Khalida Jarrar

Khalida Jarrar is a leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, member of the Palestine Legislative Council and advocate for prisoners She has been jailed many times by the Israeli occupation, and was imprisoned again in October 2019:

“Palestinians imprisoned for political reasons are discussing many topics. Of course, the events of the day, those outside the prison, those in the Occupied Territories, the arrests, the demolitions of homes, the killing of protesters, the situation in Gaza and other political issues take up a large part of the discussions. But my companions in prison also speak about their rights as women in Palestinian society.

“There have been very many protests. I think the one that became particularly well-known was the one calling for respecting our privacy. In an Israeli prison, you are monitored through cameras placed almost everywhere. Even during our time in the yard, the most longed-for moment for anyone who is forced to live almost all the time in a prison cell. Some Palestinian prisoners are religious women who are carefully guarding their privacy. 

“For 63 days, we refused to go out of our cells. As punishment, we were transferred to Damon prison, where conditions are harsher. There as well, we were punished on several occasions because we didn’t follow orders that made no sense and were abusive. For a whole month, we could not receive any visits from our families. And they always spoke to us in Hebrew, a language that many of us did not know.”

Read the full interview at tinyurl.com/tdxn7as