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Empowering young people
under occupation

This zine is dedicated to everyone in Gaza who issuffering, everyone who has loved ones in theMiddle East and is scared for their wellbeing, andeveryone everywhere who is doing something totry to stop the violence.

December 28, 2023

Here are some things you can do to help people inGaza right now:

If you have 1 minute:❏ Call your representatives and ask them to callfor a ceasefire❏ Make a donation to a Gazan relief fundIf you have a couple hours:❏ Go to a pro-Palestine protest❏ Print zines about Palestinian liberation andput them in little free libraries (free zine PDFs
are at pleasurepie.org/printables)
Ongoing:❏ Boycott companies that support the Israeli
occupation, like McDonalds, Starbucks, Puma,and SodaStream

132023 Update
This conversation is from 2018. Since then, Israel
declared war on Hamas. The Israeli military has
killed over 20,000 Palestinians in Gaza in less thanthree months. Many of these were civilians.

While living in Jerusalem in 2018, I came across thewebsite of an organization called the International
Youth Alliance For Family Planning (IYAFP). They’rea youth (ages 15 to 30) run nonprofit that advocatesfor sex education around the world.
I was intrigued when I saw that they have acoordinator in Gaza. I had never heard of sex
education initiatives in Gaza before, and I had noidea what the state of sex education was like there.
I reached out to the IYAFP country coordinator forGaza, Mo. Alkrunz, to ask for his insights. Here isour conversation.

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Pleasure Pie: Why is sex education important toyou?
Mo. Alkrunz: I have a principle in my life that youth
must take part in everything surrounding theirlives. I believe that creating a new generation ofleaders in sexual rights, and creating a generationthat can make responsible decisions about theirbodies, is the best service we can give to ourcommunity.

Mo. Alkrunz is a Palestinian sex educator, nurse,and writer living in Gaza.
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PP: On a more personal note, can you describe atypical day in your life?
MA: I wake up at 7:30 AM, drink my usual coffee,and listen to the beautiful sound of Fairouz◊. Mymother opens my day when she says, “Son, theultimate responsibility always lies within you, andthe opportunities are the ones you create.” I respondby saying, “Now I can open my day and go on inlife.”
I am a neonatal nurse so I work in neonatal
intensive care unit in hospital in Gaza City. Then I
return home at 2:30 PM to devote myself to myother volunteer work, including IYAFP and othernetworks.
Actually for me, all days in my life are similar —there is no special day, maybe Saturday, Monday,Tuesday, or Friday as well. My favorite day is theday I can do the most work, and the bestachievements.

Fairouz is a popular Arabic singer whose songs are
traditionally played to start the day.
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P: How is sex education implemented in Gaza? Is it
taught in schools?
MA: There is little sexual education in Gazan
schools. Where it does exist, it is generally focusedon the biological facts of life, rather than theemotional, physical, and psychological impacts,
which are of greater importance to young people
during this period in their lives.
The Ministry of Education has tried to integratesexual health in some of its school curricula.
However, teachers in schools would not addressthese issues.
As an alliance and platform for youth around theworld, IYAFP is able to promote comprehensive sex
education for this group through accurate andwell-thought-out information presented in
non-traditional and non-systematic ways.

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PP: What are the biggest challenges to providing sex
education in Gaza?

PP: How does the political conflict affect sex
education in Gaza?

MA: For decades, sexual awareness has represented
a red line in many Gazan households and schools,
particularly in conservative or religious
environments.

MA: The Palestinian healthcare system suffers due
to Israeli restrictions on the access to health care,family planning and sexual health tools, throughdriving up prices, and mobility restrictions.

What adolescents don't find in a reliable source they
will find in a thousand unreliable sources. Youthusually get their information on sex throughword-of-mouth, which results in misperceptions.

Furthermore, dependent on the political andeconomic situation of the city, there is varying
access to safe, inexpensive, and protected
healthcare in different areas of Gaza strip.

Prohibiting such discussions is not a valid option.
Turning a blind eye to such issues will not makeyoung people quit asking.
Discussions over sex education raise a frequently
asked question: how can sex be taught in a way thatis compatible with the conservative Arab culture?
Sex education does not necessarily have tocontradict Gazan culture — the suitableterminology in such an educational program willnot violate public decency.

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PP: Is trauma a big concern when talking about
sexuality in Gaza?
MA: Adolescents and youth are constantly exposedto psychological trauma due to the dual impact of
the external Israeli occupation and the internal
patriarchal society. There are high rates of anxiety,depression, and PTSD. So these factors are a barrier
to accessing sexual education.
Youth suffering from such psychological trauma areunlikely to seek help due to societal stigma
including social pressures, family honor, and gendernorms.
There is also a distinct lack of youth-friendly healthservices that integrate sexual and reproductive
health and rights (SRHR) and psychosocial support.
Psycho-education must be increased in order toreduce concerns of stigma, which can lead topreventable deaths.

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