Gaza- Media plays a significant and prominent role in promoting women’s rights and fighting gender stereotypes and violence against women.

Souad Abu Khatla, Palestinian journalist and feminist, believes in the role of the media to achieve gender equality.  She thinks that some press outlets have contributed to changing the stereotypical and traditional images of women in society while some overlook the achievements of women by showing only them as victims.

“Women must be more visible in the media. Press outlets should give special spaces to women in order to raise awareness about domestic violence, murder in the name of honor and women’s rights. There is a phenomenon called the exploitation of women through social media platforms primarily for financial purposes. In the media, women are only mentioned as men’s wives, sisters or mothers in order to legitimate gender-based violence,” she told us.

 Speaking about the challenges faced by women journalists, Souad Abu Khatla said, “The press outlets do not want to report on women’s issues due to the patriarchal mentality that fights the positive and active images of women in the media. While reporting on women, they directly blame women and draw attention to their traditional roles in society.”

 Stressing that women are subjected to oppression and exploitation in all spheres of life, especially on social media, she said, “The main reason for the oppression and exploitation of women is the lack of laws that protect women and girls from all forms of violence. There is no law in Palestine to protect women from cyberviolence. The lack of law paves the way for all forms of violence against women.”

 Recalling the murder case of a young woman named Israa Gharib, who was killed in 2019 by her father and brothers in the name of honor, Souad Abu Khatla said, “The media played an important role in telling her story to public opinion. Her killing sparked outrage across the Middle East. We need more efforts to change the images of women in the media.”

 Before concluding her speech, Souad Abu Khatla emphasized the need for fair laws that protect women and girls from all forms of violence in Palestine. “We need laws that protect women and girls from all forms of violence, especially online violence.”