Shocking abuse against Muslim women activists revealed by Sumud fleet member

Sümeyra Akdeniz Ordu, a Turkish activist with the Global Sumud Fleet, shared an emotional account describing how Israel systematically humiliated, tortured, and discriminated against Muslim women.

“What we were forced to witness was more violent than anything before,” she said. “Our hands were tightly handcuffed. They forced me to remove my headscarf — and all my Muslim friends were forced to take off their hijabs as well. I resisted for an hour, shouting: ‘Don’t take off my hijab!’ But before my eyes, many of my friends were compelled to uncover in front of men.”

She continued: “It wasn’t only me. We saw how they used racist violence against non-white women. They threw us into a cage — like animals — a tiny 12-square-meter cage where 57 women were kept under the scorching sun for five hours.”

With a trembling voice, the peace activist added: “When we asked for medicine, they directly threatened us with guns and gas. The gas was far worse than pepper spray. They slammed us against the walls, hitting our heads. Their behavior toward Muslims was full of hatred; they believed in nothing and respected nothing.”

Akdeniz Ordu concluded: “My only hope is that the world will finally see that we are human — human beings fighting for justice. We learned from the Palestinians how to resist even in prison. The same spirit they carry, we carry — and we will keep it alive until the day Palestine is free.”

The Sumud convoy set out for Palestine amid Israel’s ongoing atrocities in Gaza. Since the beginning of the Zionist regime’s attacks on the Strip, more than 67,000 people have been killed — the majority of them women and children.