Hekmat Al-Taweel (1922-2008) was a native Palestinian Christian from Gaza City whose narrative provides an unfamiliar perspective on Muslim–Christian relationships in Gaza, highlighting shared history, culture, customs, and traditions. In relating her life story, continuing education after marriage, volunteer work, activism, and aspirations, she invites readers to understand her experiences in a way that contradicts widespread Western orientalized stereotypes of Arab women. She also shares insights into life in Gaza during the British Mandate period and the 1948 Nakba and its aftermath. This is the third book in the Women’s Voices from Gaza Series, which honours women’s unique and underrepresented perspectives on the social, material, and political realities of Palestinian life.

Palestinian refugees in Gaza have lived in camps for five generations, experiencing hardship and uncertainty. In the absence of voice or official histories, oral narratives handed down from generation to generation bear witness to life in Gaza since Nakba-the catastrophe of dispossession. These histories maintain traditions, keep names of destroyed villages alive, and record stories of fighting for dignity and freedom. The Women's Voices from Gaza series honours women's unique and underrepresented perspectives on the social, material, and political realities of Palestinian life. In A White Lie, the first volume in this series, Madeeha Hafez Albatta chronicles her life. Among her remarkable achievements was establishing some of the first schools for refugee children in Gaza. Her story will benefit Middle East scholars, social justice and human rights advocates, and all who want to know more about the modern history of Palestine.