The PWWSD organized a Study Circle on VAW and “Trafficking”

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The Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development organized a study circle in Tulkarem, in cooperation with the Swedish foundation Kvinna till Kvinna. The participants accentuated the need to join efforts to overturn the dominant patriarchal traditions in the Palestinian society, which degrade women, and undermine their roles. They also emphasized that women’s case refers to gender equality in rights and duties; that both women and men build their societies, and therefore women issues concern all segments of society.

The representatives of the human rights organizations, governmental and NGOs, called for networking and cooperation, through a focus group, or a processing room, which will exert social mobilization to pressure the governmental and the private sector organizations. In addition, the focus group will train and build the capacities of specialists, to change and develop the educational curricula. The participants also highlighted the necessity to engage the local media in the action, to shed light on the critical feminist issues related to violence and oppression, which extend to women trafficking, and the exploitation of their dignity and humanity.

The representative of Kvinna till Kvinna foundation spoke about violence as an international phenomenon practiced against emigrant women and men. Sometimes decent job opportunities are offered to women that require travelling and living abroad. However, women discover different job environments than described in the contracts after they travel, which is considered a violation of human rights based on deceit. Deceiving women and transferring them to other countries place them under great dangers, where sometimes they are trapped in closed areas, and banned from travelling back to their countries. This widespread phenomenon is prosecuted in Paraguay and Sweden. The representative added that violence is widely practiced within the Palestinian family block, and that the only solution for domestic violence is the development of a deterring penalty system.

During the study circle which was moderated by lawyer Lina Abdelhadi, the legal consultant for the Nablus governance, many interventions emphasized the necessity to provide decent job offers for women. Participants also urged formal and private organizations to join efforts to combat VAW, discrimination and exploitation of women, through conducting educational workshops, and overturning the unjust legislations and laws. They also demanded the PA to issue a law to prevent women from working inside “the green-line” where they are exposed to exploitation and oppression.

Mrs. Amal Khreishe, the general director of the PWWSD, explored the entrepreneur role Palestinian women have played, and are still playing in the Palestinian struggle against the Israeli Occupation, as she called to enhance the cooperation and coordination between the concerned organizations in relation to the educational matter, in addition to improving the educational curricula. Khreishe touched upon the issue of honor, and the social tendency to relate it to women’s behaviors.

In addition, during the meeting, participants explored VAW and political trafficking, including what is called the honor killing, and the Israeli attempts to stain women’s honor by violating her body and sexuality, in order to use them as a “pressure tool”.