RAFIF ESLIM

Gaza — Participants in the artistic event agreed to transform the city's seafront into an open artistic space combining film, music, folklore, and sports performances, in an attempt to create a safe outlet that restores women's cultural presence amid harsh conditions.

The "Shams" Dance Troupe organized a community artistic event on the Gaza beach yesterday, Sunday, September 13, with a notable feminist presence. It included several segments: a screening of the Palestinian film "Scream: When Art Becomes a Voice," a folkloric musical performance, a hip-hop dance performance with Campus Breakers, and the event concluded with a performance by the Gaza Women's Boxing Club.

Layan Al-Saftawi, the presenter of the artistic event, explained that the event is held on the Gaza beach to present several artistic and sports performances aimed at moving girls and women from the psychological pressures we carried throughout the attack period and for three years to a safe space of art, creativity, and sports, to convey the idea that there is still room for life in Gaza and that they can return to those activities they used to love doing.

She indicated that the event was held in a place that the Strip's residents perhaps consider the only space for entertainment and release — the Gaza beach — with the aim of benefiting from the seafront of the besieged city. She noted that the beach turned into a cinema through the screening of "Scream," a short Palestinian dance film directed by Jumana Daibes, produced with the participation of women from Ramallah, the Gaza Strip, and Egypt, with the participation of girls from the Gaza Women's Boxing Club.

It is worth noting that the film's first screening was in Gaza at the Holst Theater in December 2025, and it was later shown in Ramallah and at international festivals (such as in Italy) in 2026 to highlight the struggle of the Palestinian people and turn art into a tool for resistance and survival.

"Gaza's people are a people who love life"

Artist Rula Daloul said that she presented, along with a group of girls during the artistic event, several Palestinian folk songs due to the importance of these songs and the role they contributed over those years in preserving and transmitting heritage, or describing Palestinian suffering, and even in sharing joy. She noted that these songs hold a special place, as mothers memorize them and pass them on to their daughters, so the new generation has mastered them and even dedicates a place for them in their cultural evenings and gatherings.

She pointed out that the participation of such a notable number of women, children, and young men in attending the event indicates the desire of Gaza's residents to watch artistic and sports performances and find space for them during their day despite the difficulty of transportation, to relax and push pressures aside. She directed her message that Gaza's people are a people who love life, call for peace, and see in tomorrow a glimmer of hope no matter how difficult the circumstances.

Player Farah Abu Al-Qumsan confirmed that her participation in the event came through joining the Gaza Women's Boxing Club through the short film and the boxing performance presented by the girls. She explained that the club's founder, Rima Abu Rahma, sought through it to create a safe space for women and girls to practice sports and learn self-defense. Today, she wants to convey a message to all women that they can start the sport they want without society's restrictions or any other obstacles.

She noted that despite the shortage of some equipment for the sport in the Gaza Strip, the club tries as much as possible to provide them for women and children free of charge to create that safe space through which they can breathe. She concluded that she is happy with her presence during the event and the encouragement she received while presenting her performance on the Gaza beach, which means a lot to her.

Cinema documents many stories and tales

Aseel Al-Wadia, one of the attendees, explained that she came to attend the film and the music segment, and the boxing sports performance, and was happy that during those few hours she was able to disconnect from the reality of the Gaza Strip — from bombardment, killing, and destruction. She indicated that the existence of cinema in Gaza after three years is something valuable to her, as it is the tool that documented many stories, tales, and crimes throughout the attack period, making it more of a documentary tool than an entertainment one in the Palestinian case.

She explained that cinema presents the image of Gaza not only from the axis of destruction but also from an aesthetic axis, especially since the besieged city is full of stories and tales. However, the fundamental question remains: from which angle can that story be approached? "Today, organizing an entertainment event at this time is not an easy matter in Gaza, given the difficulties of electricity, the internet, and providing other materials. Therefore, girls and women are encouraged to attend and participate in artistic and cultural events."

On the Gaza Beach... An Artistic Event Grants Women a Safe Outlet Amid the Traces of War

A community artistic event was held on the Gaza beach with a notable feminist presence, including film, musical, folkloric, and sports performances, in a space aimed at granting women a safe outlet after years of war and the repercussions it left behind.