Gauging Public Perceptions
 and Studying the Feminization of
Poverty in the oPt
 Thousands of women in the West Bank and Gaza are living in
poverty stricken conditions. Studies initiated by UNDP/PAPP
contribute to pinpointingways of tackling this worrying trend. L

a majority of the 1.5 billion people living on less than US$2 a day are women.In the
occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), the current economic crisis has meant that
more and more women are finding themselves in poverty stricken conditions.

There are a wide range of issues that contribute to the feminization of
poverty, including women not receiving the same educational oppor-
tunities as men, being denied proper inheritance rights, having
their contribution to the family income unrecognized, being
suddenly consigned to the position of family breadwinner,
and having limited or restricted access to decision
making within the family or community at large
The issues can create a situation whereby
women are caught in a cycle from which
they are unable to escape.

In an effort to ascertain the
severity of the problem
in the oPt, UNDP/
PAPP
ike women the world over, Palestinians suffer from the phenomenon
of the feminization of poverty. Most of the poorest of the poor in the
West Bank and Gaza are females, as the gap between men and women
caught in the cycle of poverty continues to increase. Worldwide,
Poverty is on the rise in the oPt, with women and children in rural communities often bearing the brunt.

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