Dive into a powerful conversation on human rights, resilience, and the fight for justice with Randa Siniora, a leading Palestinian feminist and human rights activist.
In this compelling episode of the Women as Agents of Change podcast, Liza Florida sits down with the incredibly insightful Randa Siniora, a Human Rights Defender and General Director of the Women’s Center for Legal Aid and Counseling in Palestine. Randa shares her deeply personal journey, shaped by a legacy of displacement and a lifelong defiance of patriarchal norms. She discusses the critical intersection of colonial occupation and patriarchal structures, specifically how they disproportionately impact Palestinian women.
This isn’t just a conversation about activism; it’s a testament to unwavering persistence, the vital importance of global solidarity, and the enduring power of hope in the face of overwhelming odds.
Key Topics Covered
A Legacy of Displacement: Randa’s personal story of her family fleeing West Jerusalem in 1948 and how this shaped her worldview and sense of belonging.
Defying Patriarchy from Childhood: Her early experiences advocating for girls’ equality within her extended family and challenging traditional gender roles, even as a young girl.
The Single Mother’s Journey: Randa’s candid account of being a divorced single mother in a society that stigmatizes such women, and her insistence on independence and self-determination.
The Intertwined Oppression: A deep dive into how colonial occupation and patriarchal structures reinforce each other, creating “multilayered oppression” for Palestinian women, including the impacts on family life, legal rights, and experiences of violence.
Sexual Violence as a Tool of Suppression: Disturbing evidence and documentation of sexual abuse and threats against Palestinian women kidnapped or arrested by the Israeli military.
Reclaiming Global Feminism: Randa’s powerful call for the global feminist movement to shift focus from individualistic rights to dismantling systemic patriarchal and colonial structures, emphasizing the need for solidarity from the Global South.
Hope in Action: How to maintain hope and action in the face of global injustice, emphasizing the power of the younger generation, social movements, and technological advocacy.
Purpose-Driven Life: The importance of finding a “cause” in life, making every action meaningful, and giving dignity and respect to human rights.
Powerful Quotes from Randa Siniora
- “We need to amplify the voices of Palestinian women because the situation we are living in is a genocidal crime… which should not be accepted by humanity.”
- “We have to keep the energy and the passion and conviction that we can influence change.”
- “Social justice is calling for women’s rights. We are mostly affected by absence of equality and social justice.”
- “Being abroad and having the opportunity to study abroad… made me understand the universality of human rights.”
- “We have to work on dismantling these patriarchal structures, which are an obstacle to women enjoying their rights.”
- “Colonial occupation and patriarchal structures reinforce each other in every aspect of Palestinian women’s lives.”
- “What we need to do is to reclaim our right to gender equality in the way we think is most relevant in our context.”
- “The future is for social movements… they are more grassroots, they are more linked to the peoples on the ground.”
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Innovative Projects & Global Initiatives
- Women’s Center for Legal Aid and Counseling (WCLAC): Randa’s leadership in advocating for Palestinian women’s rights, balancing individual services with impactful advocacy at national and international levels.
- Evidence-Based Advocacy: WCLAC’s crucial work in documenting and utilizing data from individual cases to expose how Israeli policies intertwine with patriarchal structures to create multi-layered oppression for women.
- Think Tank for Global Solidarity: The vision for developing a strategic think tank to consolidate efforts among women from the Global South and allies to challenge inequality and colonial structures.
- Digital Advocacy: Encouraging the younger generation to leverage technology and social media for powerful digital advocacy and to become influencers for social justice causes.
Connect with Randa Siniora
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/randa-siniora-39b70348/
Women’s Center for Legal Aid and Counseling: https://www.wclac.org/
Connect with Liza Florida
Instagram: @lizaflorida and @eightbillionproject
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eightbillionpodcast/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/liza-florida-07597119
Website: https://lizaflorida.com/
Special Thanks
To Randa Siniora for her courage, authenticity, and unwavering commitment to justice and dignity for Palestinian women and all people.
To the International Peace Bureau for their partnership and support for this podcast series. You can learn more about their work at https://ipb.org/ and see more on their YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@ipb1910/videos.
To human rights defenders everywhere who continue to fight for a more just world.
To our listeners, may you find strength in vulnerability and remember that your well-being is essential to the change you wish to see.
About the Series
Women as Agents of Change is a special podcast series hosted by Liza Florida, presented in collaboration with the International Peace Bureau and Eight Billion Project. Each episode celebrates the wisdom, vision, and courage of women working to build a more peaceful and just world.