"No Free Homeland without Free Women”: Tal’at’s Indigenous Feminist Movement

Overview: This proposed poster examines the emergence and influence of Tal’at, an intersectional Palestinian feminist movement, and its concurrent resistance to patriarchy and settler colonialism. Its slogan, “No Free Homeland without Free Women,” encapsulates its assertion that national liberation and feminist liberation must be fought for together.Proposal text: On September 3, 2019, Israa Ghrayeb, a twenty-one-year-old woman was murdered by her family (Al-Bazz, 2019). This murder was one of 24 femicides documented in the Occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip in that same year (Palestinian Women’s Center of Legal Aid, 2019). Soon after, on September 26, 2019, thousands of protestors took to the streets throughout 12 cities, including Jerusalem, Ramallah, Rafah, and Haifa (Al-Bazz, 2019). The protests were organized by the feminist organization, Tal’at. Tal’at is Arabic for “we’re going out” declared as an assertion rather than a request. Tal’at’s community Facebook page describes the organization stating: "We are a group of Palestinian women striving for a free, just, and secure Palestinian society for its women and all its members. There is no free homeland without free women." It’s slogan “No Free Homeland without Free Women” encapsulates its assertion that national liberation and feminist liberation must be fought together. The femicide of Israa Ghrayeb in 2019 mobilized Palestinian feminists to call for an end to gender-based violence and for legal accountability. Palestinian women are faced with the intersecting oppression of both Palestinian patriarchal norms as well the military occupation and apartheid system of the Israeli government. With this proposed poster, I offer a twofold critique. First, I critique Israel’s pink-washing and feminist-washing campaigns as ploys to distract from its settler colonial reality. Second, I critique the Palestinian national struggle sidelining of feminist and queer liberatory struggles. This proposed poster examines the emergence and influence of Tal’at, an intersectional Palestinian feminist movement, and its concurrent resistance to patriarchy and settler colonialism.