Showing the bigger picture
Gaza Instagram stars show followers a different side of their homeland
GAzA City: They may not be able to leave Gaza without Israeli or Egyptian permission, but their photos can.
The two women are among a small number of Instagram stars in the blockaded Palestinian enclave, showing followers a different side of their homeland from what much of the world may be used to hearing or seeing.
“I see Instagram as a window,” says Kholoud Nassar, 26, wearing a pink hijab and fiddling with a toy car that features in many of her pictures.
Fatma Mosabah, 21, agrees, saying that “when I open the Internet I can talk to people across the world”.
Both have more than 100,000 followers on the social platform and say they get recognised multiple times a day in the tiny territory that is home to two million people.
In the enclave sealed off by Israel to the east and north, Egypt to the south and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, it is impossible for Gazans to leave without permission.
Neither of the women has left Gaza in more than a decade.
Israel also refuses to give permits for tourists to visit the strip, leaving most people outside to imagine life there. And with three wars since 2008 between the strip’s rulers Hamas and Israel, many people’s ideas of Gaza centre on devastation, poverty and suffering.
The women use Instagram, with its focus on pictures over text and political arguments, to show another side.
“War is a part of Gaza, but it is not all Gaza. I wanted to show there is more to Gaza – as in any country,” Kholoud said in a cafe near the coast in Gaza City.
“Take America: there is poverty, there are destroyed homes, but at the same time there are beautiful places. Gaza is the same.
“Through these pictures I want people to see Gaza, how people live, eat and work.”
Kholoud’s pictures range from young children to harvests, all bathed in a range of colours, while Fatma shows all sides of daily life.
Both women feature heavily in their own pictures, with wide smiles.
Fatma agrees that the aim is to “change the perception of Gaza” away from political matters.
“To show its beautiful side, that’s the most important thing. Far from the destruction, blockade and the wars,” she adds.
Despite Gazans receiving only a few hours of electricity a day in recent months, social media outlets remain popular.
But despite the thought that goes into their selections, the women aren’t protected from the bane of social media – trolls. Islamist group Hamas has conservative attitudes towards women, as do many Gazans.
Fatma says she blocks between five and 20 people a day on Instagram who make inappropriate comments.
“Maybe I take a picture with someone, they say the picture is shameful because I was with a man. I do a lot of blocking,” she laughs.
For Kholoud, it has even strayed into the real world.
Once she was taking pictures in Beit Lahia, one of Gaza’s most conservative areas, when women started screaming at her.
“There are people here who criticise me – they say ‘ you are going out, taking pictures. You should stay at home and cook’,” Kholoud says.
“Maybe because I wear a hijab they criticise me more.” — AFP