On April 7th, at 5:00 p.m., Olin 105 was filled with students who came to listen in on the 2025 Jesse Daniel Ames lecture in feminist studies titled: Anti-Colonial Feminism and Palestinian Liberation, a panel with Palestinian feminists. Serving food from the Peace Bakery and Deli in Austin, audience members were invited to chow down on authentic Palestinian food while listening to the panel. 

The panelists, each a Palestinian activist, included supervising attorney and organizer Rhiannon Hamam, Palestinian/Lebanese organizer Lenna Nasr, and Palestinian-Syrian scholar Dr. Ruba Akkad. Dr. Meagan Solomon, Southwestern University’s Assistant Professor of Feminist Studies, mediated the panel and offered discussion questions to the activists. 

What is anti-colonial feminism? How do you define it? 

Dr. Akkad, the first to answer the question, stated that to her, anti-colonial feminism means indigenous feminism. It’s understanding first and foremost that before colonialism formed as a dominating structure, we didn’t need the term feminism.  ‘Feminism’ is a term rooted in colonialism, as are many other forms of oppression, specifically settler colonialism. She went on to explain that a settler colonial framework aims to work genocide into communities. It embeds itself systematically and psychologically. Anti-colonial feminism rejects this system and is rooted in indigenous ways of being. 

Adding to Dr. Akkad’s response, Lenna Nasr said that expressing anti-colonial feminism can mean different things to different people. Part of anti-colonialism feminism is rerooting anti-colonialism, critiquing how the ruling class exploits the developing parts of the globe to gain wealth and power. Nasr notes that imperialism and capitalism cannot function without gender disparity. In the nuclear family, women have to do labor-intensive activities rooted in the home. To dismantle anti-colonialism under this structure and win sovereignty for your people, you must see the world as you want it to be. She further alluded to the Nigerian revolution, how women contributed in roles primarily occupied by men, and the taboos of the roles of women were broken. By taking a role in their liberation struggle, they opened opportunities for themselves that weren’t there before. 

Rhiannon Haman agreed with the two other panelists, voicing that settler-colonialism and imperialism work through gendered capitalism, and anti-colonial feminism is in the intersection of this. Anti-colonial feminism argues that settler-colonialism and imperialism are a system inside the belly of the beast that necessitates and helps the body of genocide. 

Could you speak on some anti-colonial feminist figures that have inspired your work in each of your roles? 

Nasr replied that rather than being inspired by individuals, she is more focused on the collective. One example that Nasr loves is the women who were part of the Young Lords Organization, a group of Puerto Rican youths who sought liberation from America, among many other rights they advocated for, based in New York and Chicago. Nasr continues by saying that in many colonial societies, there is a heteropatriarchy (a system where heterosexual men are the dominant group and patriarchal structures are upheld). Nasr stated that we may begin to help fix society under a heteropatriarchy by working with our male counterparts and explaining that patriarchy also harms them. Nasr also expressed admiration for the women in the Lebanese civil war. Tired of waiting for the men to come home, these women began to take up arms. In doing this, similar to the women involved in the Nigerian Revolution, they started to reshape the understanding of their roles. According to Nasr, “Rooting yourself in conviction is important for the work that we anti-colonial feminists do.” You can’t transform your society from the outside; you must be part of it to create and witness change.

Dr. Akkad spoke of bell hooks, best known for her writings on feminism and class, and her essay: Homeplace, A Sight of Resistance. The essay sets up the framework that the home itself is where a lot of this feminist activism begins. We think of words like ‘revolution’ that we can romanticize, but feminism starts in places like the home. Sharing an anecdote from her personal life, Dr. Akkad explained how her mother was the first anti-colonial feminist in her life. Growing up she watched her mother, a Palestinian woman, live in a country continuously facilitating the genocide of her people. However, her mother always radiated faith and had trust in an eventual victory—she became a model for Dr. Akkad, teaching her essential parts of anti-colonial feminism. Hope, determination, and insistence in learning your history, not just through history lessons, but your family history. She spoke of the name June Jordan, an essential figure for understanding solidarity not as transactional, and a stubborn stance to sacrifice certain things, a controversial issue, and a reason why her work isn’t often taught. 

Rhiannon Hamam spoke of Khalida Jarrar, an elected representative of women in Palestine. Informally charged with a crime, she experienced the inside of an Israeli occupational prison. Within the prison, she organized a school where she taught and gave lectures. 

