Gaza's first female beekeeper expands apiary
The enclave's first female beekeeper speaks about the challenges facing Gaza's beekeeping profession.
BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip — About 1,000 feet from the fence separating the Gaza Strip and Israel, Samar al-Baa, who is the first female beekeeper in Gaza, is busy checking beehives and extracting honey.
Baa’s father, Othman al-Baa, was a famous farmer and beekeeper in Beit Hanoun village in the northern Gaza Strip, but he was killed by an Israeli missile that hit the land while he was collecting honey in 2006. Following their father's tragic death, the family abandoned the land, and the apiary was left behind.
After having been jobless for five years after graduating, Baa, 31, decided to restore her father's apiary.
According to the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics, the unemployment rate among the youths with a degree increased in the first quarter of 2022: 27% of the 19- to 29-year-olds with an Associate Diploma Certificate or higher in the West Bank are unemployed and 75% in the Gaza Strip.
