Gaza City, Gaza Strip – An Islamic group threatened to behead female TV broadcasters if they don’t wear strict Islamic dress, frightening reporters and signaling a further shift toward extremism in the Gaza Strip.
The threat to “cut throats from vein to vein” was delivered by the Swords of Truth, a fanatical group that has previously claimed responsibility for bombing Internet cafes and music shops.
The new threat was the first time the organization targeted a specific group of people.
In many parts of the Muslim world, conservative policies keep women out of TV anchor positions or dictate they wear headscarves on air. Headscarves for TV broadcasters are uncommon, however, in Lebanon and Jordan, and even Egypt keeps newscasters who wear them off its TV stations.
The influence of Islamic groups in the Gaza Strip has grown in the past three decades, especially as poverty has risen since fighting with Israel began in 2000. Now, it is more common to see women with their faces covered with veils than women without their hair covered.
Most of the 15 female broadcasters on government-run Palestine TV wear headscarves. But they also wear makeup and Western clothing – not considered strictly observant by extremists.
The Swords of Truth issued the statement Friday in an e-mail to news organizations.
“We will cut throats, and from vein to vein, if needed to protect the spirit and moral of this nation,” the statement said.
One anchorwoman who does not wear a headscarf said she was too frightened by the threat to go to work Saturday.
“It’s a dangerous precedent in our society. It will target all working women,” said the broadcaster, who declined to give her name out of fear. “The statement frightened us.”
