Audre Lorde Project - Manhattan
147 West 24th Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10011
By Bus take the M07, M20 to 7th Ave/W. 25th; M23 to W 23rd Street/7th Avenue.
By Train take the 1 to 7th Avenue/23rd Street; F,M to 23rd Street; A,C,E to 23rd Street.
How is the Palestinian queer movement similar and different than other LGBTQ movements around the world? What are the questions, challenges, and beliefs that shape the discourse of the Palestinian queer movement? How can the other queer people understand and work with issues of visibility and the notion of “coming out” within the Palestinian context? What are the goals, joys, challenges, strategies and dreams of these groups?
Queer Palestinian groups began to emerge in Israel and the West Bank as early as 2001. After a decade of activism, we aspire to lead a new queer movement that is integral to the Palestinian society, a movement that interlinks and intersects with other social and political struggles and communities. We hope to pave the road way for a relevant and local sexual discourse and a more visible LGBTQ activism.
How is the Palestinian queer movement similar and different than other LGBTQ movements around the world? What are the questions, challenges, and beliefs that shape the discourse of the Palestinian queer movement? How can the other queer people understand and work with issues of visibility and the notion of “coming out” within the Palestinian context? What are the goals, joys, challenges, strategies and dreams of these groups?
From February 5-18, 2011 Ghadir of Aswat – Palestinian Gay Women and Haneen Maikey and Sami Shamali of alQaws - for Sexual & Gender Diversity in Palestinian Society, will be on a ground breaking tour of 6 US cities for a series of open conversations moderated by locally and nationally known US activists.
Join us. Listen, ask, learn and connect.
About Aswat
Challenging and changing the discourse on issues relating to Palestinian LBTQI women living in Israel and the Palestinian territories, Aswat- Palestinian Gay Women, is the courageous voice of a unique minority group who face multiple forms of oppression on a daily basis.
Firstly, as Palestinians - a national indigenous minority living inside Israel facing both institutionalized discrimination and casual racism – Aswat is part of the national struggle for equal human and civil rights. Secondly, as women facing oppression in the Israeli and Palestinian societies – despite their outward differences both societies are characterized by a deep-rooted patriarchal attitude towards women – and thus Aswat is part of the global feminist struggle for equality with men. Finally, as LBTQI women in a wider hetero-normative culture that is often extremely homophobic, Aswat struggles against discrimination and fight to promote the inclusion of LGBTQIs in the Israeli and Palestinian societies.
In this intersection of oppressions, Aswat was born to provide a safe and supportive space for Palestinian LBTQI women, and create circles of women leaders who will lead a Palestinian feminist LBTQI movement in our on-going battle for equality and inclusion.
About alQaws
alQaws for Sexual and Gender Diversity in Palestinian Society [alQaws] is a group of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer (LGBTQ) Palestinian activists and allies who work collaboratively to break down gendered and hetero-normative barriers. alQaws seeks to create an open space for all its members so that they may be engaged and energized in the struggle for equality and inclusion. alQaws was formed in November 2007 by a group of queer Palestinian activists who, having worked with the Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance since 2001, recognized the necessity for an organization that focuses primarily on Palestinian LGBTQ issues as they relate to political and social struggles of Palestinians in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.