Women dare to dance in Gaza
Female dance troupes that perform at weddings are increasingly popular in Gaza as women try to earn income for themselves and their families.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Women in Gaza have increasingly begun forming and performing as all-female dance troupes to perform at local Muslim and Christian weddings. Their initiative has been driven in part by a desire to earn money, given the lack of job opportunities and Gaza's high rates of unemployment, as well as to make space for women in a conservative society only accustomed to male dance troupes.
According to statistics released by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics on March 7, female unemployment in Gaza and the West Bank stood at 44.7% at the end of 2016, compared to male unemployment, which totaled 22.2%. Women in Gaza tend to work in jobs and professions where they are not around men, including as teachers in girls schools and in sewing and embroidery enterprises.
