Title
Palestinian Women's Perspectives on British Policies, People, and Values during the British Mandate, 1922-1948 by Sara Olk
Description
Using oral histories collected by historians, as well as a diary, a memoir, letters, and secondary sources, I analyzed Palestinian women’s perspectives on British policies, people, and values during the British Mandate (1922-1948). While most Palestinian women generally disapproved of the overall policy decisions of the Mandatory Government, deeming them as pro-Zionist, opinions on British attempts to modernize Palestine, as well as British people and culture, were more varied. Women educated in missionary schools and urban middle- to upper-class women were more likely to equate the British with progress and adopt Western ideals of civilization, while rural and lower- to middle- class women expressed more ambivalence about Westernization and sometimes resisted Britain’s modernization efforts.