Ramallah – Recently, MIFTAH capped off a series of activities as part of the preparatory stage of the “Tajaawob” project in the Gaza Strip, thereby touching base with various sectors of society including youth, women, farmers and unemployed Palestinians. MIFTAH completed these activities in cooperation with Aman, Palvision, Oxfam, BBC Media Action, and the British Council as a manager of the project.
One outcome of the project in this stage was the formation of a local committee comprised of 32 members of various backgrounds. The committee was set up after town hall meetings with the population and with grassroots organizations in the area. A workshop was also organized to introduce Tajaawob’s goals targeting the various sectors. One training workshop entitled, “Planning in concordance with the strategic vision” was given to the local committee, aimed at allowing participants to understand the strategic planning process and the ability to think and work in a strategic manner, which in turn would achieve the goals of the committee.
The participants were able to determine the points of strength and weakness of the local committee of Mughrafa and Al Malalha and identify the vision and mission of the committee aimed at bettering the reality of this community. This was achieved through strengthening the targeted sectors and their partners in field of social accountability of the authorities in terms of the use of public funds. It was also through promoting the concepts and mechanisms of integrity and transparency in all citizen services and influencing authorities in the fields of education, social services, water and sewage systems through advocacy and pressure campaigns. The project also aimed at supporting and promoting the participation of women and youth in local councils, co-ops, charitable societies, clubs and unions; supporting and promoting local production and building the capacities of women and youth sectors so they could be part of the decision-making process. This is in addition to shedding light on the problems and needs of marginalized sectors through the various media outlets.
One outcome of the training was the establishment of a Facebook group in Tajaawob’s name https://www.facebook.com/groups/Tajaawob.GazaCit/،. Activities from the training course were posted daily along with pictures and reports documented by the participants.
As for the biggest success story from the project, it was that the committee participated in preparing and formulating a plan to put a stop to child labor, which was implemented directly after the training ended. Two workshops were held to raise awareness of the people and children in Al Malalha and Mughrafa in addition to a YouTube channel which was set up in Tajaawob’s name. http://www.youtube.com/user/Tajaawob،
A twitter page was also created:
https://twitter.com/Tajaawob/status/440929783631720448/photo/
MIFTAH scored other successes in Gaza through its coordinator Shadia Al Ghoul, as part of its program for supporting local elections. It held a series of town hall meetings in various districts of the Strip.
MIFTAH’s program aimed at empowering social leaders to participate in promoting democracy and good governance, to raise social awareness towards the rights and duties of good citizenry in order to develop the knowledge of citizens towards the importance of social and political participation. It aimed at encouraging citizens to practice their right to political participation and to determine their needs and priorities.
In this context, MIFTAH held 26 public meetings, including two workshops and three training courses entitled: “Managing election campaigns, managing town hall meetings, and good governance and democracy.” It also held three individual advisory sessions for women leaders planning to run in elections after their participation in the town hall meetings. In addition, there was a field visit to learn more about one of the women members of Al Maghazi’s local council who won during the first phase of elections in 2005. The purpose was to better understand the most significant difficulties and blunders that may face a candidate along with their most significant achievements.
A total of 594 participants were part of the project’s activities, including 217 males and 377 females from various sectors (housewives, graduates, university students, disabled persons, unemployed and widows of martyrs.)
The meetings reaped a number of results, most significantly: encouraging 594 citizens in the Gaza Strip to participate in municipal and local elections through nominations, voting and networking with 26 social, party, youth and women’s organizations. The purpose was to impact their rights and legal discourse and to urge them to base their discourse on the idea that the relationship between the citizen and the decision maker is a legal relationship entailing rights and duties.
In the end, the response to MIFTAH’s town hall meetings was very positive, with participants asking for more to be held. The meetings generated discussions about elections and citizens’ rights among women and youth. Women began to speak about the need to pressure factions and demand that elections be held within them. Hence, the town hall meetings began to restore confidence in the women and in the importance of their role and the role of youth in peaceful change through the ballot box.
MIFTAH releases 2021-2022 comparative actual spending reports for the social and security sectors, including social justice and gender indicators
Date posted: April 04, 2023
By MIFTAH
MIFTAH recently released 2021-2022 comparative actual spending reports for the social sector (health, education, higher education and scientific research, social development and labor), and for the first time, the security sector (Ministry of Interior and National Security). The reports were based on annual financial data released by the Ministry of Finance in Palestine for 2021-2022 and on an accrual basis.
