On the 63rd Anniversary of Nakba We emphasize our Right of Return

On the 63^rd anniversary of Al-Nakba, our Palestinian Cause remains alive in our memory and heart, despite the Israeli attempts to distort our Palestinian history. The Israeli Occupation continues to determinate the Palestinian Arab features of Jerusalem. It builds new settlements across the OPT, and continues to besiege the Gaza Strip, depriving its Palestinians from their basic human rights.

The Palestinian woman commemorates this occasion, while she, who has always nourished the Palestinian memory and kept it alive, still suffers from the severe implications of the Israeli Occupation and the absence of social justice.  

Palestinian woman contribute to save the Palestinian memory, and nurture it through narrating the different stories of Palestine, which has given birth to a generation who strives to return to Palestine. Despite her many sacrifices and sufferings in Palestine and in the Diaspora, she has raised the hope of return in the heart of the new generation. In the face of all the disasters, and the many displacements of the Palestinians, the Palestinian woman firmly stood to support her family and her country. She will continue to contribute to the Palestinian struggle to build an independent Palestinian State, with Jerusalem as its capital. The Palestinian Cause has to remain the cause of a people who were deported and denied their rights. Israel must abide by the international laws which endorse the Palestinians' right of return, stated in the UN's resolution 194, for the right of return is a human right, and no solution could be reached at without the protection of this right.

We at the Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development, call on the national community to take its responsibilities towards the Palestinian people, and to force Israel to abide by the international laws. We call on the Palestinian, Arab and international supporters to participate in the activities to commemorate Al-Nakba, which will take place in many cities around the world, therefore, to prove that we have not forgotten our right of return, and in order to protect our national unity, and our just fight. We call on the Palestinian political parties to unite to guide our march back home.

PWWSD welcomes Statement Concerning Distribution of Inheritance

The Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development welcomed the statement issued by Cheikh Youssef Id'es, the chief of the Supreme Judiciary concerning the inheritance distribution. According to the statement, inheritance distribution can only take place after 4 months of someone's death. In addition, a detailed bank statement has to be submitted of the transferred and the untransferred money, signed by all the adult inheritors resident in the country, and accredited by the municipality or the local council in the place of the inheritance. Moreover, a report signed by three experts, including the exact amount of all the inherited shares which will be distributed, has also to be submitted, in addition to announcing the distribution of the inheritance in the local newspapers for at least a week, before the beginning of the process.  A recordset must be delivered to the Supreme Judiciary court for auditing, so as not to aggrieve any of the inheritors, to protect their rights, and to avoid any misuse of women's shares of inheritance, which are usually taken by force and threat.

The statement which will be validated on the 15 of this month, after the long struggle of the feminist movement, concluded with the letter addressed to the head of the judiciary court in a meeting which joined the general director of the PWWSD, Mrs. Amal Khreishe, the president of Feda Mrs. Zahira Kamanl, the legal counselor Mrs. Lina Abdelhadi, the head of the personal status court lawyer Sumoud Damiri, the director of the Women Empowerment Program Mrs. Samar Hawash, Mrs. Wafa l'Araj from the Ministry of Women Affairs, and Suhair Abu Taga from the Ministry of Social Affaire, in addition to Mrs. Fatima Al'As from the Women's Society for Life, and Suhad Abdellatif and Naela Oudeh from the PWWSD. The meeting urged the chief of the Supreme Judiciary Court to issue a statement concerning the distribution of the inheritance. 

Amal Khreishe, the general director of the Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development expressed her gratitude for the statement, which protects women's right of inheritance, consequently empowering her economic and vital role in society. She added that the organization will continue to fight for the issuance of a new modern Palestinian personal status law, which deters all attempts to deprive women of their share of inheritance, side by side with the progressive and democratic forces in the Palestinian society.

First Women's Cooperative Officially registered in Yatta

The Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development has obtained an official registration, from the Ministry of Labor, to register the first women's cooperative in Yatta. The initiative comes in accordance with the general administration strategy to cooperate with the Ministry of Labor in order to mobilize women's participation in cooperatives. The first cooperative was registered under the name "Yatta Women's Cooperative for Charity", with the registration number (1495).

