The history of Palestinian embroidery and current situation of Palestinian territories

Abstract

Palestinian embroidery is a craft that used to be passed down from mother to daughter, and it was employed to embellish the traditional Palestinian women’s costume called thobe. Palestinian peasants and Bedouin used to reinforce their working clothes by adding embroidery, and the patterns reflected their natural surroundings and daily life. In the early twentieth century, some skilled Palestinian women started selling the embroidery they produced. After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, many Palestinians were forcibly displaced internally or externally; women were thus no longer able to make embroidery as part of their daily routines. Subsequently, Palestinian women living in rural villages and in refugee camps began producing embroidery with non-governmental organization (NGO) support under the Israeli occupation; they did so as part of their cultural identity as Palestinians and to generate income. Today, embroidery is produced predominantly by both NGOs and cooperatives. Many embroiderers in rural villages in Ramallah are farm women, and they produce embroidery when they are not engaged in farm work. Embroiderers in refugee camps make embroidery products as their main source of income. However, there has been insufficient research on how Palestinian women produce embroidery and the role it plays in their economic independence. We conducted a fieldwork survey and online research in the Palestinian territories (West Bank and Gaza), and we observed differences in the production systems between NGOs and cooperatives. The NGOs undertook their activities as a form of charity: the embroiderers registered with an NGO and were fully supported by it; thus, the embroiderers simply produced embroidery and were paid according to their work. With cooperatives, however, the embroiderers participated as cooperative members and took the initiative for production. Cooperative members decided the price of products and amount of money they received. Embroiders who worked with cooperatives were more independent than those who registered with NGOs, and the creative work led to increased income.