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Far from her homeland, in the Jordanian city of Ma'an, Huda Abdul Hadi was born and spent her early years there. At that time, in 1936, a general strike was sweeping across all of Palestine, including the city of Nablus, to which Huda belonged to one of its well-known families. Her father, Subhi Abdul Hadi, was among the first young Palestinians to receive a good education, having completed his higher education in the prestigious institutes of Istanbul. During the Ottoman rule, he was appointed director of the Islamic Orphanage School in Jerusalem.
After the establishment of the Emirate of Transjordan, Subhi Abdul Hadi was appointed to establish a number of schools there.
The birth of Huda was not a joyful and special event for a family consisting of eight sisters and two brothers. However, her father did not show any negative impact due to the birth of females. Huda says in this regard: “My mother used to be very sad when she gave birth to a girl, and in return, my father would say to her, ‘If someone gave you a rose, would you refuse it?’ And so it is with the girl.”
Huda continues talking about her father’s personality, which seems to have greatly influenced her: “I did not have the privilege of living under my father’s care for a long time, as he passed away when I was young, but I still remember some of what my mother and sisters say. He was one of the people who were known for their dedication to fulfilling their educational duty. He was present at the beginning of the educational renaissance in East Jordan, and there he was one of the first to contribute to establishing compulsory education. What helped in achieving this was what he was known for in terms of firmness, strictness, and dignity.”
Huda adds, “This aspect of my father’s personality created a kind of psychological barrier within the house. He instilled in us a kind of awe and reverence, which is why my sisters and I were deprived of warm family gatherings, although there were a few peaceful moments, which made them something important and special in my childhood.”
Huda Abdel Hadi realized the other side of her father’s personality when the hour of parting approached. She began to sense his compassion and tenderness when the disease began to creep into his body. At that time, she was the most capable of her sisters to stand by his side, especially since her older sisters had left the family circle due to marriage.
Huda was not yet twelve years old when her father breathed his last. At that time, she was sitting on his bed reading the Holy Quran. Huda remembers those sad moments of her childhood and says: “It was the first time I tasted the cup of sadness and bitterness. I missed him and was devastated by his death because I felt him in his last days, and I remained haunted for a long time by feelings of sadness mixed with a sense of responsibility that exceeded my age at that time.”
After her father's death, Huda's family was forced to leave once again, this time returning to their ancestral homeland. They settled in "Beit al-Aila" (one of the oldest and most historic houses in Nablus), a building consisting of many rooms and a reception hall with a large courtyard, in addition to several pools in the middle of a large garden.
In the family home, there was no privacy for the seven families who lived there, but the gathering of the girls in the courtyard of the Diwan and spending long hours having fun, playing backgammon, and singing were among the warm memories that still live in the hearts of the girls who grew up there.
Huda was not like the other girls who played and enjoyed their childhood. While the girls in the family were having fun, she would sit on the balcony reading poetry and literature. Huda says in this regard: “The days deprived me of the pleasure of enjoying childhood, as the scene of my father’s death remained before my eyes, making sadness draw its curtains over my heart and soul, so I realized with it the meaning of farewell, separation and the loss of loved ones.”
Huda Abdel-Hadi completed her primary education at Al-Zahraa School in East Jordan. Following the Palestinian Nakba of 1948, Huda's family returned to Nablus. Conditions there were dire, as the schools were overcrowded with thousands of refugees from Palestinian cities occupied by the invading Zionist forces. This resulted in students being unable to attend their schools and receive their education. This situation persisted for about two years, prompting some concerned individuals to establish private schools to safeguard the educational process.
At that time, Huda joined the private school established by Hajja Nawal Abdul Hadi. There, the teachers focused on developing extracurricular activities, and the interest in the cultural movement was not matched by a similar interest in developing political and national awareness among the students. Huda commented, saying: “Despite the gravity of the events and the thousands of displaced people, we did not develop a national awareness at that time regarding the nature of the conspiracy directed at the homeland and the people. We were far removed from the concerns that befell our people, such as displacement, starvation, and the usurpation of land and people.”
