Filastiniyat was born out of the activism of a group of young women and men.  During the Israeli invasion and siege of Ramallah in 2002 this group met whenever the city-wide curfew would allow.  We met not only to discuss the feelings of frustration and despair within Palestine, but also to ask ourselves “Do we want to live?  And if so, what kind of life do we as Palestinians want?”

            This movement, named Nawat, became the seed of a social movement in response to the occupation as well as the corruption and ineptitude of the political system.  Demonstrations took place daily and within the first week of action our small group of young political activists and professionals working in the public, civil society, and private sector had won over the “street” with large crowds from all walks of life joining in our campaigns and giving voice to our message.

            What was this message that had more voices singing it than any affiliated with a political party?  It was a message of life.  It was a message that told the occupying forces and the world that Palestinians are still here.  We are still living.  And we will continue to live.  The old slogan of “We die for Palestine to live” became “We LIVE for Palestine to live.”  Weapons were banned from our protests and rallies.  Songs and children’s activities were often incorporated into our events.  In fact many of the ardent supporters of Nawat’s activities were children who through their participation encouraged their parents to also come out and actively live in the face of an occupying military force.  During curfews we organized the launch of hundreds of kites in the air with Palestinian flags attached to remind the military forces that while we as individuals were confined to our homes, Palestinian society was flying freely throughout the city.  It was also a message of Palestinian solidarity.  Only the Palestinian flag was flown at our events. 

            As the siege began to lessen our group of leaders reflected on our experiences and discussed what our role should be now.  We recalled the speeches that were given by male politicians at rallies and how women had urged Wafa’, one of our founders and our current director, to go on the stage and speak to draw attention to the void of women’s participation.  Also, official negotiations were taking place between Palestinian and Israeli leadership.  Inspired by Nelson Mandelas words, “Only free men can negotiate,” the leaders of Nawat began to question these negotiations and the people sitting at the table.  They decided that the next phase of their activism would address not only the occupation, but the “establishment” within Palestine as well.

            At this point we made the decision to create Filastiniyat to be an organizational body to support new leaders and encourage them to air their perspectives and provide alternatives for the Palestinian people.  There was agreement that women would be the central focus of Filastiniyat’s work and goals, but Filastiniyat would challenge the idea of a “women’s organization.”  Men certainly are, and should remain, involved in the work and mission.  We also didn’t want to encourage the idea that only “women’s organizations” work for women.  In pursuit of gender mainstreaming, we believe that as equal members of Palestinian society all projects and movements should naturally involve and benefit women.  Likewise, all segments of Palestinian society must be active participants in efforts to bring change to the way women are perceived and participate in Palestine.  But we did want people to know that women are ultimately our central focus and so the name Filastiniyat, which means Palestinian women in Arabic, was chosen.  To emphasize this, the majority of the board members are always women and the chair of the board is always a woman.

            On June 16, 2005 Filastiniyat was officially registered as an NGO as is required under Palestinian law.  Wafa’ Abdel Rahman, one of the founders of both Filastiniyat and Nawat, became the full-time director and was the sole staff member until November 2006.  Filastiniyat is focusing the pursuit of its mission, to increase the quality and quantity of women and youth’s participation in Palestinian society, on the medium of media, which we define broadly as the voices and dialogues within society whether it be television and radio or mosques and people in the street conversing.  Our first project, which was self-funded with the help of in-kind donations, was the production of a billboard publicizing the murder of Yusra Azzami.  Yusra was a young woman who was killed by a Hamas militant for the “immoral” act of walking on the beach with her fiancé.  Her murder was reported in the media but there was no sense of outrage.  Filastiniyat wanted Palestinians to remember Yusra, see her face, and respond to this act of violence within Palestinian society. 

            Since our first campaign to draw attention to Yusra, Filastiniyat has become a leader within civil society for our unique approach to bringing change and action to Palestinian society.  We are leaders in monitoring and critiquing the media, training and providing platforms for women in the media, and supporting young community leaders.  All of these initiatives are directly related to our mission of building political, economic, and social systems in which women and youth are equal members whose equal participation is expected and no longer extraordinary.