Ramallah governor opposes mothers celebrating their sons' Martyrdom because the world "thinks we have no feelings"
Headline: "Ghannam to Al-Hayat Al-Jadida: 'It is no shame for a mother to cry for her Martyred son'"
Q: "Does a woman ululate out of joy for the death of one of her sons as a Martyr (Shahid), or for his imprisonment during all the years of the struggle?“
District Governor of Ramallah and El-Bireh Laila Ghannam: "I am against ululations (i.e., cries of joy), against restraining the emotions and against presenting ourselves as a nation of barbarians who don't care about loss and deprivation. In psychology, this is called denial, while we Palestinians have learned that it is pride. It is true that our culture talks of the Martyr's high standing and qualities, but when the world sees us carrying a Martyr and hears our ululations, it thinks we have no feelings - especially when it's a child; for when a child dies as a Martyr, the first image we publish is of him holding a weapon. The mother must express her feelings, and this is what I tell all the mothers I visit, for this is their right... “
Q: "If you had a son and a daughter, would you let them participate equally in the various resistance activities, without fearing more for the girl than for the boy?"
Laila Ghannam: "Certainly, because I lived that life and my brothers are in jail. I am involved in organizational activity, and many have complained to my father that I get beaten and arrested for intervening in things that are none of my business, such as saving young people from the [Israeli] soldiers and participating in rallies. My father opposed sex discrimination, and said that this kind of intervention was characteristic of the family and that it was everyone's right."
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Q: "Does a woman ululate out of joy for the death of one of her sons as a Martyr (Shahid), or for his imprisonment during all the years of the struggle?“
District Governor of Ramallah and El-Bireh Laila Ghannam: "I am against ululations (i.e., cries of joy), against restraining the emotions and against presenting ourselves as a nation of barbarians who don't care about loss and deprivation. In psychology, this is called denial, while we Palestinians have learned that it is pride. It is true that our culture talks of the Martyr's high standing and qualities, but when the world sees us carrying a Martyr and hears our ululations, it thinks we have no feelings - especially when it's a child; for when a child dies as a Martyr, the first image we publish is of him holding a weapon. The mother must express her feelings, and this is what I tell all the mothers I visit, for this is their right... “
Q: "If you had a son and a daughter, would you let them participate equally in the various resistance activities, without fearing more for the girl than for the boy?"
Laila Ghannam: "Certainly, because I lived that life and my brothers are in jail. I am involved in organizational activity, and many have complained to my father that I get beaten and arrested for intervening in things that are none of my business, such as saving young people from the [Israeli] soldiers and participating in rallies. My father opposed sex discrimination, and said that this kind of intervention was characteristic of the family and that it was everyone's right."
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