At the time Ashrawi was born, Ramallah had a large Christian community. Ashrawi's father was a doctor with a reputation for never refusing a call for help. When she was two years old, the state of Israel was created. In 1948 the state of Israel was created in traditional Arab lands. Its existence was challenged by neighbouring countries and, in response to attacks by Arab neighbours, Israel secured its borders by occupying lands in which Palestinians had lived for generations. Ashrawi's father was a founder of the Palestine Liberation Organisation - the PLO. The authorities jailed him for his work with the PLO. As well as pursuing the rights of the Palestine people, he was also a particular champion of women's rights and a powerful influence on Hanan Ashrawi.
"My father is the main influence - because he defended women's rights even when it was not popular to do so… and he raised us to believe in ourselves and not to accept any type of discrimination. But a great collective influence has always been the real suffering of the Palestinian people, I felt that was the determining force in my life, that we have a people who have paid a heavy price through no fault of their own and became victims of history.. and that has always been the influence and the motivating force - the force that drove me on to continue even under extreme difficult conditions."
"I always say when you are born a Palestinian you are born with a responsibility and a risk and the name Palestinian in many ways is evocative because it calls for responses. It is not a neutral statement. So we are all political beings but being a politician is not something which I would choose for myself. I would much rather be an academic in a university, to teach, to write, to do research but I felt that this was one responsibility that I couldn't abandon."
Ashrawi experienced the suffering of the Palestinian people for herself. In
June 1967, whilst studying English at the American University of Beirut, she
heard that her home had been bombed, that her parents might be dead and her
town was occupied. She waited at the offices of the Red Cross for news - and
discovered that her parents were still alive. She was not able to return home
for several years. She was actively involved in student politics and even helped
dig shelters in Palestinian refugee camps. It's her passionate commitment to
the Palestinian cause that has, she says, driven her on in very difficult circumstances
- she sees it as a responsibility that she cannot give up.
She went on to study for a Doctorate in America, and returned to the West Bank in 1973. Here she met her husband, Emile, who was a drummer with a rockband and they had two daughters. She was a Professor of English at the University of Bir Zeit, but in 1987 this was closed down as a result of the Intifada. The Intifada was a spontaneous revolt by the Palestinians in occupied territory against Israeli rule. Ashrawi had to continue teaching in her home or at a local hostel. She was then asked to appear on an American television programme about the Intifada - she spoke fluently and clearly, and came across very well. Following this appearance, she was immediately in demand by other broadcasters. Her media appearance also attracted the attention of the exiled PLO leadership, which had not managed to present itself in a sympathetic light to the West.
In 1991 she was appointed official spokeswoman for the Palestinian delegation at the Middle East Peace Conference in Madrid - now she was to become, according to some reports, the most famous Arab woman in the world.
"The most exciting moment in my career was probably the beginning of the talks in Madrid because at that time we had the attention of the world and we had the narrative and the message. And when I wrote the Madrid speech for the Palestinian team and we had it presented before the world, I felt that for the first time we had gained an audience, we had gained a sort of public legitimacy, and we entered the consciousness of the world as a people, as a nation with an authentic human narrative and not constantly distorted by others."
As a leading figure in the talks, Ashrawi suddenly found herself in the limelight. This put her life in danger from fundamentalist groups. She has received death threats and now has a bodyguard to protect her.
"I have faced death many times, assassination attempts, I can think of two times at least in which I directly faced a machine gun or an assassin. When we were in Madrid also we knew that there was a booby trap car filled with explosives as an attempt at killing me. But living in Palestine in itself is a risk, because I lived under occupation where every day you are subject to any kind of sudden violence. I have been in demonstrations where the army shot at us, I've been beaten up, I've been teargassed, but I've managed to survive all of them."
As official spokeswoman to the Palestinian delegation, Ashrawi worked alongside the fourteen negotiators in what was essentially a man's world. She believes that she brings a different perspective to politics, what she describes as a woman's approach based on the issues and not clouded by self-interest. In her view, this means that she can present the main issues in a clear, honest and even daring way, which breaks through the barriers.
"I do bring to my political work a particularly women's approach to reality which is not based on power politics, that is not based on individual self interest, but is based on discussing the issues themselves. I have learned how not to be scared of a man's world. I have learned how to be daring, how to present my opinions, how to be able to break through all these limits that are put on women, and to try to present in a clear and honest or daring manner all the serious issues."
Ashrawi believes that women use language in a more direct and honest way - that they are less concerned with protecting their own egos and are more interested in the issues. She sees this as part of the different approach which women bring to politics.
"I do think women use language differently in a way which is distinctive
from the way in which men use language. Language cannot be separated from
mindset or from attitude and I think women tend to deal with the issues, and
therefore tend to go straight to the point without attempting to safeguard
their own egos. So in many ways the language used by women is much more immediate, direct and sometimes even more daring in questioning the given truth."
Ashrawi's toughness has meant that she has been criticised for being hard or bossy but she feels that it is vital for women to take up the challenge of a society dominated by men - to present a different view. She believes they must also have the support of other women to help them.
"I think for women to gain access to political power they should first of all not work alone, they should work within a network of women and there are support systems and if they don't exist we should help create them. Because our society has been patriarchal, male dominated, it is important that women change this attitude and to do that they have to challenge and to present an alternative, a different view. And it is women who dare to make the difference who are the pacesetters, who are the women who break the barriers and who make it easier for other women to do the same."
Ashrawi has been very fortunate - her partner has described himself as a
full-time father and "waiting" husband. With his help, she has been able to
pursue her political career.
"I don't think we should have to make a choice
between being a mother or a wife and a woman and human being who is active
in public domain. We make decisions democratically as a family and I make
sure, even ever since my daughters were young children, that they understood
and took part in decision making. And I also made sure that they knew that
I loved them, and if I didn't love them so much I wouldn't love the Palestinian
people and cause so much. So charity begins at home … and then you are able
to work in a way which would give them more freedom, legitimacy and a better
future."
Haleh Afshar, Professor of Politics and Women's Studies at the University of York, UK, summarises the achievements of Hanan Ashrawi:
"She was sent to the world of the UN where by and large men represent men and she was sent to represent a community which is seen by world as being very masculine ... but she actually was selected as the best person for the job…
Hanan Ashrawi is good example of how to break down the barriers about gender - she's a woman in a mans world; the barriers about religion - she's a Christian in a world that would like to see itself as Muslim and she's fighting for the rights of a minority in a context of a majority which is in control."
Ashrawi became a Minister in Arafat's first government in Palestine but in 1998 withdrew because of concerns about corruption. Now Secretary General of Miftah working for citizens' rights, she continues to fight for her people in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.
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