Our Mission
In our attempt to revive the textile industry in Gaza, it is imperative that we encourage both men and women to participate in the embroidering process. The unemployment rate affects both men and women in Palestinian society, meaning that not only women, but also men must start partaking in the embroidering process. Our business does not confine men to the factory and women to the household. We want to challenge these social constructs and the forces dictating women's’ roles from within our society. The social impact we are trying to achieve attempts to break away from traditional ways of conceptualizing women and men’s roles. For us, the way to move beyond gender roles is through actively involving men in spheres traditionally inhabited by women. Hopefully, when men begin entering those spaces, the assumptions regarding what a woman/man does or where she/he does it will be questioned. We want to see all genders working collaboratively and simultaneously in the factory and household in order to blur traditional spheres of being.
As such, our "embroidery has no gender" vision stems from our steadfast commitment to keeping the tradition of Palestinian handmade embroidery alive. We believe that by encouraging everyone to make and wear embroidery, this skillful art will be preserved for generations to come. We attempt to preserve Palestinian embroidery in the face of systematic appropriation of traditional Palestinian clothing by forces that attempt to slowly wipe away Palestinian culture.