"Me2" campaign in Gaza .. Fight harassment or abuse of reputation?

Ola Moussa - Gaza

A group of young Gazans recently joined the global "ME TOO" campaign to talk about women's experiences with sexual harassment after the American actress Elissa Milano used the label to encourage millions of women around the world to speak about their abuses and to show their experiences with Sexual harassment, while others objected to the campaign, is not a priority for Gazan society, which suffers from many humanitarian and economic crises.

The young Gazans who launched the campaign at the end of March believe that the issue of sexual harassment in Palestinian society is considered taboo among many, but that the attitudes of young women and girls in Gaza remain in their memories and have been influenced by their life behavior.

But in an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera Net accountant, she asked not to be named, she said that they are a young group and not a young woman who manages this account, and does not wish to disclose it for personal reasons and to ensure their security. She has already been subjected to sexual and verbal harassment in her childhood, like many young women and still stuck in her memory and psychology.

"We were talking about the fact that it is necessary to highlight the issue of harassment in Gaza, especially since we are not a society that is wrong and denies the existence of harassment, and we have collected ourselves - the young women - and we launched the account and designed an account on an explicit site to document the messages and to ensure the safety of the sender if she was harassed and intimidated. And knowledge of her personality, and our belief in the need to talk about the problem and face it.

Strong criticism
The campaign was attacked by some and accused of defaming the Palestinian youth, considering that the land of Gaza is a land of conflict and bondage. The accountant states that they do not reveal the names of anyone in the campaign and do not want to discredit the society.

She points out that the problem is the first step to solve it, breaking the barrier of fear among the girls and making sure that the person accused of harassment is the harasser rather than the victim.

Indeed, the campaign received many of those who attacked it at the beginning, and asked to move on the ground and to carry out awareness campaigns for children about harassment and the privacy of their bodies, in addition to advising young women who are harassed to go to psychological or other centers for women.

"In less than a day, the account was a recent Twitter conversation between supporters and opponents, and many sent us their stories via private messages and on an explicit site, so there were those who shared their stories of the year from their own accounts. There is no accounting for the harasser, And establishes a family, while the harasser is subjected to psychological harm throughout life. "

Talk about harassment experience
"I was harassed, I was a small guard of the tower and I was harassed by the owner of the shop. I did not understand these behaviors. The third time I was in the fifth grade," said Lamy Qarnawi. But I escaped and fled. "

According to Iman Abu Talha, a lawyer and feminist activist in Gaza, the crimes of harassment in the Palestinian Basic Law of 1996 were interpreted in a manner that does not keep pace with human and technical development, and requires the complainant to complain about the existence of evidence or witnesses. In the nature of these crimes, .

"The Palestinian society is no different from the Arab societies facing sexual harassment, especially in Gaza. There is an Israeli siege on the destruction and destruction of Gaza, unemployment, diseases and psychological problems," she said.

Objectors: First support sustainable development projects
From another perspective, Jamila Abu Mahadi, head of the religious advocacy department at the Center for Reform and Development in Gaza, objected to the campaign. She considered that the campaigns against sexual harassment were inflated in the media and some local radio ads, and did not meet the need for actual harassment on the ground.

She pointed out that it may be reflected negatively in light of the fact that the Israeli digital media that is affiliated with Shabak, some Gazan publications are hunting for social networking sites that talk about some negative cases to change course in a way that reflects the nature of the Gazan society negatively abroad.

"Many of the parents are afraid of these facts, and they give a picture of the general insecurity of young women in the street and work and others. If the campaign were to promote the steadfastness of girls in education and supporting the family," said Abu Mahadi, And coexistence as the young man lives full rights, and through them are aware of public behavior to be strong in front of such acts meet their need on the ground.

She noted that many of the global campaigns for women have gained a global reputation among the Arab countries, but most of them are purely Western and political. In contrast, there is no human support for some projects that may achieve sustainable development in poor Arab societies.

Amira al-Barbrawi, a 27-year-old architect, is alarmed at the noise of these campaigns on social networking sites in general. On the other hand, some humanitarian and social issues in Gaza do not attract the same attention. On women's rights, compared to a few projects to economically empower women economically.

"It's nice to have a girl harassing herself and being silent with him, which many in Gaza do, and I do with the accountability of the harassers, but what I saw in the Me2 campaign in Gaza did not appeal to me because I feel that some of the tweets came in line with the global campaign, "In countries where they enjoy many economic and social rights, there is a priority for issues that need advocacy campaigns."