Supporting Palestinian
Women's Political Involvement
Ayear has now
gone by since
the Palestinian
Presidential
election saw President Mahmoud Abbas come
to power. With municipal elections
held in the West Bank and Gaza
in stages throughout 2005, and
the beginning of 2006 seeing
the highly contested Palestinian
Legislative Council (PLC)
elections, political participation
has been a key issue in
Palestinian society.In support of the increased
political participation of
Palestinian women, UNDP/
PAPP has initiated a number
of projects in this vein.
One example is a European
Community (EC) backed project
aimed at mobilizing civil society
during elections. The project
consists of four major focus areas:
including voter education, media
and information dissemination,
the empowerment of youth and women, and information for
lawyers, judges and the public.The project has involved a
number of Palestinian civil society
organizations in the process of
enhancing women's political
participation. This has taken
place in both rural and urban
communities in the West Bank
and Gaza Strip, with organizationsincluding the Association of
Women's Committees for Social
Work (AWCSW), the Palestinian
Initiative for the Promotion of
Global Dialogue and Democracy
(MIFTAH), Al Lod Charitable
Society, and Al Dameer
Association for Human Rights.Women in the oPt have been
encouraged to participate in
political life through a series
of activities carried out by the
aforementioned organizations.
Voter education workshops have
been held targeting a number of
locations and media campaigns
have been staged to promote
increased participation of women
as constituents, election monitors,
and candidates. This work has
also served to educate men on
the importance of women being
able to embrace their political
rights, and, in some areas, to
introduce the idea of women
running for political office.Access to information has also
been in key in promoting voter
participation, as well as increasing
general awareness about issues
including election procedures, the
importance of elections in public
life, Palestinian election law and the
responsibilities of voters.UNDP/PAPP has also
worked in the capacity
building and institutional
support of the PLC, with
a focus on enhancing and
strengthening the training
of female members of the
Palestinian parliament.In 2000, UNDP/PAPP and
UNIFEM, in association
with MIFTAH, launched the
Empowerment of PalestinianWomen Leadership project that
sought to establish enhanced media
outreach and communications
strategies. Using a large network of
media outlets, the project assured
greater visibility and coverage
of women's issues and provided
a forum via which women in
decision-making positions could
gain more exposure for important
issues relating to both Palestinian
men and women. The project
also sought to build the capacity
of females in the media, training
Palestinian media professionals
on ways of introducing gender-
sensitivity into reporting.
Women
in the West Bank
and Gaza have
been encouraged to participate in
political life
