Вы находитесь на странице: 1из 1

THE NEW PAPER 23 Jun 2007 16 THE NEW PAPER 23 Jun 2007 17

HAMAS GIRL’S HAMAS PARTY n A Palestinian


group known for terror activities

SOFT SIDE... & HARD EDGE

쏆 Maysara’s (above) handphone accessory (inset) shows the 쏆 Maysara helping to decorate the room for a Hamas party at the university. The flag she’s holding
portrait of a top Hamas leader assassinated by the Israelis. shows the face of Dr Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi, a Hamas co-founder who was killed by the Israelis.

NG TZE YONG by terrorists. the democratically-elected Palestinian raised her voice just a little. I don’t make eye contact when I as deluded individuals senselessly They’re leading what she calls “a
& MOHD ISHAK in But it’s a party all the same. National Authority. Her girls had cut out cute shapes talk to the women here. ending lives, including their own. revolution of the minds”.
Women are scuttling around, The world was stunned. And on and were writing messages on them It’s considered indecent. They are “martyrs” – heroes who “We can’t just have street battles
ISRAEL/PALESTINE speaking in hushed tones as they put television screens everywhere, Hamas with coloured marker pens. But it’s an exciting party for sure. have made the ultimate sacrifice for any more. We need to learn about

A
S the school year draws to a up decorations. The men, whom I’m men were seen cheering and “Remember not to eat out today. There’s a buzz in the air: Everyone their cause. And when they do that, other ideologies so we can defeat
close, the Hamas Club in more used to seeing on the 10 o'clock demonstrating. The Hamas Club has prepared food knows that at any time, Israeli jeeps it’s the women, the “daughters, them intellectually.”
university is holding a big party. news demonstrating in the streets, are But when the men were busy at the for you,” read one, beside a drawing of could rumble up and whisk everyone mothers and wives of martyrs”, who To achieve that, Hamas is
There’s going to be free food and loitering awkwardly, arms folded or rallies, the women were going “from a pink flower. off to jail. have to carry on, said Ms Maysara. encouraging its women in universities
gift bags with green Hamas pens. stuffed into pockets. house to house in the villages, sharing I felt a sense of deja vu, as if I was Hamas’s soft, feminine side is one to take up public relations and
The New Paper is invited. “Hey, why aren't you helping the with people Hamas’s message”, says back in my university days. CHILLS DOWN MY SPINE that is at once vulnerable and potent. humanities instead of traditional

YOUNG Hamas, unlike its rival Fatah in the


Palestinian territories, and more like
Hizbollah in neighbouring Lebanon, is
ladies?” I whisper to a burly man.
“Decorations? It’s the women’s
speciality,” he replies, half in jest.
women’s leader Maysara Shalash, 21.
She has an accessory dangling from
her handphone. It’s a pendant with
It was just like student gatherings
anywhere – informal, a few chairs
pulled together, posters hastily taped
Even the party decoration – green
Hamas flags, not disco lights – sends a
Women’s leader Nawar Thabet, 23,
said: “When people criticise Islam,
they always attack the women first.
subjects like Islam and Arabic
language.
Of the 8,000 students at this
IN HOLY LAND closer to Iran and Syria than to Arab
states with pro-Western rulers.
But the role of women in Hamas
extends far beyond the domestic.
the portrait of a top Hamas leader
killed by the Israelis.
on the walls and a welcome chance to
grab some free food after a long day of
chill down my spine.
After its election victory, Hamas
“They talk about the four wives and
the hijab without understanding.”
university, 45 per cent belong to the
Are they like S’pore It is also known for suicide Last year, Hamas defeated the She has her bling bling too – an lectures. indicated that it will cease suicide But Hamas’s women are now
Hamas Club, claims student leader
Omar Arouri, 22.
youths or more bombings, and is considered by Israel long-ruling Fatah party in an elegant diamond ring. She told me Except that there’s a “Male-Female” bombings. But I still remember the entering the fray in bigger ways. “When I graduate, I will remember
like radicals in the and many other countries as a unexpected victory at the polls. bashfully she got engaged recently. sign that divides the party in half – flags vividly as the backdrops in “We are not the Taliban. We are my time here fondly,” said a
terrorist organisation. Today, Hamas is both terrorist She spoke softly, but logically and one side for the men and the other for suicide bombers’ farewell videos. Hamas. Here, women have equal
news? The New Technically, we’re at a party hosted organisation and the majority party in surely. When she gave directions, she the women. But here, such people are not seen rights,” said Ms Nawar. Continued on page 18
Paper team finds out

Вам также может понравиться