The organization's general assembly conducted a meeting on Tuesday, in Yatta's community Centre, in which the cooperative's concepts, and work strategy were explained. In conclusion of the meeting, a committee of 5 women were elected for the administrative board; Fadya Abu Eid, the president, Seham Abou Eid, the secretary, Fatima Rashid, the treasurer, Wafa Al-Mahayne as member, and Hadil Abou Safi as member. The engineer Youssef Mohammed Al-Ayasseh, the general of Ministry or Labor's directorate in Yatta, the director of the Cooperation Department in the Ministry of Labor, the PWWSD's representatives Suhad Abdellatif and Nadhir Faleh, and many women attended the meeting.

Al-Ayasseh pointed out that the registration process took 3 days, and that the cooperative is the first of its kind to be founded in such an ostracized place. The cooperative will launch projects to serve women, including agricultural projects like growing medical herbs and mushrooms. He added that the ministry will support the organization, especially in relation to consultancy, and the supervision of the services provided for women in the city.

On her part, Suhad Abdellatif, from the Programs Department in the Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development, said that the cooperative's opening and registration aim is to empower women, and advocate their economic participation in the most vulnerable and marginalized areas.

The cooperative, as well as the other cooperatives established by the PWWSD in Hebron and the rest of the Palestinian governances, are funded by the Spanish organization Fundeso.

For a Wider Women Participation in the Local Elections

Within the activities conducted by the Women Empowerment program, and due to the agreement signed between Fateh and Hamas in Cairo, around 90 members of the local authorities, potential candidates, representatives of the social society organizations, university students and a representative of the Central Elections committee, joined a meeting hosted by the Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development today in Nablus. The Women Empowerment Program aims to encourage women to join the decision-making processes in relation to their public and private lives, and to join the social mobilization striving to hold the elections on its fixed date in July.

Mr. Samir Dwaikat, the coordinator of the Central Elections Committee, presented some statistics of the electoral process. The percentage of women who registered in Nablus for the elections reached (48%), which clearly indicates an increase in women's participation in the elections, and is marked as one of the highest rates in the region.

Mrs. Amal Khreishe, the general director of the Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development, spoke about the role of the feminist movement in encouraging women to participate in the elections, emphasizing the need to recognize women's rights as human rights, and the urgency to conduct educational workshops, exchange experiences with women, and build their capacities.

Hanan Imseih, the general director of the gender unit in the Ministry of Local Government, touched upon the ministry's role in increasing women's participation in the elections. She talked about the agreement which was signed by 10 local councils, stating to implement a strategy to take gender into consideration when designing policies, in addition to forming a gender forum. Mrs. Imseih explored the recommendations of the conference conducted by the Ministry of Local Government, with the participation of the local authorities to evaluate the experience, and discuss the possibilities of women's political empowerment after they are elected in the local authorities.

On his part, Dr. Nader Said, the general director of the Arabic World Centre for Studies and Development (ARWAD), spoke about the society's attitudes, and its willingness to participate in the electoral process, and to engage women as well. He presented his study which was conducted in 1996, that indicates a decrease in the acceptance of women's candidacy with 10–12 %. Said emphasized the importance of mobilization to end the discrimination against women, highlighting the role of the legal, and developmental and feminist organizations.

PWWSD and of Feminist Activists Meet the Deputy of the Head of the Supreme Judiciary Court

The Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development and a number of feminist activists have met with the deputy of the head of the supreme judiciary court Mrs. Youssef Id'es in Ramallah today, at the office of the supreme judiciary council. The meeting reflects the ongoing feminist struggle to eradicate all forms of violence and discrimination against women, through overturning and changing the applicable laws, and by proposing drafts of new laws based on gender equality. The parties developed a document for women's rights, which reflects the political, economic, social and personal vision of many segments of the Palestinian feminist movement; and the citizens who have and still participate in all aspects of the national development processes. During the meeting, the participants welcomed the last decision made by Mrs. Id'es which states: "married men are not to sign new marriage papers before notifying the first wife/wives. And if a man has more than one wife, and wants to marry another, he must inform his fiancé that he is married to another".

