The gender gap in political support in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

• Main Author: Cowper-Coles, Minna
• Published: Birkbeck (University of London) 2018
• Subjects: 320
• Online Access: https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.760292

This thesis finds that women and men in the Occupied Palestinian Territories differ in their political support with women being more likely than men to support Hamas and men being more likely than women to support Fatah. Using interviews and polling data this thesis explains why this difference in political support exists. It looks at gender roles and differences in socioeconomic status finding strong connections between welfare provision, employment and support for different Palestinian political organisations. Further this thesis also explores the role of ideological factors in explaining this gender difference, through exploring religiosity, nationalism and feminism in the Palestinian Territories and how these might interact with political support. It finds that women’s greater religiosity helps to explain the gender gap in political support. This thesis also considers the ways in which the violent and oppressive context of the Palestinian case might impact research in this area and the possible gendered ways in which violence and oppression may impact political support. Studying and explaining this gender gap shows the importance of gender in understanding a crucial area of international politics while also presenting a gender gap case study and as such contributing to a substantial western focused literature.