<\/p>\n
8 March 2026<\/p>\n
For more than 30 years, Soumaya walked into UNRWA\u2019s Sulafa Embroidery Centre in the Gaza Strip with the same purpose: to work, to support her family and help other Palestine Refugee women do the same. Established by UNRWA in 1950, Sulafa supports women to preserve Palestinian cultural heritage while earning a living through traditional embroidery known as tatreez.<\/p>\n
\u201cEmbroidery is identity,\u201d Soumaya says the 60-year-old. \u201cEvery stitch carries a story. Every pattern holds memory.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many of the women who come to the centre in Gaza City are widows, single mothers, or women with no stable income. \u201cBefore the war, 472 women were earning their living through Sulafa centre,\u201d Soumaya explains. This was done through a network of nine community centres across the Gaza Strip. All of this was upended when the war began in October 2023. With a fragile ceasefire in place since October 2025, Soumaya is determined to bring the work back to life.<\/p>\n
Soumaya joined the centre in 1992 as a tailor. Today she supervises production, supporting women trying to rebuild through embroidery and handicrafts after war shattered their homes and lives. She has witnessed Sulafa\u2019s transformation from a modest workshop into a centre that carries so much meaning for so many Palestine Refugees in the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n
When the war erupted, work was abruptly disrupted, homes were destroyed and many women were displaced. But they continued wherever they could. \u201cWe managed to send some of the crafts to Cairo. It meant that the women\u2019s effort and income was not lost. Their stitches crossed borders even when we could not,\u201d Soumaya says.<\/p>\n
Other women carried unfinished garments with them into emergency shelters and tents, carefully folding them between their few belongings. \u201cWe were not only protecting fabric. We were protecting months of work. We were protecting food for our children. We were protecting our dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite mass destruction and displacement, Sulafa gradually resumed operations. Materials were sourced against immense challenges. Designs that were lost were recreated from memory. Women once again began stitching in tents, temporary and emergency shelters, and relatives\u2019 homes, often working with limited materials and under difficult conditions.<\/p>\n
For Soumaya and many of the women, the income is critical at a time when economic opportunities in the Gaza Strip have largely collapsed. \u201cWhen a woman earns from her own hands, she stands differently,\u201d she explains. \u201cShe feels capable. She feels respected. She knows she is contributing to her family\u2019s survival.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like many women in the Gaza Strip, Soumaya has endured repeated displacement and personal hardship. Yet she returned not only for herself, but for the hundreds of women who depend on Sulafa.<\/p>\n
Through initiatives like the Sulafa Embroidery Centre, UNRWA continues to support women\u2019s livelihoods while preserving their cultural heritage. The programme provides women with training, income opportunities and support that helps families navigate the devastating effects of war.<\/p>\n
On International Women\u2019s Day, Soumaya says to all women: \u201cYou are stronger than your circumstances. Even in the darkest times, your hands can build a future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
8 March 2026 For more than 30 years, Soumaya walked into UNRWA\u2019s Sulafa Embroidery Centre in the Gaza Strip with the same purpose: to work, to support her family and help other Palestine Refugee women do the same. Established by UNRWA in 1950, Sulafa supports women to preserve Palestinian cultural heritage while earning a […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":299,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[6926],"document-source":[1817],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1945,2005,2613,1745,1841],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-316031","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-stories","document-source-united-nations-relief-and-works-agency-for-palestine-refugees-in-the-near-east-unrwa","document-subject-assistance","document-subject-gaza-strip","document-subject-internally-displaced-persons","document-subject-refugees-and-displaced-persons","document-subject-women","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/316031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/299"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/316031\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":316032,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/316031\/revisions\/316032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=316031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=316031"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=316031"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=316031"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=316031"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=316031"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=316031"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=316031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}