1. Lila Hasan opens a cooperative shop in the old town in Hebron, the second-largest city in the West Bank. 
At the beginning of 2005 when the cooperative was set up, the embroidered items had been sold from a simple suitcase, which one year later turned into a small table set in the old town's market. Currently, they have a permanent large shop. The first years were not easy. Not only because of the occupation but also because of a man harassing Nawal by asking for a commission on the sales. They just couldn't accept her as a woman doing business.

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Women in Hebron

Katarzyna Łukasiewicz | Palestinian territories

"Women in Hebron" cooperative is a nonprofit fair trade community center located in Idna, a city on the southwest of Hebron in the West Bank, Palestine. The cooperative's aim is to economically empower women and give them the chance and tools to educate and generate additional income for their households. Developing traditional Palestinian embroidery is a way of gaining economic independence, as well as an act of resistance and community strengthening honoring the role of women in Palestinian society. It’s considered as a commitment to preserving Palestinian culture and heritage and also increasing awareness abroad and keeping resistance alive. The organization also supports women by talking about their different problems and providing various solutions they may need. Cooperative gives the opportunity to combine work with family obligations and allows around 150 women from the surrounding eight cities and villages to work. Although women's work brings tangible benefits to the family, some of them are forced to work only when their partner is not at home. Their husbands often explicitly forbid this job, because it violates the conservative gender roles. 

Katarzyna Łukasiewicz – photographer, anthropologist, culture animator and educator. She’s interested in documentary photography, human and socio-cultural environments. 

The Idna Cooperative Association for Embroidery and Handicraft in Idna and Hebron, West Bank, Palestine. 

kas.lukasiewicz@gmail.com

+48 500 697 953

www.katarzynalukasiewicz.com

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