Gaza
Photo Credit: Alessandro Gandolfi
_ Name: Shoruq and Rawan Abo Ghanem
Location: Gaza
Ages: 14
Unique thing about them: They had surf wear custom made for them to adhere to the conservative dress codes of their culture.
Surfing? In Gaza? Yep! This is by far my favorite story. Shoruq and Rawan Abo Ghanem are cousins who live in Gaza City and who are breaking serious barriers in their community. They were originally introduced to water sports under the guidance of their fathers, first learning to body board on old windsurf equipment. They were eventually able to access proper surfboard equipment with the help of international friends and NGOs. They have only started working with actual surfboards in the last two years, under the guidance of their fathers. Their younger sisters, Sabah and Kholoud have also been learning with them.
Palestinian girls and women in conservative Gaza, which is under the control of the Islamist movement Hamas, struggled with what to wear when they went surfing because they did not have any culturally appropriate clothing. In conservative Islam, women are prescribed to wear modest clothing that does not show the outline of the body. An initiative was formed with designers from Parsons School in New York City to create for them culturally appropriate surf gear. Named the Gaza Surfer Girl Project, this is one of the coolest examples of surfer girls making waves of change in their communities.
Location: Gaza
Ages: 14
Unique thing about them: They had surf wear custom made for them to adhere to the conservative dress codes of their culture.
Surfing? In Gaza? Yep! This is by far my favorite story. Shoruq and Rawan Abo Ghanem are cousins who live in Gaza City and who are breaking serious barriers in their community. They were originally introduced to water sports under the guidance of their fathers, first learning to body board on old windsurf equipment. They were eventually able to access proper surfboard equipment with the help of international friends and NGOs. They have only started working with actual surfboards in the last two years, under the guidance of their fathers. Their younger sisters, Sabah and Kholoud have also been learning with them.
Palestinian girls and women in conservative Gaza, which is under the control of the Islamist movement Hamas, struggled with what to wear when they went surfing because they did not have any culturally appropriate clothing. In conservative Islam, women are prescribed to wear modest clothing that does not show the outline of the body. An initiative was formed with designers from Parsons School in New York City to create for them culturally appropriate surf gear. Named the Gaza Surfer Girl Project, this is one of the coolest examples of surfer girls making waves of change in their communities.
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_ But in their conservative culture, it is not considered appropriate for girls to surf after they turn 14. Their surfing is made possible through the support of their parents but that is beginning to wane as they face criticism from some in their communities. Will they be forced to quit? Will there be a renegade surfer girl to break that
barrier? Follow Brown Girl Surf TM
as we track the evolution of Gaza’s
first surfer girls and support them in their pursuit of social change.
Thank you to Matthew Olsen, Founder of Gaza Surf Club, for providing us with information on Gaza's first female surfers. News Coverage on Gaza Girls:
http://www.memri.org http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/2693.htm http://www.memritv.org |
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