Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
Khuloud Rashad Al-Masri was born on January 14, 1968, in Nablus, in the northern West Bank. She is married and has five children. Al-Masri spent her childhood in Jordan, attended Al-Aqsa Islamic Schools for her primary education, Princess Basma School for her preparatory education, and Princess Alia School for her secondary education in the humanities in 1986. She earned a bachelor's degree in social development from Al-Quds Open University in 1999 and a master's degree in women's studies from An-Najah National University in 2014.
Al-Masri was known for her religious commitment early in her life. She devoted herself to reading Islamic literature, attending lectures and religious meetings, and regularly attended the weekly lesson of the Muslim Brotherhood leader, Hajja Zainab Al-Ghazali, during her stay in Egypt in 1989.
Al-Masri was active in the Solidarity Charitable Society in Nablus, where she participated in organizing clubs and summer camps, and giving lectures in mosques and schools. She became a member of the society's women's section in 1993, increasing her involvement in charitable and social work. In 1997, she co-founded the Roots Center for Culture and Arts, which aimed to enhance women's skills and empower them socially and economically through the development and implementation of several development projects. Then, in 2000, she co-founded the Islamic Association of Palestinian Women.
Al-Masri won a seat on the Nablus Municipal Council in 2005 on the Reform and Change list. She was appointed head of the Women's Committee, a member of the Public Relations Council, and a member of the Personnel Affairs Committee. She became Deputy Mayor in 2007 and established the Women's Corner within the municipality, the first women's center operating under the municipality's auspices, which received praise from the Ministry of Local Government. Al-Masri also authored the book "Islamic Feminism and its Role in Political Development in Palestine," and has participated in dozens of conferences, workshops, and television interviews.
Al-Masri believes in national partnership and sees it as a right, a duty, and a manifestation of true patriotism and pure humanity. She supports the joining of Hamas and Islamic Jihad to the PLO bodies within the framework of a consensus of all Palestinians. She considers resistance a legitimate right of occupied peoples, with the necessity of creating other means of resistance than those we are accustomed to, and searching for other options instead of the state of exhausting the youth with popular resistance. She sees the current stage as a stage of building the human being who knows values and culture and possesses knowledge in confronting the occupation.
Al-Masri suffered greatly under the occupation. In 2002, Israeli forces raided her home under the pretext of searching for wanted individuals, shooting and seriously wounding her husband before arresting him and his son. They then proceeded to demolish the house, during which they assassinated resistance leaders Muhannad al-Taher and Imad Darwazeh. Al-Masri was subjected to a travel ban by the Israeli occupation between 2004 and 2013. She and her husband were arrested in 2008, and she spent four and a half months in administrative detention in HaSharon Prison. She was also summoned by Palestinian security forces several times in 2008. In 2010, Israeli forces arrested her son, Suhaib, and daughter, Safaa, upon their return from Jordan.
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