Manar al-Sharif (born 1997/1998) is a Palestinian Syrian journalist and peace activist.

Early life and education

Al-Sharif was born in Syria and raised in

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, Syria, although her father was from Gaza. She and her family moved to

Cairo, Egypt Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

in 2013, due to the Syrian civil war. Al-Sharif wanted to attend college, but her conservative religious parents were reluctant to allow her to. They eventually gave permission for al-Sharif to study at the

Islamic University of Gaza The Islamic University of Gaza ( ar, الجامعة الإسلامية بغزة), also known as IUG and IU Gaza, is an independent Palestinian university established in 1978 in Gaza City. It was the first higher education institution to be establ ...

. Al-Sharif traveled to Gaza in 2017 to study journalism at the university, but she dropped out after a few months, citing the “Hamas propaganda” at the school, saying "It wasn’t professional and it wasn’t journalism".

Career

Al-Sharif, who had been teaching herself English for years, first began writing for American, Australian, and Israeli publications. She published under a pseudonym when writing for the Israeli publications, out of fear of retribution. She primarily wrote about life in the Gaza strip, particularly the struggles faced by women and children. During this time, Al-Sharif also became involved with the Gaza Youth Committee, and later became part of its leadership. In 2019, al-Sharif, with the Gaza Youth Committee, organized two bicycle races to bring attention to the struggles of the Gazan population, and as a way to provide safe recreation to Gazan youth. Also in 2019, al-Sharif spent two nights in jail after being arrested for holding an event at her home with both men and women as guests. In April 2020, al-Sharif was arrested after advertising a

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event called "Skype with your enemy" that included Israeli speakers; several of the event planners were also arrested.{{Cite web , last= , date=October 31, 2020 , title=Hamas releases two men held since April for speaking with Israelis online , url=https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/hamas-releases-two-men-held-since-april-for-speaking-with-israelis-online/ , access-date=2023-11-04 , website=www.jewishnews.co.uk , language=en-US She went on to spend three months in a women's prison. She spent some of this time in solitary confinement, and went on a two-week hunger strike to protest the prison conditions. She was released on bail in June 2020. After her release, she returned to Cairo in October before moving to the

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

Personal life

In 2021, al-Sharif was accepted to a Canadian university. As of 2023, she was living in the United Arab Emirates still navigating the complex diplomatic channels that will allow her to attend university in Canada.

References

1990s births Living people 21st-century Palestinian women writers Palestinian emigrants to Egypt Palestinian emigrants to the United Arab Emirates Palestinian women journalists 21st-century Palestinian journalists Palestinian women activists Palestinian anti-war activists Writers from Damascus