The Intifada's Unseen Architects: Women of the Stone Age

In 1987, the First Intifada erupted not from a central command center, but from the spontaneous uprising of ordinary Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. While history remembers the stones and the strikes, it often overlooks the women who organized the logistics of resistance. This episode explores the formation of the Unified National Leadership of the Uprising (UNLU) and the critical role played by figures like Leila Shahid and Hanan Ashrawi in sustaining civil society under occupation. We examine how women’s committees managed food distribution, medical care, and education during school closures, creating a parallel infrastructure that defied military control. Through the stories of local activists in Hebron and Jabalia, we uncover how grassroots organizing transformed a popular revolt into a sustained political movement, challenging both Israeli security forces and traditional patriarchal structures within Palestinian society.

#FirstIntifada #PalestinianWomen #LeilaShahid #HananAshrawi #UnifiedNationalLeadership #GazaStrip #WestBank #CivilResistance #StoneUprising #JabaliaCamp #Hebron #PalestinianSociety #GrassrootsOrganizing #MiddleEastHistory #PostColonialStudies #GenderAndPolitics #History #FexingoHistory

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