Women Documenting Their Lives In Susiya - ActiveStills

Around 400 people from 45 shepherding and farming families are living in the Palestinian village of Susiya, located in Area C (which is under Israeli military and civil control) in the South Hebron Hills. They have lived in this region on a seasonal basis since at least the 19th century. In 1986, the Israeli Civil Administration expelled the residents of Susiya from their original village and declared the zone to be an archeological site on which they built the Jewish settlement of Susiya. The families re-established their residence on agricultural lands they own, near their previous homes. In 2001, the Israeli army expelled the villagers from their lands for the second time.

In 2011, the women of Susiya documented their lives as a part of a participatory photography project conducted by Activestills photographer Keren Manor and guest photographer Mareike Lauken. Every week, an individual photography workshop was held with one of the women participating in the project. Through learning how to use cameras, the women of Susiya tell the stories of their daily life in their small village, surrounded by illegal Jewish settlements and the ever-present Israeli army.

This project was one of many activities of the village’s Creative and Learning Center. During the one-year celebration held for the center, every family tent became a photo exhibition space in which each woman presented her photos, showing the life of the family. The people who came to celebrate with the village were invited to visit the families and see the photo exhibitions.

Images of Susiya’s women photographers documenting their daily lives

Images of Susiya’s women photographers documenting their daily lives.

Examples of the photos on exhibition in the tent homes of the participating photographers in the one year anniversary of the Susiya Creative and Learning Center