This paper explores the integration process of Palestinian women political
prisoners across the three stages of imprisonment—before, during, and
after—and examines how sumud (steadfastness) underpins their
practices of survival and resistance. The analysis demonstrates that
imprisonment is not an isolated event but part of a continuum shaped by
the broader settler-colonial condition, in which Israeli prisons operate as
extensions of the “open-air prison” imposed on Palestinians. Prior to
incarceration, women draw on community bonds and political
consciousness that prepare them to confront the carceral system. Inside
prison, sumud is enacted through collective organization, knowledge-
sharing, and strategies of psychological endurance that resist erasure and
maintain dignity under systematic violence. After release, the integration
process extends into a social and political sphere marked by surveillance,
stigma, and structural constraints, where women continue to practice
sumud by reasserting agency, sustaining collective memory, and
challenging attempts at fragmentation. The findings reveal that
imprisonment persists beyond prison walls, yet women’s resilience
transforms this continuity into a site of struggle that both disrupts
colonial logics and reinforces Palestinian solidarity. By foregrounding
women’s integration processes, this study highlights how sumud operates
as a dynamic, ongoing practice that not only enables survival under
colonial incarceration but also contributes to the broader project of
decolonial resistance and liberation.
