Gaza reporter says she was beaten for not wearing headscarf
ABC News
A female Palestinian reporter says a member of the Hamas-run border patrol in Gaza beat her with a tree branch for not wearing an Islamic headscarf last month
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- A female Palestinian reporter said Thursday that a member of the Hamas-run border patrol in Gaza beat her with a tree branch for not wearing an Islamic headscarf last month, an incident that sparked a public outcry. The Islamic militant group has promised an apology and said it would punish the man. The incident highlighted Hamas' occasionally heavy-handed treatment of both reporters and women in Gaza, where it seized power in 2007 from the internationally-backed Palestinian Authority. Rewaa Mershid, a 26-year-old reporter for a local radio station, was with colleagues filming at a privately owned farm near the heavily guarded Gaza frontier on April 25 when two members of a Hamas-run border patrol approached and asked them to identify themselves. “The discussion took another turn, focusing on my way of dressing and why I’m not wearing a hijab,” Mershid said, referring to the scarf that many devout Muslim women use to cover their hair in public.More Related News