On her part, Mrs. Amal Khreishe, demanded the deputy to take administrative measures in the judiciary courts, in order to protect women's right of inheritance, and to deter the attempts to steal women's share of the inheritance. Some women are forced to give away their shares, as they are abused and sometimes threatened of death. Consequently, a general statement was issued to define the inheritance within a year of someone's death, so that women would know of the exact amount of their share, and then decide whether to give it away or keep it.

On his part, Mr. Youssef I'des expressed his willingness to cooperate with the feminist movement, which he described as just, adding his last decision in which he stated that it is necessary to inform the wife/wives of her husband's second marriage. Id'es also talked about the procedures to be exerted in regard of informing the wife, therefore whoever denies a second marriage without informing his wife is taken to court for forgery.

The participants asked to establish an administrative department at the judiciary courts, to facilitate laws implementation in regards of women's rights, especially women's right of inheritance, property and alimony. Mrs. Zuheira Kamal, the director of Feda, and the director of the Palestinian Woman's Centre for Research and Documentation, stressed the urgency to issue similar laws in favor of women's rights and issues. In conclusion, the parties agreed to continue to coordinate and follow up on the issues discussed, and also to develop a national comprehensive plan, with clear objectives and vision.

PWWSD denounces the Murder of Aya Barath'eye

The Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development strongly condemns all murders based on what is known as the "Honor Killing", including the murder of the 21-year old Aya Barath'eye in Surif, Hebron. Aya Barath'eye was murdered by her uncle and his three friends in April 20 2011, after being kidnapped on her way to college, tied up and dumped in a deserted well near the Separation Wall in town.

The Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development demands that the murderers be severely punished and put to justice for their crime, so as to set an example for all those who think of committing murder based on family's honor. Therefore, the organization urges the decision and policy makers to amend the laws applicable for these issues, which give immunity to the murderers, through the implementation of lenient sentences against them.

The organization assures that the murderers usually take advantage of these laws to escape their crimes, claiming that they have committed the killing to save the family's honor, while the intentions are completely different. Hence, the organization calls upon the responsible authorities to implement a deterrent penal code, and to consider "honor killing" murders as intentional crimes, in order to eradicate this form of discrimination against women. In addition, the organization demands the authorities to develop a Palestinian penalties code based on gender equality to protect women from the blatant violations of their basic rights.

PWWSD organizes Number of Youth Activities in Nablus.

Among the activities implemented by the Youth committee at the Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development in Nablus, the committee has conducted several educational workshops addressed to groups of young people, on women's rights, gender issues, and the role of the youth in the development process. During the sessions, the civic educator Mayssara Subuh Saddeldine, explored the general concepts of gender, its definitions, and the relationship between the equal opportunities and the human rights, and the social and cultural implications on the individual perspectives and roles.

Participants also touched upon the important role of young people in the development process, the reality of Palestinian Youth in relation to the ongoing Israeli Occupation, the political instability, the lack in resources, and the deteriorating economic conditions. The participants found the space to express their problems and concerns, those which have become barriers between them and their ambitions. They tackled the difficulties which hinder the nourishment of an educated individual who is capable of benefiting the society. The problem of unemployment was addressed in particular, especially among the fresh graduates, taking into consideration the high costs of living, the expensive tuitions, and many other obstacles. The participants added that any concrete development could not be reached at without an effective participation of the young generation.

The civic educator Maysara Subuh pointed out that the absence of democracy and social dialogue weaken the role of the youth in the development process, for they don't receive equal chances of participation. Therefore it is necessary to build a society based on justice and equality to allow the young generation a wider participation. In conclusion of the workshops, the participants emphasized the need to join efforts in order to influence the work policies in favor of young people, and to engage the youth within the policy-making process, in addition to considering their issues as national responsibilities. Moreover, they stressed the necessity to develop a national strategy which aims to improve the Palestinian society, and reach at a comprehensive social development on all levels.