Huda completed her primary education at the Fatimiyah Girls School up to the seventh grade, which was known at the time as the "Graduation Grade," meaning the completion of the Holy Quran. After that, she moved to the Aisha School, which focused on developing the cultural awareness of the students, which had a great impact on developing and improving the students' mental, writing, and artistic abilities.
In this context, Huda recalls the esteemed teacher Afaf Arafat, saying: “Ms. Afaf was distinguished by her refined, smooth, and accessible artistic style. She had a special ability to teach art as an enjoyable, engaging, and beloved subject. Furthermore, she had a unique approach to teaching Arabic, encouraging us to read. By the time I was nearing the end of secondary school, I had read most of the works of Al-Manfaluti and Al-Siba’i, as well as the novels of Ihsan Abdel Quddous, Jurji Zaydan, and others. Therefore, I consider us a generation with a considerable amount of culture. However, at that stage, we lacked national and political awareness regarding the challenges facing our nation.”
In 1952, after finishing her school exams, Huda married a relative in the traditional way. He lived in the family home in a room adjacent to her parents' house. It seemed that this marriage had been arranged by her parents, so she wasn't surprised by it and didn't try to object to it despite the age difference between them. Here, she recalls those days, saying: "I was only sixteen years old when the decision to marry was made, and like any teenage girl, I thought that marriage meant a home, a husband, and children. But alongside the teenage motives, there were deeper motives. I wanted to relieve my mother of the responsibility, as she was supporting five other children and had nothing but my father's pension to live on. Also, I knew, despite my young age, that refusing to marry would create unnecessary problems within the family."
And so Huda bid farewell to her first family and the family home where she had spent cherished childhood memories. A week after her marriage, the exam results were released, and Huda passed, advancing to the fourth year of secondary school. Huda lowered her head sadly and said, "It was a momentous day, one I will never forget. I wept for a long time, but no one heard me. I asked to continue my education, but my request was denied. I realized that my marriage was not compatible and that it contradicted my aspirations. Nevertheless, despair did not find its way into my heart. After giving birth to my first daughter, Layla, I heard that UNRWA needed teachers for its schools. Due to the influx of refugees, the agency was hiring as many teachers as possible, even those with only a secondary academic qualification. I applied for a teaching position and was accepted."
Marriage and childbirth did not prevent Huda from completing her studies. She points to this by saying: “My husband spent most of his time with his friends, and the nature of his work required him to spend many times outside the home. This affected me positively, as I found myself immersed in studying and achieving my aspirations and dreams. If I did not find myself in marriage, I found it in studying and the job that achieved for me a kind of economic independence, which was the first step on the path to self-realization.”
Huda continues, speaking about her professional life:
In 1954, I was assigned to a school in Balata refugee camp. The classrooms were made up of several tents placed side by side, as the building was still under construction by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). My love for the teaching profession and my absolute belief that I possessed a natural talent for it made me not hesitate for a moment to join a teacher training course at the government teachers' institute, which was then run by Ms. Olga Wahba.
It was the first time I had left the house, so I faced many difficulties. My daughter Layla was only nine months old, and I was three months pregnant. Nevertheless, I completed the course successfully, and it was the starting point for achieving my ambitions to continue my lifelong learning, which most educators today call for under the slogan of lifelong learning. But I started it spontaneously and independently in order to achieve self-realization and develop myself academically and professionally.
At the camp school, my relationship with the female students was characterized by positive and fraternal interaction. I followed a new pattern of dealing with them based on mutual respect and critical awareness. I was not older than eighteen at that time. This age was close to the ages of my students who had been delayed in attending schools because of the Nakba, which displaced them from their homes.
My experience at Balata School was a golden age in my educational career. It was there that my sense of belonging crystallized. I witnessed firsthand the suffering of refugees through my daily observations of the long queues queuing under the scorching summer sun and in the bitter winter cold, all for a cup of milk or a meal. At the same time, a contrasting image formed in my mind of the social classes who remained aloof in their ivory towers, detached from the concerns of the Nakba. This contrasting image confronted me daily on two levels: in my professional life and in the community I lived in.
