Reproductive health and rights in East Jerusalem: the effects of militarisation and biopolitics on the experiences of pregnancy and birth of Palestinians living in the Kufr ‘Aqab neighbourhood

Abstract

Research with marginalised communities points to the need to understand political determinants of reproductive health. For residents of Kufr 'Aqab neighbourhood, Israeli biopolitics in East Jerusalem can be barriers to access to maternal health. This is manifested in women having to cross military checkpoints to give birth in hospitals located in Jerusalem to make their children eligible for "permanent residency", a document required for Palestinians to live in Jerusalem. A basic qualitative design is utilised, and semi-structured in-depth interviews with 27 women and 20 men were conducted and thematic analysis was used to extract themes and subthemes. Women reported exposure to risky conditions during pregnancy and worries of giving birth at checkpoints. Social support was restricted for some women due to inability of the husband/family to reach the hospital at the time of birth. Men reported distress related to inability to attend birth. Giving birth in a Jerusalem hospital, as part of passing residency to children, was perceived as reaffirming Palestinian presence in the City and transforming sites of suffering to sites of resistance. Israeli residency policies and segregation of Jerusalem affect Kufr 'Aqab residents' pregnancy and birth on physical, social and psychological levels. Results indicate the importance of incorporating political determinants of access to maternal care and safe pregnancy in the conceptualisation of reproductive rights.

‘Your daily reality is rubbish’: Waste as a means of urban exclusion in the suspended spaces of East Jerusalem

“…According to this reading, the areas have been 'deliberately ignored' and their unresolved status 'carefully planned' (Dajani et al, 2013: 7) to serve Israeli objectives, in particular the aim of a Jewish majority in the city (Alkhalili et al, 2014, see also Graff, 2014). Several authors examine the ways residents navigate this constrained field of possibilities: Hammoudeh et al (2016) and Hamayel et al (2017) focus on the manner in which the Israeli regime forces Palestinians to make life and family decisions within the restrictive parameters of the occupation. Similarly highlighting the lack of choice many Palestinians moving to these areas feel, Harker et al (2014: 8) describe the local residents as 'almost forcibly warehoused'.…”

For “a no-state yet to come”: Palestinian urban place-making in Kufr Aqab, Jerusalem

“…As a result, Ramallah and Al-Bireh, in the West Bank, became the nearest urban centers accessible to Kufr Aqab dwellers. Today, neither the Palestinian Authority nor the Jerusalem municipality fully regulates the daily life of Kufr Aqab’s neighborhood (Alkhalili et al., 2014; Hamayel et al., 2017). Kufr Aqab dwellers have to navigate a complex state of living in limbo between an occupying neglectful Israeli municipality and, a “perpetual suspended present” of the Palestinian state (Abourahme, 2011: 455).…”

“…This results in constrained mobility for the partner with West Bank ID to visit, work, or live in Jerusalem. The spatial-juridical limbo in Kufr Aqab becomes one of the isolated pockets of spaces where such families are able to live under one roof without experiencing the constant threat of daily harassments by the Israeli state (Alkhalili et al., 2014; Ashly 2018; Hamayel et al., 2017). In such families, for the Jerusalem ID holders, being in Kufr Aqab enables them to perform and exhibit to the Israeli authorities that their lives are centered inside Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries.…”

Neutrality, conflict, and structural determinants of health in a Jerusalem emergency department

“…During pregnancy, they are exposed to risky conditions and experience increased fear and anxiety. Often, their husband and family cannot accompany them to the hospital due to lack of a permit [ 49 ].…”