Having killed Jamila al-Shanti, he created the women’s wing of Hamas

TOhad created the women’s wing of Hamas and it was the only woman, the first, to have become a member of the group’s political bureau, the body that makes the final decisions. The Palestinian Jamila al-Shantiwhich later became in 2013 Minister of Women in the Government of the Gaza Strip, she was killed in the middle of the night by an Israeli air raid on her home.

Jamila al-Shanti, the black widow of Hamas

A woman of culture, Dr. al-Shanti had worked as a professor at the Islamic University of the Strip, but she always remembered that she was the widow of one of seven men who founded Hamas at the beginning of the first IntifadaAbdel Aziz al-Rantisi, pediatric surgeon killed in 2004 in an Israeli attack during the second Intifada.

Leading the women’s march against the Israelis

The woman had been on the Israeli target list for some time, since 2008 when, leading about thirty women he succeeded to break the siege imposed by the Israeli army at the Beit Hanoun mosque, in the north of the Strip, where a group of Palestinian activists had taken refuge. The success of that operation had convinced the Israelis of the need to eliminate it. Three days later, in fact, her house was bombed, she managed to save herself, but her sister-in-law and two other people died.

«Women in the Hamas leadership are precious»

Al-Shanti, born in the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza, with her face closed in a black veil, she was considered a visionary among the faction’s female ranks. In view of the 2021 elections, speaking on a broadcast, you stated that the presence of women in the Hamas leadership would prove invaluable for the future of the movement. And pHe declared several times to the media that Hamas would do important things for Palestinian women. «There are traditions here that say that women must have a secondary role, that they must be at the back. But this is not Islam. Hamas will eliminate many of these traditions. Women will come out of their homes and participate».

Jamila al-Shanti, a life for the Palestinian cause

Her husband’s death at the hands of the Israelis did just that increase al Shanti’s faith in Hamas’ methods and goals. If over the years the women’s wing of the organization has also achieved a political role, much of it is the work of the widow Rantisi. In short, he spent a life dedicated to “Palestinian cause” it’s at For a long time, his figure and his work have been the subject of study. For many, Hamas had managed to create an impressive consensus not only among the poorest classes but also among educated and committed women. And behind all this there was her, Jamila al Shanti.

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