Workshops on Violence against Children and the Personal Status Law

 The Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development organized a workshop today at its headquarters in Nablus on the personal status law. Civic educator Subheyye Daraghmeh welcome the participants, and introduced PWWSD’s role as an educational developmental organization that aims to empower and strengthen women in order to engage them in all aspect of life on the social, economic and political levels; to assure justice and equality within all the regulations and laws; to engage women in the economic activities, to eradicate marginalization, poverty, violence and occupation, in addition to combating the patriarchal hegemony in order to eradicate all types of discrimination against women. Daraghmeh spoke about the objectives and programs the organization operates on, in order to empower and strengthen women’s participation based on gender equality and human rights.

Lawyer Imen Ettamam, spoke about the personal status law, and identified the right, the law and the difference between the two. She also emphasized on the definition of women’s rights, and gave a brief historical introduction to the conventions, the legislations and laws regarding women’s rights in Palestine, and explained how these are contradictory or complimentary to the local laws and the international conventions like CEDAW. Ettamam also answered the participants’ questions and observations on the modifications to the personal status law, and urged the duty makers to push more reforms to achieve gender equality and social justice.

Moreover, another workshop took place on violence against children in Al-Ein refugee camp, conducted by the civic education Futnah Khalifeh who talked about all types of violence, the aggressor, their characteristics and the traumas such incidents leave on the aggressed people.  During the workshop, the participants watched a short film on sexual harassment, and then followed a discussion on the issue and the possible ways to combat this phenomenon, through educating the parents and the children.