After spending six years at the camp school, I moved to teach at the UNRWA-run Nablus Girls' School. There, I encountered an incident that I still remember vividly, despite the passage of years. Amin al-Sudani, the UNRWA Arabic language inspector, surprised me with an unannounced inspection visit. He entered the third-year preparatory class where I taught Arabic, and after the visit, he began filling out his report form. He was astonished to discover that I was teaching preparatory-level students, even though I held the same qualifications. In his report to UNRWA, he wrote that I was a good-performing teacher, but that my academic qualifications were incompatible with teaching preparatory-level students.
Following this incident, I decided to be more determined to complete my education. In the same year, I registered for the lower teacher examination, and then followed it up by obtaining my high school diploma, which I consider an important starting point in my educational career. I remember celebrating this long-awaited occasion. At that time, I had my four children: Layla, Lubna, Izzat, and Qais.
Ms. Huda attributes her academic and professional success to her mother, who provided her children with care, attention, affection, and warmth. Her mother lived next door to hers, where her cousins resided in the family home. Ms. Huda recalls her mother, visibly moved by the memory of her beloved mother who passed away twenty years ago, saying:
I will never forget the favor of my mother, may God have mercy on her, for she was the reason for the stability of my married life. She was a support and a pillar for me in this difficult journey, especially in its beginning. I was young and inexperienced, so she encouraged me to persevere by saying: "You are better than others because you work and are financially responsible for yourself, and you have five jewels, which are the most precious things in life."
Mrs. Huda refused to be an ordinary, uneducated mother, nor did she accept a marginal life. Instead, she strived to develop herself socially, intellectually, culturally, and economically. She focused her attention on her children, ensuring they received a love of science and education and that they received ample schooling. In doing so, she became an inspiring role model for the persevering and ambitious woman. Her eldest son, Izzat, earned a master's degree in political science and is currently pursuing his doctorate. He now manages the Bisan Center for Research and Development in Ramallah, where he lives with his family.
Her eldest daughter, Layla, earned a bachelor's degree in Arabic and currently lives with her husband in Cairo. Lubna holds a bachelor's degree in political science and economics and works at the Birzeit University Research Center. Lina completed her master's degree in international law and currently lives with her husband in Amman. Her youngest son, Qais, is currently studying at An-Najah National University.
Fate decreed that Huda’s university journey, which she had begun in Damascus in 1965, would come to an end. The June 1967 war broke out while she was taking her second-year exams, so she had no choice but to return to Nablus, where she resumed her teaching work at the Nablus Preparatory Girls’ School affiliated with UNRWA.
Ms. Huda did not distance herself from her people. She continued teaching the Palestinian cause despite the authorities' prohibition, determined to include it in her social studies classes. This determination was an attempt to solidify and disseminate national consciousness among her students. She taught them that history has been falsified, that their true history has yet to be written, and that Jaffa, Nazareth, and Safed are Palestinian cities that must remain etched in memory. Ms. Huda commented on this, saying, "I considered my academic duty towards my students to be the minimum form of participation in the struggle for national liberation. Therefore, my relationship with the students was characterized by openness, constructive dialogue, and positive interaction. Through this, I felt that the sense of the necessity of resistance and participation in the struggle was beginning to find its way into those young hearts."
Huda's concern for the new generation never wavered throughout her 35-year career in education. She believed in them and worked tirelessly for their benefit. It is no wonder, then, that this woman, who never wielded a stone or a weapon, troubled the occupation, for she carried an idea more powerful than any weapon. The occupation sensed the threat posed by this woman who constantly explained to her students that backwardness, illiteracy, and outdated ideas were the legacy of colonialism.
The occupation didn't let her get away with it for long. One Ramadan night, Mrs. Huda was surprised when occupation soldiers raided her house late at night, intending to deport her. She recalls that night, saying, "My husband was spending his usual Ramadan evening with us, and the children were asleep. I had no choice but to obey their orders. In Nablus prison, I was placed in solitary confinement until dawn. Then I was transferred in a military vehicle to the bridge, where I was forced to sign the deportation order. I remember that one of the officers asked me to leave a message for my family. When I felt the bitterness of the humiliation, I said, 'My country, even if it wrongs me, is dear to me, and my family, even if they are stingy with me, are honorable.'"
