Palestinian Cartoonist Majda Shaheen Shares 2014 Courage Award

CRNI’s board chose Palestinian Majda Shaheen as the co-recipient of our 2014 CIEC award in response to the repeated threats and public campaign mounted against her due to a cartoon she published on her Facebook page that was seen as critical of Hamas, the political and military entity in control of Gaza, where she resides. The cartoon depicted her view of the relationship between the Head of the Ruling Authority in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, and the Al-Quds brigades, as detailed on ArabCartoon.net.
As she so eloquently stated in her acceptance remarks, which she was unable to travel to America to give in person due to continuing concerns for her safety: “Despite all the obstacles and challenges put in my way, I still believe in the influence of art on society and culture, even when that influence might be undetected. It is essential for me to express myself as a woman and as a Palestinian living in Gaza, a place where opinions similar to mine are rarely heard and are not given the opportunity to be broadly communicated. Our political leaders willingly choose to ignore or silence voices that do not match their agenda. Revolutions begin from the simple people, who raise their voices to speak for themselves and represent the silent majority.”
 
Majda Shaheen on Facebook   Majda Shaheen on Twitter   Majda Shaheen on Cartoon Movement