"issues,† specifically the future existence of the Palestinian nation. Yet, as I have pointed to the work of both PFWAC and WAC, while critiquing the larger masculinization of nationalism and attempting to dismantle patriarchal structures, in fact create the space for more forms of nationalism. The empowerment of women through labor training, education, and entrepreneurship opens the space for more women to participate in and strengthen the Palestinian economy, argue against notions of primitivenes s, encourages women to advocate for themselves as Palestinians and as women, and brings women into the fold of the larger nationalist movement. In exploring the construction of PFWAC and WAC in conversation with