Nawal Tamimi
Palestinian mothers with their vibrant history of resistance to the occupation should be placed at the forefront of the movement to liberate Palestine. It is, after all, Palestinian mothers who routinely endure and confront the brutality of Israeli oppression while raising, protecting and educating their children. We should affirm the vital contributions made by mothers like those living in Nabi Saleh, Palestine, who continue to defy and resist settler colonial violence.
Their commitment to the liberation of Palestine should be viewed as a feminist and reproductive justice issue.
A few months ago, as part of my work with MAMAS, a collective I co-founded focusing on the labor of mothering among Black, indigenous, and people of color-based communities, I had the opportunity to interview the Palestinian mother-daughter duo, Nawal Tamimi and Janna Jihad, 15. From their home in the village of Nabi Saleh, located in Occupied Palestine, they had their arms wrapped tightly around one another as they recounted the devastating impact the Israeli occupation has on their lives and the lives of all Palestinians. It is a familiar story, but for some reason this conversation, this exchange in particular, punctured the depths of my souI. I still hear Nawal’s words reverberating: