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Why did Fatah remove female candidates' names from electoral lists?

Fatah did not identify the names of female candidates on some of its electoral lists running in the Oct. 8 local elections, which raised the ire of activists who took to social media.

GAZA CITY, GAZA STRIP - JANUARY 25:  Palestinian women show their inked fingers after voting in the Palestinian legislative election at a UN school which is being used as a polling station, January 25, 2006, in Gaza City, Gaza Strip. The newly elected Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) will be expanded, and half of the seats will be allotted by proportional representation of all parties that gather more than two percent of the vote. (Photo by Abid Katib/Getty Images)
Palestinian women show their inked fingers after voting in the Palestinian legislative election at a UN school that is being used as a polling station, Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Jan. 25, 2006. — Abid Katib/Getty Images

The nonidentification of female candidates’ names on some Fatah lists participating in the Palestinian local elections slated for Oct. 8 has sparked angry reactions on social networking sites. Several lists running in the local elections appeared online Aug. 26, not giving any of the names of the female candidates, however, as they were listed as “sister” or “wife of.”

Journalist Nour Odeh, the spokeswoman for the previous Palestinian government, wrote on her Facebook page Aug. 29, “My name is Nour Odeh and women's names should not be left out. I will not vote for a list that deals with women in this manner. Period.”

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