Manar al-Sharif (born 1997/1998) [1] is a Palestinian Syrian journalist and peace activist. [2]
Al-Sharif was born in Syria and raised in Damascus, Syria, [3] although her father was from Gaza. [4] She and her family moved to Cairo, Egypt in 2013, due to the Syrian civil war. [4] [5] Al-Sharif wanted to attend college, but her conservative religious parents were reluctant to allow her to. [4] [5] They eventually gave permission for al-Sharif to study at the Islamic University of Gaza. [4] [5] Al-Sharif traveled to Gaza in 2017 to study journalism at the university, but she dropped out after a few months, [4] citing the “Hamas propaganda” at the school, saying "It wasn’t professional and it wasn’t journalism". [5]
Al-Sharif, who had been teaching herself English for years, first began writing for American, Australian, and Israeli publications. [4] [5] She published under a pseudonym when writing for the Israeli publications, out of fear of retribution. [5] She primarily wrote about life in the Gaza strip, particularly the struggles faced by women and children. [4] [5]
During this time, Al-Sharif also became involved with the Gaza Youth Committee, and later became part of its leadership. [5]
In 2019, al-Sharif, with the Gaza Youth Committee, organized two bicycle races to bring attention to the struggles of the Gazan population, and as a way to provide safe recreation to Gazan youth. [3] [6]
Also in 2019, al-Sharif spent two nights in jail after being arrested for holding an event at her home with both men and women as guests. [5]
In April 2020, al-Sharif was arrested after advertising a Zoom event called "Skype with your enemy" that included Israeli speakers; several of the event planners were also arrested. [5] [7] [8] She went on to spend three months in a women's prison. [5] She spent some of this time in solitary confinement, and went on a two-week hunger strike to protest the prison conditions. [5] She was released on bail in June 2020. [8] After her release, she returned to Cairo in October before moving to the UAE. [4] [7]
In 2021, al-Sharif was accepted to a Canadian university. [5] As of 2023, she was living in the United Arab Emirates still navigating the complex diplomatic channels that will allow her to attend university in Canada. [4]