The data showed that the Ministry of Interior and National Security had the highest percentage of actual spending in 2022, accounting for 22.8% of overall public expenditures, or ILS3.68 billion. This was a slight increase from the Ministry’s share in 2021. Meanwhile, actual spending on the education sector (Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research) stood at 21.5% of overall public expenditures, or ILS3.48 billion. This was also an increase from the education sector’s share in 2021, which was 20.6% of public expenditures.
Moreover, actual spending on the Ministry of Health also increased in 2022, comprising 15% of overall public expenditures, at a sum of ILS2.4 billion. This was higher than in 2021, where its share was 14.4%. As for the Ministry of Social Development, actual spending was still low, amounting for 6.2% of overall public expenditures in 2022, compared to 5.8% in 2021. The Ministry of Social Development’s actual spending in 2022 was approximately ILS1 billion. As for the labor sector, actual spending on this sector in 2022 was 0.31% of overall public expenditures, while in 2021 it was 0.28%. Actual spending on the labor sector in 2022 was ILS50.1 million.
Upon review of actual spending reports of the targeted ministries from a gender and social justice perspective, it is clear that actual spending on the Ministry of Social Development does not coincide with the scope of its responsibilities as the forerunner of the social sector in Palestine, including its programs for combatting poverty and the protection of poor and marginalized social sectors. Moreover, non-compliance to the disbursement of payments for poor families within the CTP continued according to estimates, whereby only two of four installments for 2022 were disbursed, one at minimum value. This adversely affected the financial security of the most underprivileged and marginalized sectors of society, in addition to the insufficient estimated budget and actual spending on the social protection program, in spite of its importance in providing protection and social services to battered women, children, special-needs persons and the elderly.
The data also pointed to the low percentage of women working in the security sector, which stood at 6% of the total number of workers in this sector, while they comprised 46% of the civil sector. This shows a gap in actual spending on the security sector from a gender perspective, given that the lion’s share of actual spending in 2022 was on salaries and wages. Hence, women only benefited very little from these allocations, which were nearly ILS2.9 billion in 2022.
The data also indicated that the development expenditures for the Ministry of Labor were only ILS4.5 million in 2022, even though planned development expenditures were ILS32 million, which is much higher. This casts a shadow on gender-related programs and projects, which were allotted sizeable budgets within development expenditures, such as creating sustainable opportunities as alternatives for Palestinian men and women working in settlements, for which ILS10 million were earmarked.
Even though there was an increase in actual spending in 2022 at the targeted ministries in general, this increase was mainly concentrated on salaries and wages. In spite of the importance of providing a decent life for employees, there is still a need to increase spending on development expenditures, since they are at the forefront of developing government services, including the nationalization and institutionalization of various social services.
MIFTAH concludes town hall meetings on political participation and citizens’ rights for women and youth
Date posted: January 09, 2023
By MIFTAH
Ramallah – 29/12/2022 – Within its efforts to promote democratic values and the peaceful transfer of power within the Palestinian government system, MIFTAH’s field advisory team completed over 100 town hall meetings in the second half of 2022. The meetings were held in coordination and cooperation with CSOs, LGUs and grassroots organizations and targeted women and youth in several West Bank and Gaza Strip districts. The objective of these meetings was to raise awareness among the electorate on the electoral system in Palestine and on civil society demands to increase women and youth participation in local and general elections as candidates and voters, on the premise that this boosts their presence in decision-making levels and involves them in public affairs.
The town hall meetings included several exchange visits between LGU members in the various districts. The women shared the experiences and challenges they faced after becoming council members. The meetings focused on the concept of citizenship within a broader definition of the various forms of political participation and the importance of involvement from youth and women in public life. They also pointed to the different forms of democracy and the main pillars of the democratic society Palestinians seek to create. The participants furthermore discussed the various forms of electoral systems and shed light on the gaps in electoral laws regarding the presence of women and youth.
