I, like many others around the world, am feeling emotionally and physically drained. Every day, I find myself reading about tragedy after tragedy and desperately hoping for an end to the war in Gaza. I’ve spent countless hours marching and advocating for a ceasefire, driven by the belief that our collective voices can make a difference.
But what’s weighing on me just as heavily is the lack of attention from feminists in my country and beyond. While they rightfully condemn Hamas’s treatment of Israeli women and female hostages, they remain eerily silent about the suffering of Palestinian women. Israel’s actions in Gaza have caused the deaths and injuries of countless women and children, yet the majority of Western feminists seem to have nothing to say about it.
I’ve come to realize that this selective silence is not simply a lapse in attention, but a deliberate choice fueled by a brand of feminism that is tied to colonial and imperial prejudices. These so-called feminists buy into the idea that Israel’s assault in Gaza aims to “liberate” Palestinian women from oppressive forces, while ignoring the actual harm inflicted upon them. It’s a form of feminism that aligns empathy and outrage with personal identities and political affiliations, rather than universal feminist principles.
Some feminists even excuse their refusal to call for a ceasefire by pointing to Palestinian society’s complex stance on LGBT rights, demonstrating a concerning lack of solidarity with all women and marginalized communities. Others remain silent, claiming neutrality on a “complex” issue. But in the face of such overwhelming tragedy, there can be no neutrality. Silence today is a passive endorsement of the ongoing suffering.
I implore these feminists to look at the images coming out of Gaza, to see the devastation and human cost of the conflict. And after seeing those images, if they still choose to stay silent or talk about “Islamist oppression” and “LGBT intolerance,” then they should not call themselves feminists. Because true feminist activism transcends geopolitical biases and upholds the rights and dignity of all women, regardless of their background or societal contexts. Their silence is not going unnoticed, and it is stripping their work of credibility in the eyes of many.