Female Gazan PLC candidate to 'Post': I want a say in the decisions shaping my life - interview

Hiyam Taha, a 29-year-old pharmacist and candidate for the Palestinian Legislative Council, tells the Jerusalem Post why she is entering politics with the Masar Jadid (New Path) party. She describes a collapsing healthcare system, fractured communities after displacement, and a desire for young people and women to have a say in decisions shaping their lives.

Hiyam Taha, a 29-year-old pharmacist from Gaza, is running for the Palestinian Legislative Council with the Masar Jadid (New Path) party. In an interview with the Jerusalem Post, she explains her motivation: years of witnessing a collapsing healthcare system, being displaced five times during the war, and watching communities fracture. She says she wants to be the voice of patients and young people who have no one speaking on their behalf. Taha describes breaking into male-dominated fields—first as a pharmacist earning trust in a community uncomfortable with a woman dispensing medicine, then organizing boxing classes for women, and now entering politics. She aligned with New Path because it offers a space for young people and women in a field dominated by men who have held power for decades. Taha advocates for a two-state solution based on the 1967 lines and sees the November elections as a chance for Palestinians to have a legitimate authority they can hold accountable. She also wants to shift the global image of Palestinians from victims to capable individuals. The article is a straightforward interview profile with no overt manipulation in the narrative voice.