The participants pointed to the importance of periodic legislative and presidential elections and the danger of the ongoing absence of the PLC on matters pertaining to civic peace. They also warned against the absence of oversight and accountability, maintaining that the defunct PLC has contributed to shrinking civic space and public freedoms and therefore, the ability or desire to become involved in political life, especially for women and youth. In most of the meetings, the participants also indicated that the absence of a regular democratic process in Palestine contributed to the overall exclusion of youth from participation and to the marginalization of the role of women in Palestinian political decision-making.
The town hall meetings stressed on the importance of pressing for legislative, presidential and local elections in all West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza Strip districts. They also endorsed the demand for equality in electoral laws, starting with raising the women’s quota to a minimum of 30%, raising the candidacy age and lowering the threshold. They urged Palestinian factions to assume a key role in the process of inclusion for women and youth in the public sphere and to prevent the progression of tribalism in the democratic process. The attendees emphasized the importance of monitoring the performance of LGUs in their interaction with local communities and the consistency of their meetings. Finally, they said female council members must be given the opportunity to exercise their role in their respective councils as equals to their male counterparts.
MIFTAH holds town hall meetings on an annual basis as part of its awareness campaign on citizens’ rights and the promotion of the democratic approach for a peaceful transfer of power, in addition to the involvement of women and youth in elections as both candidates and voters. Each year, through these town hall meetings, MIFTAH aims to reach the widest possible segment of the electorate and the different social sectors in all parts of Palestine.
MIFTAH completes training workshop in the Gaza Strip on family protection and advocacy
Date posted: January 05, 2023
By MIFTAH
Gaza – 2/1/2023 – MIFTAH recently completed a training workshop on measures and regulations on family protection in the Gaza Strip. The workshop was part of MIFTAH’s strategic objectives to prioritize family issues in communities and to support local institutions in increasing awareness on citizenship and constitutional rights for Palestinian women and on combatting all forms of GBV and discrimination in Palestinian society.
The workshop’s objectives included providing institutions with important information on the legislations, laws and measures for family protection in effect in the Gaza Strip, in a bid to enhance the oversight role of CSOs in holding accountable official parties responsible for enforcing these measures and legislations. The training also included offering institutions the necessary mechanisms for managing digital and media campaigns to press for the ratification of laws and legislation that protect women’s rights.
The discussions focused on a number of points, including legal (including sharia law) rebuttals to claims from parties opposing legislation, including the Family Protection Law. They also discussed how applicable this law would be in the Gaza Strip once ratified by the President.
The participants unanimously agreed that they supported adoption of the law, giving no credence to the claims of more extreme elements in Gaza on the Family Protection Law. They called on MIFTAH to hold general, open meetings with the public to introduce them to the law and its importance, so that they could defend themselves from the extremist discourse surrounding it.
Opinions and impressions
One of the participants, Latifa Shatat, said such training workshops were crucial for every Palestinian, male and female. “It is great we are pressing for protection laws such as the Family Protection Bill. This law will have tremendous impact on society as a whole. I can say from experience as a social and mental health worker that protection is the most important element in our work, especially in cases involving women and children, who are the most vulnerable social sectors. I commend MIFTAH and anyone who participates in spreading a culture of nonviolence, protection, justice and equality.”
Meanwhile, Haifa Al Araj said the training offered important details about the Family Protection Law and also ways of conducting initiatives and activities that could produce positive results in mobilizing support it.
Another participant, Hatem Abu Ta’a, said the training was a new starting point for him as an institution director in terms of integrating the demand to implement the Family Protection Law in all advocacy and lobbying activities and programs. He said he became more aware of the impediments to the law’s implementation at the official and social level, saying, “This training reminds us to renew our calls to demand implementation and ratification of the law at the official level.”
Meanwhile, Mahmoud Abu Rabee said ratification of the Family Protection Law would be a huge step, for women and children especially. “This law will amplify women’s voices and their ability to access help with stronger and more supportive centers throughout the homeland. As a strong supporter of this bill, I want to stress on the importance of civil society institutions explaining the clauses in the bill pertaining to CEDAW and to also focus on working with parties that oppose the law in particular.”
The training workshop is part of MIFTAH’s “Policy dialogue and Good Governance” Program, which aims at influencing public policies and legislation in favor of protection for citizens’ rights in Palestinian society, based on the principles of social justice and respect for human rights.