Furthering this, Dr. Akkad added that when feminism is used as a tool or weapon of war, we have to fight against it. Student movements are threatening for a reason, because they are effective. Students are more powerful than we think. Think about who you are and what you do in this world, and how those skills and talents can help contribute to the movement. 

How do you all specifically employ anti-colonialism practice in your specific roles? What’s our collective role in enacting anti-colonial feminism? What are some ways that people in this room can enact it? 

Rhiannon Hamam doesn’t believe her role is any different from anyone else’s role. She went on to say that we think as organizers, and in turn, we organize our roles with our people. The process by which human history pushes towards progress over time is because, internally, we continue to struggle and move that way together. Examples of how she brings anti-colonial feminism into her practice go back to defining what anti-colonial feminism is. You need to ask yourself what your goals are. Hamam’s broad goals in her politics are who she is as a person, she’s not the only “me” in the room. It is not an aspiration for her to be the only woman or Palestinian who did “x, y, or z” —that is not the goal of the movement. Her goal as an anti-colonial feminist is to get to the root of gender capitalism and colonialism. Hamam powerfully stated “When I walk into a room, I bring my people wherever I go.” 

Nasr added that she embodies this by living by the politics they ascribe to. To do this, you must be principled no matter where you go, even if it’s a difficult decision. Nasr stated that she thinks about how she would look her people in the face after making each decision. The only way to get our community to a place we desire is by meeting people where they are and bringing them along with us, rerooting as a collective and historically in different places. Women have been the ones who organize and take notes, but Nasr believes we are all responsible for organizing, despite gender. She states that if you are to take anything away from this panel, it is to understand that it is not about the individual, but the way that we bring our communities with us. We have to become a part of organizations that are doing that kind of work, as this movement requires us to be part of a collective. The West has a narrow vision of feminism, but feminism looks different for different people. Expanding that narrow definition to include national feminist movements is a part of how we think as anti-colonial feminists. 

According to Dr. Akkad, considering how we employ our work as educators, everything we read and write in our classrooms is not separate from the outside world. We can get our degrees, but what does that matter if we don’t bring them to our communities and the world that we want to live in? It’s important to learn to employ these concepts to the things we see in our daily lives. Isolation is a big tactic in colonialism; when we think about campuses like Southwestern, there is a tendency to see private liberal arts campuses as isolated, but we are not far away from other students. It’s important to resist this isolation and talk to your peers. Get organized, as that is what threatens the entire system. 

Audience Questions

After the questions asked by Dr. Solomon, a list of questions that attendees were invited to anonymously submit through a Google form was asked of the panelists.

How have you found ways to participate in the field of law? What advice would you give to someone who is going into law and wants to focus on activism? 

Hamam shared that she went into law school naive and pessimistic, and was wrestling with these questions. But, she said, you lead with your values in whatever you do. Similarly, students lead with their values by what they say in class, how they interact with their peers, and the choices they make about their future; you can do that in law as well. 

The Biden administration released a ceasefire earlier this year. Has the ceasefire actually done anything to help the ongoing destruction in Gaza? 

All panelists chimed in to answer this question; it was stated that political tools are the underlying issue in Zionism, which will not be resolved until Palestinian solidarity is recognized. It was in the Biden administration’s favor to announce it; the ceasefire was always going to be tenuous, as things such as this are always about money. Netenhayu was never going to abide by the ceasefire, however, it did allow for a brief period of breathing space and the release of political prisoners. A ceasefire is a political tool that each side has a different interest around. Whose interests are served by this, and to what extent, will tell us how far they are willing to go to uphold the ceasefire agreement. But it’s important to note that everything colonized people have is won by resisting disputes, bombings, famine, and torture. In this case, they won the ability to bring basic aid into Gaza. 

Dr. Akkad added that the idea that people started to see a ceasefire as the end goal is dangerous. Palestine has been under siege for far longer than two years. It’s just that now, there is more media coverage of the occupation than ever due to the attacks of October 7th. 

Why have people refused to acknowledge the Israeli state violence as genocide? Why have other nations refused to learn from the lessons of the Holocaust? 

Rhiannon Hamam stated that the lack of acknowledgement can be summed up as it not being the United States’ interest to stop or call what’s happening in Gaza a genocide, so in turn, the U.S. doesn’t treat it as one. According to Hamam, we must define Zionism as a form of imperialism. The U.S. earns money from the ongoing colonization, even if it comes at the cost of the genocide of people, and so it is in their interest for the tragedy to continue so they can profit. This is what imperialism allows. 

