PWWSD acknowledges the Resilience of the Palestinian Workers

The Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development acknowledges the resilience and the resistance of the Palestinian workers on their day, the 1^st of May. The Palestinian workers celebrate this day to symbolize the ongoing struggle against oppression and exploitation. On this occasion, we stop to take a look at the victories of the Palestinian proletariat, and those who sacrificed their lives for freedom, independence and ending the Israeli occupation.

What signify Labor's Day this year are the continuous popular revolutions in the Arab World, which resulted from the entrenched poverty, the search for dignity, the absence of freedoms, which made the Tunisian martyr Mohamed Bouzizi, burn himself to death. This act ignited a new era of revolutions which toppled two presidents in Tunisia and Egypt, and continues to flame in different parts of the Arab World.

On the Palestinian level, the fruits of the Arab revolutions appeared with signing an agreement between Fateh and Hamas in the auspice of the new Egyptian government. The agreement arrived at the demands of the Palestinian people, who have suffered, and are still suffering from the internal political division. We at the Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development, aspire for a concrete translation of the agreement on ground, in order to end the political and geographical division of the Palestinian people, of the unions and the working segment in general. Workers make the biggest and widest segment of the Palestinian society, the poorest, especially women, who suffer from doubled oppression. Palestinian working women face great violations of their labor and human rights, starting from the discrimination in wages, the number of work hours, the work environment, the deprivation of the maternity leave, and the right of feeding their babies during the work hours.

Because of the 1^st of May, the organization welcomes the establishment of  the labor courts, and emphasizes the need to set national missions for the coming period, which requires joining the efforts of the laborers movements, and analyzing the conditions of the Palestinian workers, as well as the labor organizations in order to activate their roles and enhance a more democratic work environment.

The Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development called for the activation of the Palestinian law of Labor, in a manner which protects working women's rights, especially in relation to the number of work hours. It also continues to fight to form a committee that would be responsible for setting a minimum rate for wages as soon as possible, so that this day becomes a date of resistance, for the marginalized,  the poor and the ostracized communities, to fulfill their rights, and end their misery. This will fulfill their human demands, and secures them a decent life, and a social protection for them, their families and the rest of the society.

On the Local Elections

The Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development organized a women's meeting in Nablus on Tuesday. During the meeting participants demanded the elections to be held on its assigned date on the 9^th of July, and asked for a wider participation by women.  The session was under the title "for a wider women's participation in the local authorities' elections", which focused on enhancing the political and social mobilization to engage more people in the electoral process. The meeting touched upon women's organization in the feminist democratic lists, and the necessity to pressurize the concerned organizations in order to incorporate women, and engage them in the current negotiation process to form the electoral lists.

A number of women, representatives of the local councils, potential candidates and supporters from the Nablus region attended the meeting, participating from 15 villages around Nablus (Beita, Kasra, Kouseen, Akraba, Jamaeen, Zeita, Karyout, Kofor Kelleel, Roujeeb, Beit Foreek, Salem, Tel, Sabastya, Houra, Beit Eeba"

During the meeting, previous experiences of women who ran for the local elections were presented, in addition to emphasizing the importance of enhancing the social participation in the coming elections, especially women's involvement as voters and candidates. Participants also touched upon the challenges women face in their preparations for the coming elections, women's conditions and their electoral lists, and the importance of women's involvement in the negotiation for finalizing the electoral lists. They also stressed the importance to increase the number of women in these lists.

On her part, the coordinator for the women empowerment program, Mrs. Samar Hawash, stressed the need to hold transparent democratic elections as a legal, social and political right. Adding that women's effective participation, is an essential means to advocate women's local development. In the meeting, Mrs. Hawash announced the launching of a campaign to support women to vote and run for the elections.

The civic educator, Mayssara Subu said, that despite the change in the social stereotypical image of gender roles, due to women's participation in the social, economic and political struggle, and women's tendency to improve their status, the Palestinian society still places women in an inferior status to men, and monitors and suspects every step women take. Questioning women's abilities to join the decision-making circles, challenges their ability to make a change, and on a related level, Subuh stressed women's role in the decision-making processes as vital and essential.

On her part, the civic educator, Subheye Daraghme, emphasized the importance of women's participation in the local authorities, in order to change the stereotypical image of women. At the same time she stressed the redistrbeution of the gender roles in a just manner, which advocates the rights of citizenship, and democracy. Subheyye Daraghme, also stressed the importance of women's involvement in the decision-making circles, and their roles in relation to improving women's lives.

Workshop on Role of Civil Society Organizations in Advocating Women's Issues

The counseling program at the Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development conducted a workshop in Tulkarem, on the role of the civil society organizations in advocating women's issues in general, and women's social and psychological issues in particular. Representatives of 15 governmental and non-governmental organizations participated in the session which was hosted by the coordinator Rasha Aboushi. Aboushi welcomed the participants, and emphasized the importance of cooperation and complementary work to provide efficient services for women.

