Palestinian-American brings #MeToo campaign to West Bank
RAMALLAH (AP) — A young Palestinian-American is the driving force behind a nascent #MeToo movement in this patriarchal corner of the world, selling T-shirts, hoodies and denim jackets with the slogan “Not Your Habibti (darling)” as a retort for catcalls and writing down women’s complaints from her perch at a West Bank square.
Yasmeen Mjalli wants to encourage the Palestinian society to confront sexual harassment, a largely taboo subject.
“What I am doing is to start a conversation that people are really afraid to have,” Mjalli said as she put her merchandise on hangers in a clothing store.
The 21-year-old has faced backlash from conservatives and some activists who say fighting Israel’s occupation is the priority for Palestinians.
Her parents, who grew up in a Palestinian farming town, immigrated to the United States and returned to the West Bank five years ago, were not pleased, either.
“To be able to have peace with them, I have to check my feminism at the door, which is very difficult because that’s really who I am,” Mjalli, who moved to the West Bank last year after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a degree in art history, said.
Mjalli and other activists say that starting a conversation about sexual harassment does not mean copying the #MeToo movement in the US, where victims are speaking out in growing numbers. Cultural differences require a different approach.