Lives of all women are paramount, in Gaza too
I was disappointed to read a letter written to the Press by the Rev. Linda Le Vasseur in connection with the war in Gaza. In this letter, she said: ‘There are those who marched on Saturday who have been rightly vocal about the worldwide crime of violence against women. It is well-evidenced that on 7 October Jewish women were gang-raped, sometimes in front of their children, and made to watch their children being massacred. Standing out to oppose violence against women, means opposing violence against all women, including Jewish women. Their lives and dignity are as valuable as those of their non-Jewish sisters.'
In response, I would like to say this.
Women’s liberation is a cause that is close to my heart. In 2019, I co-founded the Guernsey Women’s Collective, which started because of the death and assault of a woman named Sarah Everard in London. We held a vigil in Market Square, attended by over 400 people. Since then, we have grown into a large group of like-minded individuals. We have provided sign-posting support to people facing violence. We secured thousands of pounds of funding to provide free, reusable drink covers to anybody who felt unsafe on the island. We held vigils for murdered and assaulted women.
Supporting and protecting women is the most important thing in my life. This is why I chose to take part in the Peace March on Saturday 2 December.
Palestine has been an occupied territory for 75 years. Like many wars, the atrocities committed during this apartheid have disproportionately affected women and children. Women in Palestine currently do not have access to sanitary pads. They are forced to go through C-sections without anaesthetic. A media blackout in Gaza has removed the right of Palestinian women to speak out about the injustices they are facing. They don’t have a voice, so we need to use ours. The Peace March, along with the ‘Free Palestine’ movement, is not a call for violence. It is not a call for retribution. It is a call for peace.
Since 7 October an estimated 18,600 people have been killed in Palestine. Thousands of these human beings are children. These numbers do not take into account the swathes of people who have died as a result of the illegal occupation of Palestine since 2007. These statistics come from ‘The Jewish Voice for Peace’, an organisation that lists itself as the ‘largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organisation in the world’. The Israeli government does not speak for all Jewish people. Supporting the freedom of an illegally occupied territory is not an anti-Semitic act.
The situation in Palestine is not a religious issue.
It is not a race issue. It is a human issue. As a pacifist, I abhor violence against every human. I am specifically sensitive to violence against women, and for these reasons I was horrified to read the comments.
A call for ceasefire is a call to end a war that has devastated lives in Palestine and in Israel. Human beings are dead on both sides of the line, and the conflict cannot end until the occupied territories have been freed.
Linda is right in one capacity – the lives and dignity of all women are paramount. It is saddening to see certain members of our community do not extend this belief all the way to Gaza.
Daisy Chapple
Guernsey Women’s Collective