In the cash-strapped Gaza Strip, many budding female artists have abandoned their paints and brushes in pursuit of studies they hope will someday land them solid jobs. Art has thus become one of the many casualties of economic uncertainty in Gaza, with painters fearful that their art will not provide them a livelihood, much less social respect.
Nour al-Hoda Hourani, an amateur artist from Gaza City's Zahra neighborhood, told Al-Monitor that she has been drawing since childhood. She did so with the support of her family, but when it came time to select a university, instead of studying fine arts, she opted for something more likely to land her a job after graduation. That decision led her to enroll three years ago at the Faculty of Architecture at the Islamic University of Gaza.