alQaws is delighted to invite you to the first Hawamesh discussion of 2021, titled “Sexual and Gender Diversity Issues in the Political Palestinian Landscape.” The event is taking place on Wednesday the 17th of March, at 7pm via Zoom.

Society’s tackling of gender diversity issues has changed significantly over the past two years, as it became more public, and significantly more widely discussed, whether on political, educational, or media platforms. This shift is the result of the continuous and prominent efforts of queer Palestinian activists.  

Such changes greatly affected the political scene (movements, parties, and different authorities), since the issues of queer individuals and communities were a point of contention in various political spaces across Palestine. From the “Israeli” cabinet elections, and the Palestinian Legislative Council  elections in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The consequences these public discussions bring about are diverse, and are (unfortunately) often specifically harmful to the local feminist and queer movements and individuals because of their use of reactionary violence as a tool to further political gain.

This public shift makes us wonder:

• How can we center the voices and experiences of queer people while in a state of political turmoil? And what is our role as feminist-queer movements, and activists?

• How can we engage in inclusive sociopolitical discussions without reproducing the forms of oppression that we are constantly subjected to, such as patriarchy and colonialism?

• How can we stop utilizing binary oppositions in our discussions and invest in forming constructive, transparent, and responsible ones instead?

The panelists of Hawamesh are Razi Nabulsi -writer and researcher, Haneen Sader - alQaws’ Director; and moderated by Amina Abd-Elhaq - a legal researcher and alQaws activist. In addition, we will be engaging with questions from the audience.

Hawamesh discussions bring different social and political issues related to sexual and gender diversity from the margins of mainstream social/political discourse to the forefront, and encourages society to engage with them as issues that affect all of us in Palestinian society. alQaws has organized Hawamesh discussions for several years, and in different areas, including Haifa, Ramallah, Nablus, Yafa, and Jerusalem, among others.