Traditional Palestinian society treats women as inferior to men, in terms of their rights and the limitations placed upon them. In such a situation, violence against women can take many forms, from locking a woman in her house to domestic violence. For a woman to seek help, she must not only overcome her own feelings of guilt and shame, as well as her economic and social dependency on her family, but also a judicial system which is tilted against women. A recent study undertaken by the Israel Women's Network found that judges challenged the credibility of female witnesses far more often than male ones. Further, judges tended to view violence against a family member as less serious than violence against a stranger.
Palestinian women are especially vulnerable.
For instance, in 1996 Masra Ma'adi, a Druze Arab woman, requested police protection, fearing for her life. The police disregarded her plea, and several officers pressured her into returning home. Soon after, she was killed by her brother Adwan in the name of family honor. Samia Garoushi was shot on November 26 th , the day after the International Day on the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Today, she is in critical condition in the hospital, and the doctors do not know if she will ever fully recover.