Our Work

Gaza Girls

UPDATE:

Our Gaza Girls Program is suspended until 2025 due to the ongoing war. To support direct humanitarian aid to the women of Gaza, please consider donating to the following:

UN Women Women for Women International

Gaza Girls Program

“This program gave me a safe space to share things I’ve never talked about before.” – Gaza Girl, age 25

We recognize the harsh circumstances in Gaza make the situation especially challenging. That’s why we created an innovative program in 2019 to connect young women living in Gaza with the outside world, overcoming the limitations of travel and opportunity they face every day.

  •  A 10-week virtual program with Palestinian peers in the West Bank and 48-Arabs
  • Safe spaces to build understanding, gain confidence, and inspire action
  • A peer-to-peer support network
  • Leadership, compassionate listening, authentic speaking, and emotional resiliency skills
  • Facilitated by inspiring, expert Palestinian facilitators
  • Global connections with teenage peers in New Mexico, USA participating in our Peace Ambassador program

“It gives me so much power and hope to realize that despite our distance and differences, we can open up to each other and take a chance to be truly human.” – Gaza Girl, age 22

Gaza is home to a population of approximately 2.1 million people, including almost 1.5 million Palestinian refugees. Israel and Egypt have maintained a blockade over Gaza since Hamas took control of the territory in 2007.

Learn more about life in Gaza directly from our 2023 program alumnae through their storytelling exchange with our peace ambassadors in New Mexico. The peace ambassadors also created this video telling the story of one Gaza Girls alumna.

Program Information

Online Application

Applications are now closed.

If you have any questions, please email Ameera@tomorrowswomen.org

Program Dates

The program begins in May and includes 10 virtual weekly meetings with Palestinian peers and special cultural exchanges with young women in the United States.

Participant Criteria

Palestinian women, including Palestinians living in Gaza, the West Bank, and Arabs from 48, between the ages of 18-27, who are passionate about social change and peacemaking and who are interested in connecting with their peers to make a positive impact in their communities and the world.

Funding

This program is partially funded by Together Women Rise and Global Affairs Canada.

In 2004, Bessan Abuelaish, a 15-year-old from Gaza, came to our camp in New Mexico. Despite the many hardships she had faced during her young life, Bessan refused to give up hope for peace. Five years later, Bessan, along with her two sisters and a cousin, were tragically killed by Israeli tank shells fired at their home.

Bessan’s (1988-2009) memory lives on through her father Izzeldin Abuelaish, a medical doctor who worked in Israeli hospitals, and who published a book in remembrance of her called I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor’s Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity. Tomorrow’s Women co-founder and filmmaker Debra Sugerman created the documentary film Broken as a tribute to her legacy as a peacemaker. The Gaza Girls program is dedicated to Bessan and all those affected by war and violence.

Image: Malak Mattar