THE OTHER HAND:

Women step forward in West Bank: As strife constrains men, women venture into jobs and activism. (Joshua Mitnick, 8/05/04, The Christian Science Monitor

The village women who assembled in this hillside hamlet to talk politics came in conservative, drab gowns and head scarves that left only their faces exposed.

But their comments about the approaching municipal elections were anything but traditional. Two said they aspired to become the first female members of their village council. Others, like Nivineh Amr, insisted that only a female candidate would understand the importance of bringing day-care centers and running water to this West Bank town of 3,500.

Amid the devastation wrought by nearly four years of conflict with Israel, a subtle but significant transformation is under way in the lives of many Palestinian women. Normally confined to domestic chores and child care, they're now playing central roles in the survival of families in which husbands have found themselves without work.

The crisis has emboldened women to assert themselves in new realms, from finding part-time work and taking control of family finances to political involvement. The newfound freedoms are even bucking the rising influence of fundamentalist Islam in the public lives of Palestinians.

Ah, the iron law of unintended consequences: a Palestinian society with women becoming truly empowered would doom the militants over time.

Posted by Orrin Judd at August 4, 2004 7:55 PM