The Biopolitical Control of the Bodies and Motherhood of Palestinian Wives of Political Detainees

Volume 12|Issue 46| Autumn 2023 |Articles

Abstract

This study documents the experiences of the wives of Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons, who have to undergo their pregnancy and labour while subject to the forced absence of their detained husbands. They live under the rule of a settler–colonial system that practices biopolitical control over their bodies and maternal functions, in addition to a patriarchal system that further oppresses and marginalizes them. The study also highlights the strategies that these women employ to maintain their resilience (Sumud). It finds that biopolitical power methods have been practiced against these womenʼs bodies to control their sexual, reproductive functions and lives including labour, nursing, fertility, and reproductive decision making, going so far as caesarean section stitching. To counter these policies, the women have employed unique strategies of Sumud.

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Assistant Professor in the Social Work Program at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.

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