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Female protesters subjected to violence by Palestinian security forces

1 Jun 2021

Countries

Palestine

The actor of the backlash

Law Enforcement Authorities

Political trend

Militarism

The form of backlash

Enactment of violence (offline/online) Smearing campaign/Diffamation

Political trend

Illiberalism Anti-feminism

Rights at stake and state’s obligations

Freedom of assembly and association Highest attainable standard of physical and mental health Freedom from violence

June 2021: Palestinian security forces targeted and attacked women, including journalists and human rights defenders, during demonstrations following the killing of political activist Nizar Banat on 24 June. Women were subjected to violations such as physical beatings, sexual harassment and psychological violence. Researcher Mariam Barghouti tweeted that the security forces took demonstrators’ phones and used their personal photos to launch gendered smear campaigns.

See WHRD MENA coalition (June 2021), Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees (June 2021) and Mariam Barghouti on Twitter (June 2021).

Counter-responses

The UN Commissioner for Human Rights called for “an immediate end to any gender-based targeting, harassment, threats or violence and call on the Government to ensure the safety and security of all without discrimination” in a statement.

Female protesters subjected to violence by Palestinian security forces

Counter-responses

The UN Commissioner for Human Rights called for “an immediate end to any gender-based targeting, harassment, threats or violence and call on the Government to ensure the safety and security of all without discrimination” in a statement.

Statement from Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees