NABLUS, West Bank — Every morning, 20 women head to work at Abu Salha Sweets, the largest sweets factory in Nablus, in the northern West Bank. Abu Faya, 24, and her fellow “halwanjiyat” (female pastry chefs) now make up half of the factory workers. Breaking with tradition in this sector, like others, Palestinian women are ignoring prejudices and boldly competing with men for jobs.

Abu Faya told Al-Monitor, “I graduated from the media department at An-Najah University two years ago. I have been looking for a job in my field of work in vain ever since. I had to resort to making sweets to make ends meet.”

She said, “I began working at the factory two months ago after seeing an online ad. A few months later, I excelled in making sweets.” She noted that her relatives and friends were surprised at first that she worked in a job traditionally reserved for men, but they became more supportive with time as their perceptions changed.

May Hassouna, 25, agreed that the first reactions to women taking jobs that traditionally belonged to men have been a shock — everyone except her father, who always encouraged her.