There were many reasons political, social, and economic that could have caused Ghada, a young Palestine woman to attack an Israeli soldier. Starting with the women’s viewpoint: cousin marriage, the impact of divorce, lack of economic opportunity, and the burdens of Israeli occupation. Those all can impact the motivation of Ghada’s attack. The Gulf War in 1990-91 had a big impact on her life. It had a devastating impact on her family’s wealth and it also drove the decision that made her unhappy which was her arranged marriage to her cousin in Artas. Her biography also shows how Palestinian women’s lives are formed by the Israeli occupation and its barriers and by the masculine culture of the village and family. It also shows that conflicting
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She did not get along with her husband’s family whom she lived with so she was very unhappy. A woman could legally ask for a divorce but had to follow these guidelines: if the husband fails to follow his marital duties or if she can pay him a mutually agreed upon amount of money and has his consent to the divorce. Divorce is frowned upon and could ruin her reputation. If she did ask for a divorce her father would not let her come back home because she must learn to make it work. “Ghada’s personal circumstances – an unhappy domestic situation and a pronounced lack of viable alternatives – are inextricably entwined with her identity as a Palestinian villager living under Israeli occupation and the political dynamics of the Arab – Israeli conflict” (332). She was pressured to stay in the village to make her marriage work out so this seems to be why she made an alternative plan to get out of the country. An attack on an Israeli soldier at a checkpoint would surely get her deported to Amman immediately. “It was a brilliant solution: at one stroke, she could return to her parents, escape her marital home, and become a heroine in the process” (333). After being stopped by the guards before she could do anything,
She did not get along with her husband’s family whom she lived with so she was very unhappy. A woman could legally ask for a divorce but had to follow these guidelines: if the husband fails to follow his marital duties or if she can pay him a mutually agreed upon amount of money and has his consent to the divorce. Divorce is frowned upon and could ruin her reputation. If she did ask for a divorce her father would not let her come back home because she must learn to make it work. “Ghada’s personal circumstances – an unhappy domestic situation and a pronounced lack of viable alternatives – are inextricably entwined with her identity as a Palestinian villager living under Israeli occupation and the political dynamics of the Arab – Israeli conflict” (332). She was pressured to stay in the village to make her marriage work out so this seems to be why she made an alternative plan to get out of the country. An attack on an Israeli soldier at a checkpoint would surely get her deported to Amman immediately. “It was a brilliant solution: at one stroke, she could return to her parents, escape her marital home, and become a heroine in the process” (333). After being stopped by the guards before she could do anything,