PWWSD launches Women’s Right to Residence Campaign

In cooperation with the UNDP, the Palestinian Working Women’s Society for Development launched campaign “Women’s Right to Residence after Divorce”. The campaign aims to protect divorced women’s right to residence, and most importantly their dignity and right to decent living. The organization called upon governmental organizations to fulfill their obligations towards women’s right to residence, and to adopt a just personal status law, which grants women their right to residence and custody of young children. 

The PWWSD called upon the chief justice Mr. Id’es to establish a specialized unit within the Charia Court, whose responsibility is to ensure the implementation of the orders passed by the Court. The organization also urged the chief justice to impose a financial penalty to be paid to the divorced women, in order to finance their new residence and life expenses. If husbands refrain, they must be obliged to provide a residence for their divorced wives and children, until a progressive modern personal status is law is adopted.   

PWWSD called for more lectures and educational activities about women’s rights to residence and inheritance, which address both women and men, through civil society institutions including mosques, and the media. PWWSD asked for the prosecution of anyone who forces women to concede her share of inheritance, or any of her rights, particularly her financial rights. The organization called upon the Palestinian government to adopt a crediting strategy for divorced women; the banks to give loans to divorced women, repaid by women in payments equal to the amount of money they received from their divorced husbands.

PWWSD explained that Palestinian women face social, economic, legal and cultural challenges, which violate their rights to inheritance and residence. Palestinian women are not protected by the Labor Law - article number 7, if they engage in informal family business.