Palestinian residents of different genders and ages are suffering on a daily basis the injustice and occupation of the Israeli forces who continue to bomb their houses, expel them from their homes, and throw them into prisons, oppressing their voices. But imagine how it must be for a pregnant woman detained in an Israeli prison, weeks before her labor? 25 year-old Anhar Al-Deek is a pregnant captive, currently living the nightmare of having to give birth to her newborn behind bars.
She isn’t the first pregnant mother to enter the occupation prisons, and she will not be the last, head of the Committee for Prisoners’ Affairs says. Al-Deek was arrested on charges of attempting to stab Israeli settlers. According to Al Mayadeen, she is currently in Damon Prison with 40 other sister prisoners, including 11 mothers who are four months pregnant subjected to beatings, humiliation, insults, and cursing. The Red Cross is the only entity allowed to visit and check on Al-Deek’s health state, while her family is denied any visits.
In the same vein of injustice Palestinians continue to suffer from and a situation of utter shambles, a Palestinian family was shaken yet again by another heartbreaking situation. Al-Deek suffers in captivity as she approaches her due date, and her labor demands a C-section in which the the procedure behind bars have given rise to uncertainty in regards to its safety. Everyone has been taking a gritty approach regarding the matter of defending Al-Deek, and we’re here to share the plea!
In light of the inhumane conditions 9-months pregnant Al-Deek is going through, she wrote an agonizing letter to her family, depicting her fright and loneliness that she’s currently living with the due date getting closer. In the letter, she started off by stating how much she misses her family, and how her heart aches for their parting. She later said that she’s in severe pain, as her pelvis and feet hurt from sleeping on the prison bed..a bed that is anything but comfortable and suitable for a pregnant lady.
She continued to wonder about the difficulties she’ll be going through after giving birth. How is she going to take her first steps towards healing, while the jail warden holds her hands in disgust? How is she going to protect her new born from the frightening sounds of torture and inhumane scenes of injustice he’ll open his eyes to? She only wishes people can help her out to pressure the Israeli forces into releasing her, without putting her life as well as her new born’s in peril.
Coming on the heels of being aware of such a situation, people all over the world catapulted their own movement, calling for the release of Al-Deek. A woman should be able to attain her simplest right of bearing her child alongside her husband, where she can have access to proper treatment and a loving family by her side. Pregnancy is hard enough outside prison with good prenatal care provided, and the thought of a woman delivering a baby with handcuffs and behind prison bars as the delivery room is simply unacceptable.
Staunch support is in line, where people are using their platforms to aid in change..and the comforting messages found in the comments section regarding the matter speak volumes about social proactivity. Not just Al-Deek, but the likes of her deserve mercy and defending. They deserve to find troops asking for their rights when their lips are sealed, and hands so tightly cuffed that prevent them from earning their freedom themselves.
