Palestinian MP fights efforts to silence her

Abu Bakr says she is being targeted for her criticism of PNA as well as being a woman

Palestinian Legislative Council member Najat Abu Bakr has vowed relentless defiance to a campaign to silence her criticism of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).

She is currently embroiled in a vicious battle with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the PNA, which, she says, is trying to silence her because of her outspoken positions highlighting government corruption.

She also said the PNA has personalised the attack against her, accusing it of institutional sexism.

“In a male-dominated society like Palestine, men have zero tolerance to criticism from a woman. They believe a woman should be forced into silence and not allowed to correct their mistakes,” she told Gulf News.

“I will continue to expose corrupt officials, regardless of the consequences,” she said.

Salaries of Abu Bakr and 12 other lawmakers of the Palestinian Legislative Council, who have spoken out against PNA practices, have been suspended and their diplomatic immunity removed.

Her case is currently under investigation by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Geneva which works to establish representative democracy.

Abu Bakr, who has a PhD in political sociology, says the PNA also ordered Palestinian universities not to grant her a faculty position.

While she is now focusing her energies on charity and women’s organisations, Abu Bakr fears that the PNA will even try to stop her from this.

Abu Bakr — a Fatah cadre member — was elected in 2006 as a representative of Nablus, in the eastern West Bank.

In those elections, Fatah lost to its rival, Hamas, which formed a Palestinian government, and later a unity government with Fatah, which fell apart within a couple of months.

Following a brief civil war between Fatah and Hamas in the Gaza Strip in 2007, Hamas took over the coastal area and ousted Abbas and his Fatah movement from the Strip. Since then, the Palestinian Legislative Council has remained inactive, with laws being imposed by presidential decree.

Abu Bakr has criticised the siege on Gaza by Israel and Egypt, highlighted the suffering of its people, and condemned the suspension of the Palestinian parliament.

Members of the Palestinian public regard her as a trustworthy figure and have provided her with evidence of corruption by Palestinian officials, which she has made public.

Despite the campaign against her, Abu Bakr remains optimistic that justice will prevail.

Member, Palestinian Legislative Council