amira is one of them.h can be as safe as a hospital birth for women like amira who have straightforward pregnancies and who are having their second or subsequent child. through activism and working as a doctor, amira knows the health system well. but although she feels empowered by the idea of a home birth, her husband elmir still has some doubts. in a home birth that takes place within a health system, a midwife is present throughout the labour. but while in many other european countries midwives are trained to work independently, here they can't make clinic decisions without the approval of a doctor. in countries where home births are allowed, only around 1—2% of women choose them. but in some places, the pandemic has made them more popular. in neighbouring croatia, home births are up by almost one third. but for amira, having her baby at home is her best chance of avoiding another traumatic birth. the family is getting everything ready. earlier in her pregnancy, amira wrote to a hospital to register her

hello, amira. finall , hello. welcome. hello, amira. finally. thank— hello. welcome. hello, amira.- hello. welcome. hello, amira. finally, thank you. but this - hello. welcome. hello, amira. finally, thank you. but this is l finally, thank you. but this is about so much more than money. we meet in person. for about so much more than money. we meet in person.— we meet in person. for amira it is about regaining _ we meet in person. for amira it is about regaining control- we meet in person. for amira it is about regaining control of- is about regaining control of giving birth. is about regaining control of giving birth-— giving birth. how are you feeling? _ giving birth. how are you feeling? every _ giving birth. how are you feeling? every time - giving birth. how are you | feeling? every time when giving birth. how are you i feeling? every time when i giving birth. how are you - feeling? every time when i go to bed, i think this is it. i am here foryou. i to bed, i think this is it. i am here for you. i am your midwife, _ am here for you. i am your midwife, that means i am on your—

amira hass, welcome back to democracy now! there was a general strike, a protest in a gaza inside israel in the west bank, around the world for palestinians -- four palestinians were killed in the west bank where you are. can you talk about the situation overall. >> well, as you described it, over the past 20 minutes or so, it is is one country or the palestinians are being attacked on the one hand but on the other hand, they are rebelling. all over -- and i think we should not underestimate the political and military achievement of hamas to paralyze israeli -- for the past 10 days. it is terrible because we think about the hell through which people in gaza live because of israeli offensive, but at the same time we have to remember it was a calculated decision by hamas to respond to israeli escalation in jerusalem during the ramadan month. to respond i i military ultimate into and the logic -- by military ultimatum, no launching of rockets, which [indiscernible] in a state of fear. when we think about the balance of power, it

; seeries, "agents for chge >> reporter: amira adawelioms' s >> one of the ro said, "you know, if youore beautiful." >> reporter: just casually somebody you dn >> reporter: being told she'd be adawe. pragrism, is pervasiveople are dark skinned, li somalia, where she grew up. >> my at im darker compared to my sister and so. she's very beautiful and so corner of the planet, there's a huge sociadividend that comesologists centuries to en colonization, slavery and class caste.ow peoted, serve shorter sentences than people with darker it is reinforced in marketing by lti-billn oduc most recognizaasiats ca forndehold produc studied colorism, globally.me are g bodyash.her countries, includingtates, we elame >> reporteand arrirt of a specific targeted audience. >> it's not only also the asianng l communities. beautywe minnesota partment of healthng c0io$ w mercury, and a petition drivwt with the sierra clubdemandon the ba >> i was able to deliver petitions and letter to amazoning day, we ve removed the products off of their website.zoved ju pr a nformati, so by immigrant d, is mashels usr tke

amira is not impressed. >> they are still promoting colorism.nt people to use these products, it does not change the issue. correspondent: the cosmetics companies mentioned here declined to comment. a sociologist says they like big corporations in general are being held to account by a new generation of consumers and dark skinned influencers. >> is going to be read to us by an academy award-winning actress. >> we sees the liberties taking positions -- celebrities taking positions to address colorism. she talked about feeling isolated. correspondent: that rings very true for journalism student sophia. >> although i would never think about touching these products, the effects of colorism and the desire for lighter skin did impact my self-esteem. it is very toxic, especially as a young person, a young woman of color, but over time i found more ways to become secure in my own skin. >> there are signs of hopefulness but is not a fix. it is concted to the much larger system of racism. correspondent: one measure of this she will be looking for is a dec

but parts of towns throughout gaza were reduced to rble 14-year-d amira isleem's home was struck by a missile. >> ( translated ): what happened was we were in the sitting room, the missile hit us, there was a lot of smoke and we did not see anything. >> yang: a neighbor said he didn't know why the home was targeted. >> ( translated ): we were sound asleep, and had no idea about this, we suddenly hear a blast, and the house flew, we rushed thinking it is on r house, but realized it hit our neighbor's house, abu khalil isleem, who works here in shifa hospital, who has nothing to do with anything, nor do we. >> yang: after an eight-hour pause in hamas rocket attacks, they hit the israeli city of sderot just beyond the border. a woman whose parents' home was struck by a rocket is skeptical of an enduring peace, given the history of short-lived ceasefires. >> ( translated ): i do not want a ceasefire, because i know what this will lead to, this is not the first ceasefire, we had so many ceasefires like that, and this always happens again, i do not think this ceasefire will help anything. >