When we reached the Jordanian side of the bridge, the officials took us to the Salt Intelligence Directorate and from there to the Amman Intelligence Directorate. The following morning, my family learned of the deportation via radio, as did my mother, who was living in Amman at the time, and I had been in the interrogation rooms until that time.
Ms. Huda spent her first days after the deportation in constant contact with local, Arab and international press media. This deportation was the first of its kind after the occupation, and with her was deported the then principal of the Aisha School, Ms. Nawal Al-Titi, in addition to eight teachers from different regions.
East of the river, Ms. Huda continued her work with UNRWA in both the schools of Zarqa and the Al-Wehdat camp, where she experienced the most intense period of her life. There, she witnessed the presence of the Palestinian revolution within its embrace. However, fate soon brought her to the brink of Black September, where she saw firsthand the horrific massacres perpetrated against her people. Speaking of those days, she said, "I witnessed the beginning of the end for the military presence of the Palestinian revolution in the Jordanian camps. Yet, during its brief period of strength, the revolution had managed to forge and shape the Palestinian identity. The Palestinian was no longer the refugee standing at the doors of UNRWA centers waiting for meager supplies. The revolution had created a new kind of person within him: a freedom fighter, a struggler, a fighter, a man of pride and resilience."
Amidst those circumstances, Ms. Huda joined a group of teachers in establishing the nucleus of the General Union of Palestinian Teachers. This institution began to forge its path through harsh political conditions, in which Palestinians suffered injustice and oppression, and the injustice of relatives was the most bitter.…
The agency's headquarters in Amman was the first authority the teachers' union confronted , as it issued several unfair decisions against its employees. Huda recalls an incident involving one of her colleagues, saying: "After the agency's operations chief insisted on not listening to our demands, this colleague pushed open the president's door, saying: 'We didn't become refugees so you could sit in that chair. You're here to serve us and meet our needs.'"
Thus, Mrs. Huda proved that the struggle is an ongoing process, whether on the homeland or abroad. The General Union of Teachers chose her to be its representative in the membership of the Palestinian National Council, and she had the honor of representing women, for the first time, in the Palestinian National Council during its ninth session, which was held at that time in Cairo.
Her longing for her homeland never left her, especially after the events of Black September. She could no longer bear life there, and so she continued to contact the UNRWA office in Nablus and several other organizations to help her return. In September 1971, their efforts bore fruit with the cancellation of the deportation order, bringing her immense joy. Despite reaching a position of power, this privileged status did not prevent her from returning to her homeland, as she believes that true struggle lies in return and steadfastness.
Ms. Huda returned to her city and was appointed principal of the primary school in Balata refugee camp, after spending three years away from her homeland. She disliked the system in place at the UNRWA schools at the time, where primary school classes were held in the afternoon, while the preparatory school was held in the morning. With her keen sense of humanity, Ms. Huda understood the suffering of the students, especially those under seven years old. These young girls had no sense of time because their parents sent them to school several hours early, leaving them waiting in the streets for the mercy of the teachers who would open the gate for them.
Ms. Huda continued, describing the dire situation: "At this age, students desperately need sleep and good nutrition, and the lack of these negatively impacts their education. I explained this in several reports I submitted to the agency's leadership, noting that UNRWA schools in host countries operate on a two-shift system. However, I was met with indifference from the leadership, and that's when my struggle with the agency began. I wanted to secure this essential service to protect the students from the cold of winter and the heat of summer. I recall that the final straw was when I stood up at a meeting and threatened the agency's leadership, saying I would bring several tents and set them up in the schoolyard with the help of the camp residents. They then complied with this request, which is a right for children deprived of living in decent, humane conditions."
Huda was the driving force behind the establishment of this center. Through her observation of the dire social conditions endured by the women of the camp, she realized that they suffered compounded oppression. They were oppressed for being poor and living in small rooms mired in mud and dust; they were socially oppressed for being female in a patriarchal society; and they faced the relentless oppression of the occupation, which targeted them for their well-known resilience and fierce resistance. Huda felt all of this deeply and resolved to bring smiles to the faces of the camp's girls.
Initially, she seized a piece of land from the authority of the agency, and then she began to gather around her an elite group of active women, including nurses, teachers, and other working women.
