NIF Celebrates International Women's Day

In celebration of International Women’s Day, NIF held a week-long series of public events focusing on women’s rights in Israel.

Flyer for the poetry event in Jerusalem

This year, NIF sponsored a first-of-its-kind collection of women’s protest poetry, Naked Queen. The anthology includes 193 poems written by 103 leading poets and singers on a variety of themes, including the harassment of women; women’s sexuality and body image; and the economic difficulties faced by women. Two poetry evenings in Jerusalem and one event in Tel Aviv featured a number of the poets, as well as a public discussion of its themes.

In another event, ‘Rising from the Benches', leading female athletes and media personalities explored the reasons why so few women attend sports events in Israel, even though a majority of them follow sports on a regular basis. An NIF-commissioned survey found that a fear of violence and racism are the primary causes for their absence from the stands. Experience from other countries demonstrates that the more women attend sports events, the less violence and racism are displayed by the audience. NIF hopes to use this information to help kick start a process of encouraging more women, and thus less racism, at sporting events.

We were also proud that the impact of our work on women's rights was highlighted by the popular Israeli magazine La’Isha's shortlist of 15 women for the prestigious Rappaport Prize, which recognizes the achievements of a woman who has worked hard to promote social change. Seven of the nominees came from the NIF/SHATIL family, demonstrating how successful we have been in bringing feminism to the mainstream.