Despite tight controls and risk of heavy punishment, a group of Palestinian girls in Israel’s Hasharon Prison managed to publish a magazine to tell their story from behind bars, and they now hope to revive it.
The magazine was the brainchild of Mona Qa’adan, a now-released prisoner from Jenin. “I came up with the idea of a magazine when I noticed that some of the minor prisoners have a talent for writing and drawing,” she told Al-Monitor. When she approached them with the idea, the girls agreed to write about their opinions, feelings, what they faced during their arrests and how they spend their time in prison. Qa’adan was released before its first edition came out, but the inmates managed to smuggle out a copy and give it to her. She still holds on to this prized possession two years later.
