“I’m the girl whose father doesn’t know her.”

“I’m the girl whose father doesn’t know her.” That’s how Shatha introduced herself to a lawyer at the Palestinian Maintenance Fund when asked her name — as if she meant to rebuke the father who fled from the responsibilities of his family. She was born shortly before her father unexpectedly divorced her mother and abandoned the family, choosing instead to remarry and live in Gaza. “In 2006, after I reached the West Bank through Egypt while I was six months pregnant with Shatha, I was shocked to receive the divorce papers,” says Um Luay, who now lives in a rented house near her family in Hebron. “He had promised to follow us, but instead he sent a divorce notice.” He left me with a daughter who has never seen his face, and two sons who were under the age of three. His family then forced me to give up my legal rights — the deferred dowry and any financial claims — in exchange for custody of my children. “They’re my weak spot,” she says. Before that, my ex-husband had already taken my gold jewelry for himself. More than once, I thought about sending the children to Gaza to live with their father. But I couldn’t go through with it. He’s remarried, and “I would die if my kids were taken away from me.” Life wouldn’t be easy for them there. Still, the hardship and economic pressure I face constantly bring the idea back into my mind. “At least I have my siblings — they support me, even with just kind words. One day my children will grow up, get an education, and make something of their lives.” She lives on the small monthly stipend she receives from the Maintenance Fund and social welfare support that comes every four months. “But the burdens keep growing... May God ease our struggles,” she concludes.