Born in the Old City of Jerusalem in 1954, Maha Nassar is the former president of the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees. She enrolled in Birzeit University, specializing in physics, and was one of the first to establish the student movement at the university. She contributed to the establishment of the first volunteer work committee at the university, and in 1974 was elected secretary of the Birzeit University Student Council. She also contributed to the establishment of the Union of Palestinian Women's Committees and was elected as its president, as well as to the formation of the Supreme Women's Council, which served as one of the arms of the First Intifada 1987, when she was arrested.

The Maha Nassar Collection includes photographs documenting her participation in sit-ins and demonstrations against the Israeli Occupation, and her work in the Palestinian Women's Union.