For the majority of Gazans who do not openly censure Hamas, there is no guarantee that Ha-mas will not censure them. At a certain coffeehouse in Gaza, “Lubna” and her boyfriend used to hold hands – until Hamas police noticed their behavior, reported it, and shut the cafe down. Today Lubna is married, and at every family gathering, relatives ask when they will be having children. “It would be wrong to bring a child into the conditions we endure,” she explains. “A child is innocent. She doesn’t deserve to be forced to go to government schools teaching lessons that are worthless and deceitful.” The young couple hopes to build a future somewhere else.

Efforts by Hamas to impose conservative social mores intensified after the group took power. They include imposing gender segregation in schools, banning books, prohibiting women from biking, and encouraging polygamy. Hamas officials claim these measures reflect Gazans’ innate-ly conservative sensibilities, but local rights activists feel otherwise. Zeinab al-Ghoneimi, a women’s rights advocate based in Gaza, challenged the group to be more straightforward: “Instead of hiding behind traditions, why don’t they say clearly they are Islamists and they want to Islamize the community?”

“Lubna’s” fears about a child’s education are well founded. Hamas-run schools and summer camps steer children toward a life of conflict. Their curricula deny basic critical thinking skills while instilling antisemitism and Holocaust denial. Children are trained in firearms use and urged to pursue “jihad” after graduation. Samir Zakout, a Gazan human rights activist, believes Hamas’s educational methods are aimed at “building a military culture, familiarizing boys with resistance, and creating the next generation of militants." Mkhaimar Abusada, an assistant professor of political science at Al-Azhar University in Gaza City, decries the group’s efforts: “They can call it summer camps, but in reality this is just part of Islamic socialization … They are recruiting these kids to join the al-Qassam Brigades. Whenever there is a fight with Israel or there is a new round of violence with Israel, most of the boys will be recruited to fight as suicide bombers or at least to join the Palestinian resistance.”