‘Gaza Girls: Growing Up in the Gaza Strip’ – resilience in the face of adversity

A girl shows off her Palestinian themed nails after a recent bombing campaign. (Photograph by Monique Jaques)

For many Gazans the sea is the only place they can be without being reminded of their isolation. Female Surfer, Sabah Abu Ghanem ,14 and her sister surf early in the morning outside of Gaza city. The sisters place first in many competitions inside the strip, but have never left the Gaza Strip to compete. (Photograph by Monique Jaques)

Girls play football in the Northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiyah. Women in Gaza typically do all types of sports till the age of 16, when family pressure forces them to stop as many families seek to find husbands for them. (Photograph by Monique Jaques)

Hadeel Fawzy Abushar 25 records a song in a studio in Gaza City. Few female singers remain as families and local government look down on the practice. Hadeel started when she was 12, as all of her sisters are singers. (Photograph by Monique Jaques)

A phone shaped like lips and a prayer rug sit in the corner during a blackout. (Photograph by Monique Jaques)

Medical students from Islamic University on break in the Maternity Ward of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza. (Photograph by Monique Jaques)

A woman walks by a mural discouraging domestic violence outside if Al-Shifa hospital. According to a 2012 study, some 37% of women are subjected to domestic violence by their husbands. (Photograph by Monique Jaques)

Yara and her friends prepare a dance number during a blackout. Fuel is scarce in Gaza and many families only receive six to eight hours of electricity a day. (Photograph by Monique Jaques)

Yara and her brother wait for their father to return with schwarma as an evening treat after a recent conflict ended. (Photograph by Monique Jaques)

Nisreen Shawa, a worker for the Palestinian Medical Relief Foundation at the Hamza Bin Abd-el Muttalib School where they do art therapy and exercises with girls after the recent bombings. (Photograph by Monique Jaques)

Madleen Koolab takes Gazan’s out for rides on Thursday nights, a popular night for families. Madleen owns the boat and uses it to fish during the week. (Photograph by Monique Jaques)

Doaa in a friend’s bedroom. Girls that are unmarried have few places to be themselves. Bedrooms and private cars are sanctuaries where girls can sing and dance without being judged by the public or their own families. (Photograph by Monique Jaques)

Hours after a ceasefire was declared between Hamas and Israel, the people of Gaza City begin to rebuild. Shops open and families go out to witness the damage incurred by the recent strikes. (Photograph by Monique Jaques)

At a salon in Gaza City women come to get their hair, nails, and makeup done before weddings. In many families, a woman is not allowed to be seen without a veil by a man outside of her family, so beauty salons are for women only. (Photograph by Monique Jaques)

Manequins show off available clothing in a shop near the main street of Gaza. (Photograph by Monique Jaques)

Girls watch the sun set at the harbor in Gaza City. While living in Gaza is undeniably tough, being a woman there is harder. (Photograph by Monique Jaques)

Bookcover of “Gaza Girls: Growing up in the Gaza Strip.”