Palestinian Female TV Anchors Protest Against Fundamentalist Threat

The Associated Press has reported that after being threatened by a fundamentalist Islamic group, a group of female TV anchors and employees of Palestinian TV protested against the group and their threat.

The group named Swords of Truth said that they will behead the anchors if they do not follow strict Islamic dress code. Although most of the 15 women anchors on Palestinian TV do wear head scarves, they also wear makeup and dress in western clothes.

The news report quotes statement by the group as, "We will cut throats, and from vein to vein, if needed to protect the spirit and morals of this nation." It was sent via email to various news agencies.

Palestinian Women

In 2005, Amnesty International released a report on state of Palestinian women. The report highlights discrimination faced by the women and how they are affected by violence in the region.

BBC News quoted from a statement by Kate Allen of Amnesty International UK: "Palestinian women's suffering has been two-fold. They have borne the brunt of conflict and decades of Israeli occupation and in Palestinian society they are also denied full rights and protection."

Extremism and Arab Women

The Jerusalem Post reported about a conference on empowering Arab women held at the Hebrew University's Shasha Center for Strategic and Policy Studies on May 31.

In the report, the focus of discussion is empowering Arab Muslim women to combat rising extremism. Ephraim Halevy, a speaker at the conference who was the former head of the Israeli spy agency Mossad and the National Security Council, said "that women's empowerment in Arab society is a key factor in determining the future of the Middle East."

Palestinian Women and Terrorism

The Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a report titled "The Exploitation of Palestinian Women for Terrorism" in 2002 which talks about how terrorists are using women to carry out attacks.

The report says that organizations like Hamas have supported involvement of women in violent activities.

Sources:

Haartez.URl:( http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/866435.html)