NABLUS, West Bank — Every morning, 20 women head to work at Abu Salha Sweets, the largest sweets factory in Nablus, in the northern West Bank. Abu Faya, 24, and her fellow “halwanjiyat” (female pastry chefs) now make up half of the factory workers. Breaking with tradition in this sector, like others, Palestinian women are ignoring prejudices and boldly competing with men for jobs.
Abu Faya told Al-Monitor, “I graduated from the media department at An-Najah University two years ago. I have been looking for a job in my field of work in vain ever since. I had to resort to making sweets to make ends meet.”