PWWSD concludes “Promoting the Rule of Law and Access to Justice for Vulnerable Women”

The Palestinian Working Women’s Society for Development concluded project “Promoting the Rule of Law and Access to Justice for vulnerable women” on Tuesday. The one-year project, funded by the UNDP, was implemented by the PWWSD in 28 locations in 6 governorates (Jenin, Tulkarem, Ramallah, Hebron, Nablus, Bethlehem). The project’s coordinator Issa Shatleh said that the project aimed to: empower women by promoting their access to legal and justice resources. The project also aimed to increase marginalized women’s access to legal aid, and to pressure the duty-bearers to fulfill their moral and legal responsibility towards women and their rights. The media campaign included posters, hearing sessions, TV and radio spots, stickers and dialogues and debates with decision-makers.

The project consisted of three focal activities: 1) launching an awareness campaign which aimed to build the capacities of a group of female lawyers on women’s right to access legal and justice resources. 2) Adult educational activities implemented by the lawyers which included lectures, workshops, film screenings, open-panels, in addition to utilizing social media. 3) Providing legal consultations; representing women before the courts, providing legal consultations through the open-line, referring cases to partner organizations, lobbying duty-bearers to promote women’s rights and to criminalize breaching women’s rights, and finally building women’s leadership capacities in lobbying and advocacy.

The project achieved many results: the formation of a reference committee of the lawyers who participated in the project, in addition to experts in women’s rights. 16 lawyers were chosen for the lawyers’ training. Moreover, 22 participants joined training in cooperation with the Police Department (12 police members from the Family Unit, in addition to 10 lawyers).  114 education activities were conducted for women in the project’s locations. The total number of beneficiaries reached 412 women. 30 educational activities were conducted on women’s labor rights, which 78 working women jointed. 233 legal consultations were given and 129 women benefited from them.

32 women were represented before the courts, and an open-line was launched to provide legal consultations for women. 43 women benefited from the capacity building trainings in lobbying and advocacy, as they participated in 50-hour training in Nablus and Ramallah.

The media campaign “Divorced Women’s Rights to Housing” reached out to 3000 women. Signatures are still being collected for the memo regarding women’s rights to housing, until the date to submit it to president Mahmoud Abbas.

The projects’ implementers, according to coordinator’s assistant Nemeh Assaf concluded the following: many women are unaware of their legal rights and legal statements. They are unaware of the courts locations, especially judiciary courts. Many women are unaware of how to claim their legal rights, while others desperately need legal help. Many women need psychological counseling and empowerment in order to stand up for their rights in cases of (custody, and divorce for example).