"Sport for Palestine Girls" .. Gaza girls shave their dreams and ambitions

Raed Moussa-Gaza

While the vision of Amjad al-Masri (13 years) riding a bicycle accompanied by 150 girls of her generation in the initiative "Sport for Palestine girls" in the border town of Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, her dreams were flying in a space beyond borders and geography.

The initiative, which was implemented by the Al-Ataa Charitable Society in partnership with the Women's Affairs team and funded by the UK-based Mika Foundation, is the first of its kind in Gaza, with the participation of girls between the ages of 12 and 15, whose aim is to highlight the rights of the Palestinian girl.

Visions on her young age showed great awareness of the importance of this sporting event, which supports the right of the Palestinian girl, especially the marginalized areas in the Gaza Strip, to play and play sports, in addition to carrying messages of support for the Palestinian cause.

I dream of traveling and studying flying
Visions, which was her first experience in riding a bicycle, dreams of studying aviation science, and tells the island Net: I dream of traveling and studying aviation and to be able to visit all countries of the world, for self-fulfillment, and to carry the message of my people who aspire to freedom.

She was severely traumatized when her brother, Majdi, 7, died in front of her eyes, when her family's iron caravan door fell after the Israeli occupation forces destroyed her family home in the town of Beit Hanoun during the last Israeli war on the Gaza Strip in 2014.

Her mother, Samaher al-Masri, executive director of the charity Al-Ata, said, “Visions needed psychological treatment for a long time, following the shock of her brother's death while playing together in front of our caravan for two years after our house was bombed and completely destroyed during the war.”

Exercise and games
Samaher told Al-Jazeera Net that many children in Gaza have been exposed to difficult experiences such as visions, and perhaps more severe and harsher, and they need to "emptying myself" through subjecting specialized programs, including participation in sports events.

She stated that the most important goals of the "Sport for Palestine Girls" initiative is to affirm the right of girls in Gaza, especially the border and marginalized areas, to practice sports as a platform to communicate the voice of Palestinian girls to the world.

In addition, it is a serious attempt to return to games away from video games and mobile phones because of the disadvantages and further isolate children from their reality.

Study of Cardiac Medicine and Surgery
Areej Amjad Abu Harbeed, 12, told Al Jazeera Net that she was very happy to participate in the effectiveness of cycling because it is her favorite hobby with football.

She is keen to practice sports at the National Club in Beit Hanoun, and does not see the practice of the girl in her hometown, which she described as a "conservative rural society" as an infringement on customs and traditions as long as she adhered to her religion and morals.

The father takes pride in his superior daughter in her studies, and says that sport has enhanced her positive qualities, refined her personality and made her more able to deal with people.

In the future, Areej hopes to travel to study cardiac surgery and return to Gaza to work and help treat her community. "Gaza needs its outstanding children," she says.

According to the latest statistics issued by the Central Bureau of Statistics, the number of children under the age of 18 years amounted to 2226077 children, as of the middle of this year, including 1139311 boys and 1086766 females, where the proportion of children constitute 45% of the population, 43% in the West Bank and 48% in the Gaza Strip.