Ms. Huda continues speaking about the center's goals, saying: "This center came into being to raise the social, cultural, and economic status of Palestinian women in Balata camp, and to enable them to exercise their rights as citizens, workers, and homemakers, in addition to meeting some of the essential needs in the camp. This center was also one of the first centers that set its sights on highlighting our Palestinian heritage, including folk costumes, dabke dances, and songs, and presenting plays that highlight the duty of the Palestinian citizen towards his homeland and nation. The center also adopted a health education program funded by Catholic Relief Services, in addition to a training program for people with disabilities."
Ms. Huda continues talking about her role in this center, saying: “I held the position of president of this center for several years. I was not like any director who performs her educational duty and then returns to her home. Rather, I spent the best part of my day at the center with the girls who were my friends and sisters. We also used to visit the families of detainees and martyrs together. Those were days full of giving.”
Because of her positive interaction with the camp’s residents, the occupation authorities accused her of inciting what was happening at the time in terms of popular demonstrations and marches. She was summoned daily to the military government headquarters in the city, where she spent long hours in interrogation rooms, and even longer in waiting areas.
Ms. Huda spent more than a year in this state of daily detention, and the authorities were not satisfied with that, but arrested her for several days in Nablus Central Prison without a specific charge.
Ms. Huda faced not only the occupation authorities, but also the UNRWA, which attempted to impose its control over the center and consider it one of its institutions. However, she refused, believing in the center's operational independence, as such affiliation could negatively impact its activities. In this context, Ms. Huda says: "Despite the repeated frustrations from the occupation authorities and from some who disapproved of the center's activities, I remained committed to my belonging and my duty to the camp, as it bears the greatest burden of the people's suffering and tragedies."
Upon her return to Nablus in the early seventies, a new awareness began to crystallize in Mrs. Huda, and she became more mature and wise. She realized that national struggle alone was no longer sufficient under the occupation, and that linking national struggle with social struggle had become extremely important to achieve our goals of freedom and independence. So she turned to participating in some charitable societies, and tried to change the traditional ideas and structure of these societies by calling on them to deepen democracy and expand public bodies with new and young elements, and calling for periodic elections to give the new generation the opportunity to spread its ideas, with the importance of communicating with the older generation with pioneering experience in the field of charitable work.
Mrs. Huda held several administrative positions in the city’s associations. She was elected to the administrative board of the Cultural and Sports Club in 1975, and in 1981 she held the position of secretary of the administrative board of the Arab Women’s Union Association, and from that position she acted as the media spokesperson for this institution.
It is worth mentioning that her social activity witnessed a qualitative shift during the Intifada, as it transformed from being a social charity to an active role in the Palestinian feminist movement. This was embodied through her participation in many activities, the most prominent of which was her membership in the founding committee of the Women’s International Peace and Freedom Organization - a global organization with branches in most parts of the world, headquartered in Sweden - which aims to support the issues of the Palestinian people and highlight their true image as a people who seek freedom and justice despite their suffering from poverty, displacement, and arrests.
Based on her belief in the importance of the role of women in building the infrastructure of the Palestinian state, Ms. Huda participated with other women from different professional, intellectual and institutional backgrounds in evaluating the role of Palestinian women and the nature of the tasks entrusted to them, at the conference “The Intifada and Some Social Issues of Women” held by the Women’s Studies Committee at the Bisan Center.
The unified leadership focused primarily on developing the Palestinian woman's struggle, neglecting the social dimension and failing to offer even partial solutions to the multitude of social problems facing women. This leadership believed it was premature to discuss social issues and the democratic struggle in general, mistakenly believing that women's political and activist roles could continue without addressing their social, economic, and cultural problems. However, women's development in these areas is a fundamental prerequisite for developing and strengthening their political and activist roles. Discussing the national struggle without a development program that prioritizes women's issues becomes mere intellectual exercise and theoretical indulgence.
Finally, through her culture and awareness, Ms. Huda set an example for Palestinian women. Her life is filled with challenge, pride, mature experience, and continuous giving. She is a distinguished educator who worked in UNRWA schools for over 35 years, managing, despite all the corrupt educational systems, to instill hope, a love of learning, and a deep affection for her homeland. She carried a sacred message and walked the long Palestinian path.
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