BabyFist: One of the Arab brands leading the movement for gender equality in Palestine
- Jessica Robbins
- Oct 30, 2019
- 3 min read
This September I spent a month in Palestine. The intentions of my visit were to further explore my interest in the middle east, educate myself more on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to improve my Arabic. However, when it came to thinking about a possible blog post, documentation of the conflict was not an option. Palestine is a beautiful, diverse and culturally vibrant country with remarkable people fighting for social change. Hence, I want to talk about one of these communities; BabyFist, an Arab brand and community championing the movement for gender equality and against oppression by patriarchy and occupation.
Whilst travelling Palestine, my attention was drawn to a TED talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie called ‘The danger of the single story’. Palestine’s ‘single story’ is unfortunately one of conflict. In-fact, at the time of writing, the top three news articles under a ‘Palestine’ google search are based on the bombing, destruction and occupation. Palestine's single story seems to carry negative connotations within western media, which is absurd considering its compelling historical and cultural hub, which I witnessed first hand.
Whilst exploring Palestine's capital, Ramallah, I was advised by some local friends to take a visit to a shop called BabyFist. BabyFist, nestled within the old town of Ramallah, is a feminist shop, movement and community for all to ‘challenge the oppressive gendered structures of society.’ Not only is this community fighting the already oppressive conflict but also the patriarchy that is still deeply embedded within all societies throughout the world.
I spoke with shop assistant Hadil Battrawi, who told me about her dreams of following a human rights based career following the completion of her law degree. She explained that Baby Fist originated with founder Yasmeen Mjalli. As a response to several cat callings, Yasmeen responded with the now iconic feature of their brand, #notyourhabibti. Habibti, in Arabic, means baby and is frequently shouted at women on the streets, akin to the ‘wolf whistle’ in the west.
This iconic phrase began as a personal project and on International Women's day 2016, Mjalli posted a picture of herself wearing a jacket with #notyourhabibti embroidered on it. Later, she began to produce these denim jackets in large quantities as a response to the requests of inspired young women having seen the jacket on Instagram. Mjalli knew how the combination of social media and fashion had the capabilities to spread her message and foster a trend and social impact.
Consequently, 'BabyFist' was founded in 2017. What began as just an embroidered jacket, turned into full clothing collections which are able to be bought from their store or online, from hats to shoes. Additionally, BabyFist is a socially conscious brand, manufacturing their items locally in Ramallah and Gaza, they pride themselves on being promoters of ethical consumerism. Gaza, due to occupation, has lost significant amounts of its textile industry, by bringing production to Gaza, BabyFist seeks to help to rebuild the lost industry and support the local economy.
What makes BabyFist a community is their involvement in local grassroots projects that challenge the oppressive gendered structures of society. Ten percent of profits are donated back into these projects which empower women and young girls, whether it be through food collections, school supplies or menstrual education and campaigns; which is the current project being funded by the brand.
In 2017, Yasmeen Mjalli also began what is now known as the 'Typewriter project'. Setting up a typewriter in the centre of Ramallah, Mjalli encouraged women to come forward with their personal experiences of sexual harassment. Two years on, this arts project has expanded to reach women throughout Palestine, and has even crossed the globe to Rome and the USA. They use storytelling as a way of connecting different communities and and 'bridging the divide' between them. Sexual harassment is certainly not an Arab phenomenon and is a universal issue that women everywhere should unite and challenge as a collective.
It's very easy to say (and something I am guilty of) that social media is damaging our lives, causing addictions and increasing our loneliness. However, these groups are proving just how incredible social media can be if we harness its powerful capability of uniting women and girls throughout the world against the patriarchy and coming together as a single community fighting for the same rights.
It's important to note that BabyFist is not leading this movement alone and to give credit to other social media movements such as #AnaKaman (Metoo) and #Ismaani (Hearmetoo) which are also championing the fight for social change and women's rights in the Middle East.
If you want to find out more about BabyFist, their products and projects you can follow the link below.
Comments