Western feminism and its blind spots in the Middle East

[useapen]

In our current era where digital platforms wield unparalleled influence, X
– previously known as Twitter – is the closest thing we have to a global
public square. Within this vast marketplace of ideas, a subset of Western
feminists have unilaterally assumed leadership roles, fashioning
themselves as the gatekeepers of who is a real “feminist” and what truly
constitutes “feminism”.

Since October 7, these “leading feminists” have been bombarding this all-
important digital landscape with posts vociferously condemning the Hamas
attack on Israel, while excusing or simply ignoring the ongoing collective
punishment of more than two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip that
followed. Some even attempt to frame Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment
and total siege of the tiny enclave, which already claimed the lives of
over 5,000 men, women, and children, as acceptable retaliation for Hamas’s
actions and lawful “self-defence”.

Let’s be clear: What is in question here is not their condemnation of the
violence Hamas inflicted on Israeli women, but their apparent indifference
to, and in some cases enthusiastic endorsement of, the violence currently
being wielded against Palestinian women.

These so-called feminists are not only failing to show any empathy or
support for the long-standing suffering of Palestinian women, but are also
joining in the increasing efforts to silence those expressing any hint of
sympathy for them.

Whenever someone, especially someone with a certain public profile, posts
a message on X supporting Palestine and acknowledging the decades-long
suffering of Palestinian people under Israeli occupation and oppression,
they are faced with the same loaded questions many times over: “Do you
support Hamas?”, “Do you condemn the attacks on Israeli civilians?”

In response, some feel intimidated and reverse course, while others either
refuse to engage or try to challenge the assumptions of these self-
appointed public interrogators. But however they respond, they face the
same barrage of abuse, intimidation and insults from those who “stand with
Israel”, including many prominent Western feminists.

Phrases and labels such as “anti-Semite”, “rape apologist”, “support for
rape and kidnapping of women”, “support for a terrorist group that governs
with Sharia law”, and notably, “not a true feminist” are liberally bandied
about.

So I want to ask all those feminists in the West who are not only making
posts, signing statements and writing columns unconditionally supporting
Israel’s “right to defend itself” but also working tirelessly to “cancel”
anybody who dares to either put a spotlight on decades of Palestinian
suffering, or call for an end to Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment of
Gaza, which is killing and maiming hundreds of women and girls every
single day: Is this what you call feminism?

Your brand of feminism, which seemingly applies only to a certain subset
of predominantly white, Western and Western-aligned women, is difficult to
stomach. You rightly condemn the violence Hamas inflicted on Israeli
women. Yet you are not only silent on the suffering of Palestinian women,
but are trying to silence anyone else who is brave enough to speak up for
them.

Today, Gaza’s women and children are not only under heavy bombardment, but
also on a starvation diet thanks to Israel’s “total siege”. Is this not a
crime against women that merits attention and condemnation? How can you
call yourself a feminist while excusing, even supporting, punitive,
genocidal actions of a powerful state against a helpless people trapped in
an open-air prison? How can you so easily brush away the harrowing
experiences of hundreds of thousands of women who lack the power to change
their circumstances?

Western feminism’s apparent indifference to statements like that of
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, likening Palestinians to “human
animals”, is deeply alarming.

If your feminism does not make you stand up for a people who experienced
little other than ethnic cleansing, oppression and occupation since 1948,
who have been trying to survive under a crippling blockade for 17 years,
who are being defined as “human animals”, and who are now facing what can
only be described as a genocide, then what it is for? If these realities
do not encourage you to take a stance, it’s hard to imagine what will. Are
Palestinian women somehow not women enough to be deserving of your
feminist advocacy?

I hope this weighs on your conscience: By endorsing Israel’s right to
“defend itself” at any cost, you’re condoning violence against women and
children – the very demographic you claim to champion. By ignoring the
plight of the Palestinian people, by trying to brand as “anti-Semitic” and
“anti-feminist” everyone who dares to support their struggle, you are
making it evident that not all lives – not all women – hold the same value
in your eyes.

Your message to the women trying to survive under Israeli bombs, women
cradling the corpses of their murdered children, is loud and clear: you do
not matter.

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/10/23/western-feminism-and-its-
blind-spots-in-the-middle-east