Ramallah – The Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development (PWWSD) and the Association of Women Committees for Social Work (AWCSW) launched a media advocacy campaign titled “Ana wa Anta: Watan Wahed” (You and I: One Nation). A press conference for the launch was held in front of the Palestinian Legislative Council in Ramallah, in partnership with the Women’s Technical Affairs Committee, Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (PBC), Al-Quds University – Institute of Modern Media, Roles for Social Change Association ADWAR, Nissa FM, Maan News Agency, Palestinian Youth Association for Leadership and Rights Activation (PYALARA), Raya FM, and 24FM.
Central Elections Commission Executive Director, Mr. Hisham Kuheil opened the press conference, where he stressed the need to strengthen women’s role in society, and demanded that all political parties participate in elections. Kuheil said we need to work on reaching the highest possible level of active participation in elections for women, and surpassing the minimum quota for women stated in election law. He noted that women’s participation in local council elections reached 26% in 2012, hoping that this year will see higher percentages.
Undersecretary for the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, H.E. Mr. Bassam al-Khatib talked about the need for women and men to work together to bridge the gap, and to integrate women in decision-making positions. Al-Khatib added that society still sees women in a negative light, so it is important to work on implementing a women’s quota of 30%. He called to intensify efforts to support women’s work and contribution in local development after the elections.
Local Government Director General, Mr. Sameer Dawabsheh pointed out that women in Palestine participate in all aspects of life more than neighboring countries, and this is nothing new for Palestinian women. Dawabsheh added that men and women together form this nation, so all factions and groups need to work on increasing women’s participation in political life, as women deserve equal participation to men, and more.
Head of the Gender Unit at PBC, Ms. Lana as-Saqa said that political participation is a democratic task that reflects sustainable development, and neither can exist without the other. As-Saqa noted that it is unacceptable to detract from any rights women have, and that media has a significant role in strengthening women’s political role, in addition to active and continuous coverage of all the activities women take part in.
Head of the political participation program at UN Women, Ms. Hanan Kaoud affirmed that women’s participation in political work is an indicator of democracy, equality, and an evolving society. Kaoud mentioned that women’s concerns are not just an individual feminist issue, but a wider community issue, connected to the vision and identity of the Palestinian political system, and its strong will to foster a responsive social environment that can effect change and achieve dignity, social justice and equality among citizens. She hopes to strengthen women’s participation in political work by fulfilling the resolutions taken by the Palestinian Central Council to raise women’s quota to 30%, in order to fulfill the duties of signing the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
PWWSD Director General, Ms. Amal Khreisheh said that the campaign ““Ana wa Anta: Watan Wahed” is built on horizontal and vertical partnerships between media institutions and women’s rights institutions, and through this partnership the work continues to send a message to the Palestinian people that it is necessary to integrate women in society. Khreisheh mentioned that this campaign continues the work towards achieving equality in all spheres and facets of public life, and emphasizes the role of media in changing the cultural and stereotypical image of women, as media discourse is a very significant element in forming awareness and shifting cultural perspectives. She added that women’s participation is connected to the democratic process in Palestine, so she hopes that political parties will respect their obligations, as the first test for them is the arrangement of electoral lists in local government.
Head of Public Relations at PYALARA, Mr. Helmi Atwan emphasized the role of all media partners, CBOs, and academic institutions that support women’s rights, and the commitment to giving women access to decision-making positions and active participation in the political process, as a national priority. Atwan focused on the need to work on observing women’s participation in all sectors, and said that institutions failing to give women their rights should be held accountable by the media and public opinion, in order to change and correct misconceptions of women’s roles.
AWCSW Executive Director, Ms. Hadeel Hamdan pointed out that the title of the campaign “Ana wa Anta: Watan Wahed” (You and me: One Homland) embodies a unified feminist discourse in the media supporting the active participation of Palestinian women in political work and to reach decision-making positions. Hamdan calls for holding free and fair elections immediately as a legitimate demand for our nation, and called on governmental, nongovernmental, and media institutions to actively take part in this campaign. She said this can be done by mobilizing local capacities, forming a lobbying powerhouse to advocate for Palestinian women to practice their right of political participation, as well as amending election law to guarantee women’s active participation, which requires raising the quota to at least 30%.
This campaign comes as part of “Sustainable Empowerment and Enabling of Political Participation for the Palestinian Women” project executed in partnership with UN Women, and funded by the Representative Office of Norway, and with support from the Central Elections Commission.