Nasr added that people materially benefit from colonization, and it is often used to justify and obscure the material reality. Historically, Palestine has been a desired trade route, a reason why America has no interest in the liberation of the genocide. At the same time, the global south understands why this is important because they also have been colonized. The world is much bigger than the U.S., and the world does stand with Palestine. 

Dr. Akkad pointed out that we can live comfortable lives here because of all the genocides America held a direct hand in. These debates about words and phrases are meant to distract from the burning flesh of what’s happening. All the while, we are performing political theatre with terms and phrases. 

Is “from the river to the sea” a realistic goal when Israel remains under superpowers? What would need to occur to return Palestinian land to its people? 

According to Hamam, there’s a tension between despair and what can be done, but seeing how much support there is from other colonized people around the globe keeps her motivated. People call Palestine the tip of the spear because Palestine shows us so much. It is a fight for anti-colonial feminism, environmental justice, and the dismantling of a system of racial injustices imposed by colonizers all over the world. You have to actively fight against your despair. Using the Algerian Revolution as an example, Hamam says that it took the Algerian Revolution over 100 years to gain independence from French colonial rule; in Vietnam, after losing a million lives, they didn’t know the next day they were going to be liberated. Encompassing this sentiment, Hamam stated, “generation after generation til total liberation.”

Nasr agreed with Hamam, saying revolution is a process, not a moment. The Cuban Revolution is still ongoing, even though they threw off their oppressors. Through revolution and struggle, we will open up other horizons. It’s important to remember that Zionism affects other Arab countries as well, and according to Nasr, “as long as Zionism exists anywhere, it will be a threat to Arabs anywhere”. When we think about two-state liberation, creating two independent states for Israelis and Palestinians, it takes us away from the Palestinian people being free from all forms of oppression. 

Following this, Dr. Akkad adds that when you zoom out and look at the entire history of the world, it’s only a blip. This analogy is meant to understand why hope is a political tool, as it is easy to fall into despair, an idea that anti-colonial feminist figures have instilled in her. Her mom hasn’t been home for 60 years, yet still has hope of return and liberation, even if she’s not there to see the fruits of it.  

What is Zionism? 

To answer this question, Nasr states that Zionism is a political ideology that developed in Europe in the 1800s alongside the colonization of the Western hemisphere. Zionists will state that they are trying to liberate Jewish people by giving them Palestinian land, which is “an imperialist ideology”. Zionism can’t exist without the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. Palestine has existed long before Zionism was constructed. Nasr continues, “Palestine will be free one day, I sincerely believe that and am deeply convinced of that. Over 15,000 babies have been murdered and are martyrs to the cause.”

Dr. Solomon added that the land of Palestine has been significant for many people in past situations and to not get lost in thinking that this is a religious conflict. Jewish people, Christians, and muslims lived in Palestine before the borders. There are Palestinian Jews who don’t get seen and are improperly voiced. 

What is the end goal of anti-colonial feminism? 

Tracing it back to her first answer, Dr. Akkad states that anti-colonial feminism is rooted in the indigenous values of life, love, and liberation. She believes that there are many goals for anti-colonial feminism, but there is an emphasis on the return of land to indigenous people who are victims of genocide. It’s about destroying a system, rather than people, and if we get rid of these destructive systems, we can achieve real anti-colonial feminism. 

Nasr believes that the end goal ties back to the question of sovereignty. As long as we have systems of oppression, especially capitalism, we will not have the freedom or the ability to make the change that we want to see. One of the difficulties in Arab societies is that feminism is seen as Westernized and not able to be talked about among Arab people. 

While admiring the value of this question, Hamam points out that we need to ask what we are working towards. It’s important to make what we are working towards a reality to the extent we can, even in daily life. Palestinians as political actors have been stripped of their political agency, so we must take back this agency by struggling shoulder to shoulder with comrades in our communities. 
To learn more about the occupation in Palestine and the history of the land, the Palestinian Youth Movement has a reading list of materials available on their website, along with the website Decolonize Palestine and the BDS Movement. Closing the panel, Dr. Solomon asked that everyone remember, “as long as the idea of Zionism has existed, so has the colonization of Palestine”.