The Life and Legacy of Yusra Al-Barbari
Yusra Al-Barbari is widely regarded as one of Gaza's most prominent figures. She led humanitarian work and was an outspoken advocate for the right to live freely and with dignity. Al-Barbari was the first female university graduate in Gaza in 1949, and she fought for Palestinian rights from the late Ottoman era until the beginning of the twentieth century. After the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip in 1967, she refused to work with the Israeli authorities, even though Israeli jobs were the highest-paid ones. In contrast, she had taken part in rallies against the British Mandate authorities in order to repeal the Balfour Declaration and halt immigration. Furthermore, she focused on education and played a remarkable role in it. She had been teaching Palestinian refugee girls when she was chosen to be a teacher and principal of the "Al-Zahraa School," the Gaza Strip's only secondary school for girls. Al-Barbari had a major influence on the younger generation,...