The Arab Women’s Conference was held in the city of Jerusalem in 1929 in the presence of 300 women from various Palestinian governorates. Its goal was to oppose British colonial policies and Jewish immigration.
This conference resulted in the establishment of the Arab Women’s Association, which played a prominent role in the national and nationalist struggle.
Historical circumstances
Palestinian women began to initiate political organizations during the British occupation of Palestine, which coincided with the escalation of the nationalist struggle against colonialism.
On October 19, 1929, a group of women met in the house of Mrs. Tarab Abdul Hadi in Jerusalem, and decided to organize a conference for women to confront the policies of the Palestinian government, the Balfour Declaration, and the actions of British judges in the country.
The next day, another meeting was held in the home of Mrs. Matil Mughanim, one of the pioneers of the women’s movement in Palestine, in which internal and external issues were discussed and decisions were made regarding ways to continue national activities, by arranging to open the office of the Executive Committee for Women.
Mission and objectives
The main goal of the conference was to protest British colonial policies, including the Balfour Declaration, and it also focused on strengthening the struggle for the independence of Palestine, cooperating with Arab feminist associations, establishing other movements, and establishing schools for girls in Syria, Egypt, and Iraq.
organization
The Conference of Arab Women in Palestine was held on October 26, 1929 in Jerusalem, in which about 300 women from various Palestinian cities participated, especially from Jaffa, Haifa, Lod, Nablus, Ramla, Acre, Safed, and Ramallah. He discussed national, social and economic issues.
The conference was the first of its kind in the Arab and Islamic worlds, and during it the Executive Committee of Arab Women established the Arab Women’s Association in Palestine, setting the following goals for it:
- Working to develop the social and economic affairs of Arab women in Palestine.
- Seeking to expand educational facilities for girls.
- Use all possible and legal means to raise the status of women.
Association institutions
As for the association’s founders, they are: Wahida Al-Khalidi (President), Matil Moghanem and Catherine Deeb (Secretary), and Shahinda Dizdar (Treasurer).
Among the founders are Nimati Al-Husseini, Tarab Abdel-Hadi (wife of the political activist and head of the Palestinian Independence Party, Awni Abdel-Hadi, and her father is Salim Al-Ahmad Abdel-Hadi, one of the leaders of the Administrative Decentralization Party in Palestine) and the Palestinian journalist Mary Shehadeh (the wife of Boulos Shehadeh, founder of the Mirror of the East newspaper).
Anisa Al-Khadra, Khadija Al-Husseini, Wadi’a Al-Nashashibi, Melia Al-Sakakini, Zuleikha Al-Shihabi, Zakia Al-Badiri, Fatima Al-Husseini, Zahia Al-Nashashibi, and Saadia Al-Alami, all of whom are pioneers of the Palestinian women’s movement.
After the conference, the women decided to organize demonstrations in front of the consulates to deliver their demands of ending the British occupation and opposing Jewish immigration and collective punishments imposed on Palestinians.
The British High Commissioner opposed organizing demonstrations, and pressured Palestinian notables to prevent them. In the end, the women reached a settlement and agreed to organize a demonstration in the form of a car convoy.
Achievements
The conference achieved great success in drawing attention to women’s issues and the Palestinian national struggle. In its wake, the Palestinian Arab Women’s Association was established in Jerusalem. It was decided that the conference’s executive committee would manage the association and be the supreme reference for all other associations.
The association aimed to support national demands and enhance the status of Arab women. It was also decided to hold a meeting of the association twice a month and organize political lectures once a month.
During its years of work, the Executive Committee encouraged the establishment of branches of the association in different cities and towns in Palestine. Over time, the Jerusalem Women’s Association gained an aura of political authority, became preoccupied with diplomatic and political matters, and established international relations with representatives of the women’s movement abroad.
There are two important speeches for the association, one of which was delivered by Christian Matil Mughanem at the Dome of the Rock, and the second was delivered by Muslim Tarab Abdel Hadi in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
The female members of the Executive Committee come from different social and economic origins. Some of them were from well-known families, others were from less well-known families. They were Muslim and Christian, single and married, and some of them reached high levels of leadership, such as Zulekha Al-Shehabi.
