"The woman was born to do activism” - A minor field study of Palestinian refugee women's activism in a Lebanese refugee camp

Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate how Palestinian refugee women in refugee camps perceive themselves as actors who affect and influence their lives and communities. Research shows it is a topic that is not often discussed or highlighted in today’s discourse about refugees. The material was conducted through semi-structured interviews with eight Palestinian women in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, and we analyse the results in relation to the theories of empowerment and social identity. The study shows that important motives for the respondents’ activism are their shared Palestinian identity and their identity as women and mothers. We see that involvement in activism has been empowering to the respondents and their community, and that their actions can be understood as resistance against patriarchy, paternalism and predictive beliefs of them as a passive and homogenous group. Furthermore, we draw the conclusion that the Palestinian women’s voices are irreplaceable in research regarding their lives, and how studies like this one contribute to an image of Palestinian women as actors with capacity and strength, who through their activism have been affected on a personal level and impacted upon their community.