Rawya Rashad Said al-Shawa (, December 1944 – 3 July 2017) was a Palestinian journalist and politician. She was one of the first group of women elected to the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

in 1996.

Biography

Shawa was born in the

Shuja'iyya Shuja'iyya (), also ''Shejaiya'', ''Shijaiyeh'', ''Shujayya'', ''Shuja'ia'', ''Shuja'iya'', is the southern quarter of Old City of Gaza, and the only quarter of the Old City located outside the historical city walls. It is one of the largest neig ...

neighbourhood of

Gaza City Gaza City, also called Gaza, is a city in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, and the capital of the Gaza Governorate. Located on the Mediterranean coast, southwest of Jerusalem, it was home to Port of Gaza, Palestine's only port. With a population of ...

in December 1944 to a Lebanese mother and

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

father. Her father

Rashad Rashad is a given name which may refer to: Surname: *Ahmad Rashad (born 1949), American football player and sportcaster *Ali Akbar Rashad (born 1955), Iranian philosopher and Islamic scholar *Isaiah Rashad (born 1991), American rapper *Phylicia Ras ...

was mayor of Gaza from 1972 to 1982. She married Aoun Saadi al-Shawa (who succeeded her father as mayor), with whom she had four children. Having graduated with a literature degree from

the American University in Cairo The American University in Cairo (AUC; ) is a private research university in New Cairo, Egypt. The university offers American-style learning programs at undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels, along with a continuing education program. ...

in 1964, she worked as a journalist for the al-Nahar al-Maqdasiya and al-Quds newspapers. In the 1996 elections to the Legislative Council, she ran as an independent candidate in

Gaza Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Mandatory Palestine * Gaza Sub ...

, and was one of five women elected, becoming the first female Palestinian MPs. She was re-elected in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

on the Independent Palestine list.Shawa, Rawya Rashad (1948-2017)
PASSIA She died in

al-Shifa Hospital Al-Shifa Hospital ( ''Mustašfā aš-Šifāʾ'' ) was the largest medical complex and central hospital in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, located in the neighborhood of northern Rimal in Gaza City. The hospital was first established by the govern ...

in Gaza on 3 July 2017.Death of MP Rawia Shawa after struggling with the disease
Palestinian Legislative Council

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shawa, Rawya 1944 births Journalists from Gaza City The American University in Cairo alumni 20th-century Palestinian journalists Members of the 1996 Palestinian Legislative Council Members of the 2006 Palestinian Legislative Council 2017 deaths Politicians from Gaza City Palestinian women journalists 20th-century Palestinian women politicians 21st-century Palestinian women politicians 21st-century Palestinian women writers 20th-century Palestinian politicians