On her part, counselor Shrine Tahan, emphasized the importance of developing a reliable and professional reference system between the organizations, to serve the urgent psychological and social cases. She called to form a complementary and uncompetitive committee of the participants, to follow up with the urgent cases of violated women, in order to decide the type of service their cases require.

Muthanna Abou Sa', the director of the family counseling unit in Tulkarem's police department, emphasized the importance of networking, cooperation and coordination between the organizations, in order to provide the most efficient counseling services for women. Omayma Shahrour, the YMCA's coordinator, demanded a psychological and social family rehabilitation, and the expansion and development of the family counseling services unit in general, and the women's counseling unit in particular, as well as establishing safe shelters for the urgent cases in the governance.

In conclusion, the participants recommended forming a coalition or an official committee, to handle the urgent cases, to develop a joint plan in order to provide the counseling services in a complementary manner, and to focus on the preventive intervention in relation to women's social, psychological and legal issues. Moreover, the committee will be responsible for developing the organizations' work concerning family counseling, and preparing a brochure/profile of each organization working in the civil society in general, and the organizations operating on women's psychological health in particular. A website will also be established to provide counseling services for women via video and audio.

PWWSD finishes Debriefing and Counseling Activities for Women and Children

The children's library at the PWWSD's office in Nablus organized a number of educational and entertaining activities, in cooperation with the Palestinian Network for Children's Rights. The activities included a central festival in Jericho, during which a play was presented addressing children's rights. The festival included other entertaining events, in addition to graffiti drawing on the wall of the Spanish Park, dedicated to children's rights.

A workshop under the title "School violence and neglect" was conducted in Nablus's mixed elementary school, attended by a number of men and women. Many field visits were also conducted by the Network's member children to a number of organizations, in order to introduce them to Child's Day and distribute the posters, and the flyers for this occasion.

In addition, the organization implemented an entertaining activity for the students of Bet Wazan mixed school, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education. The activity targeted, primary school students, who were divided into groups for drawing, educational games, contests, and storytelling. In the end, the activity was evaluated by the principal and the representatives of the Ministry, in addition to the schools staff teachers.

In Ramallah, The organization finished a number of counseling and debriefing activities for women, and children in Jaba', Silwad, Beit Oura Tahya, and Kofor Deek, supervised by the counselor Ala Knais. These activities aimed to build the mothers' capacities to interact and communicate with each other. In Jaba elementary school, a workshop was organized on how the students have to deal with their parents and their teachers, aiming to raise children's awareness on the proper behaviors, and the way to tackle, analyze and solve their problems.

Educational Workshops to advocate Women's Participation in the Local Elections

The Women Empowerment Program at the Palestinian Working Woman Organization for Development implemented various educational workshops under the title of "Women and the Local Authorities Elections", in coordination with the Feminist Centre in Balata, Al-Ishrak Society in Bet Foureek, the Centre of Woman Affairs in Al-Makhfeye,  and feminist committees in the Old City and Rafidia. The workshops explored women's preparations for the expected elections next September.

The social worker Subheyye Daraghmeh talked about the importance of the elections, and its role in promoting a democratic society. She also explored the effective role women play in the decision-making circles, in relation to improving their living conditions, creating a direct contact with them in order to express their needs, and how their lives were influenced by the projects implemented by the local authorities.

A debate started on the importance of women's participation in the local authorities, consequently their contribution in changing the stereotypical image of Palestinian women, and restructuring the social roles in the Palestinian society in a just manner that promotes the concepts of positive citizenship and democracy in our society. The participants touched upon various issues including the previous participation of women in the local authorities' elections, the law of the local authorities' elections, and women's representation in these authorities. Additionally, the obstacles and challenges were discussed to stress the need to support women's political and social participation in the civil society, as well as the methods and procedures of effective participation in the development processes, and the decision-making circles. Effective participation is achieved through setting plans, and lobbying pressure groups to influence the special committees to adopt women's issues, in order to overturn the stereotypical image of women, which is still apparent in our society, and within the political parties, and was clearly reflected in many previous experiences.

Daraghmeh stressed the need for women's participation in the local elections in order to increase their involvement in different aspects of life, whether on the political or the professional level.

The political participation of women is a legal right, and a priority in the Palestinian community which equalizes between the two genders in its developmental policies as it perceives women as complete human beings, and that will help transcend the Palestinian society to a new stage based on social justice and gender equality.

Daraghmeh tackled the chart which was developed with the coordination of the Women Affairs Staff and the political parties, which urges different sides to support women to be in the electoral lists. Participants stressed the importance of advocating women and their effective participation in the local elections, and to reevaluate the policies and procedures of the various feminist activities and the political parties, and to analyze the current conditions in order to implement policies which will assist more women to run for local authorities, and to promote their participation in planning and developing the service policies and projects. Therefore promote women's effective role in the political and economical life, as well as the professional and democratic, according to the Palestinian law.