Women of the Sun (نساء الشمس) is a Palestinian women’s organisation, founded in July 2021 by its current director Reem Hajajreh. The latter’s life in a refugee camp in Dheisheh is what moved her to get involved in the struggle for change. WOS is based in Bethlehem and counts about 3000 members. It operates within the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza and is a member of the Alliance for Middle East Peace. Its members actively engage in both advocacy and the provision of practical support for people in need. Their priority lies with the political and economic empowerment of Palestinian women, believing that political independence is not possible for them without financial independence and vice versa.
Further, having lived under the violence imposed on Palestinians by Israeli settlers and checkpoints, WOS is devoted to bringing the Israeli occupation of Palestine to a peaceful end. They are strictly committed to non-violent methods. For example, some of their projects and initiatives include peaceful protests, and organising political education workshops to help women gain access to political spaces. Under the ongoing attacks, they have also moved to providing trauma care and psychological support. In addition, they seek to address the lack of hygiene products and pain medication in aid deliveries to Gaza, underlining that pregnant people are especially at risk as the healthcare system has collapsed. Their campaigns support families who have been hit especially hard in both Gaza and the Westbank. WOS sees the physical separation through walls, and the social/political division between Palestinians and Israelis as the primary obstacle to their non-violent feminist goals. In late 2021, they therefore entered into an ongoing collaboration with the Israeli organisation Women Wage Peace. WWP is a non-partisan group calling for diplomatic negotiations and the full representation of women in the peace process.
Biggest Initiatives and Collaborations with WWP
On March 25th in 2022, the women organised a peace conference where hundreds of activists from both organisations gathered at the Red Sea. They listened to poetry and planted flags on the shore. They committed themselves to continue their call for peace despite stagnating political talks.
This was followed by a peace march on October 4th in 2023. Thousands of women from both Palestine and Israel walked together from the separation wall at the Bethlehem checkpoint to the Dead Sea. At their destination, Palestinian and Israeli representatives, diplomats, and other public figures sat around the table together. The women announced their cooperation and the establishment of a joint force to nurture reconciliation and bring about a non-violent resolution to years of bloodshed. This has earned them a Nobel Peace Prize nomination.
