Ramallah and Gaza City hosted the largest ever simultaneous human chains around the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) headquarters in both cities on March 14. The chains included the participation of activists from women’s and community organizations and from Palestinian factions, all of whom called for the urgent need to end the political division and immediately achieve national reconciliation.
The participants also called for a comprehensive national dialogue that includes all political and social factions and movements in addition to formulating and publically announcing an executive framework for the Cairo Agreement and Shati’ document, which should be binding and time specific.
The activity, in which over 1,200 women from various areas of the homeland participated, was implemented after the conference: “Women’s call for ending the political division and reaching reconciliation”, under the slogan, “Women’s Call – One Country, One People, One Flag”. The closing statement of the conference reaffirmed women’s participation in public life and their national role in preserving the unity of the Palestinian Arab people, in addition to reaffirming their pioneer role in the struggle for liberation against the Israeli occupation.
MIFTAH Projects Manager Najwa Yaghi said the human chain was an initiative by civil society institutions and several women’s groups that came together after the June 2015 conference to form a follow-up committee. This evolved after several public meetings that targeted hundreds of women in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in addition to consecutive meetings with women leaders who reaffirmed the need to hear women’s voices calling for reconciliation and ending the political division. They stressed on the values of tolerance and nonviolence in the Palestinian society and chose the PLC headquarters to send its members a message stressing on the need for more political will to end the political division, now entering its ninth year. They stressed on the need for the PLC to regroup so this could eventually lead to an announcement for PLC and presidential elections, Yaghi said.
Yaghi went on to say that this was the opportune time for such an event, given that the parties involved in the reconciliation were meeting. “The follow-up committee saw this as the right time to put pressure on both sides of the political division to move forward and implement the Cairo agreement and the Shati’ declaration and the Prisoners’ document.
The organizers also confirmed that the women’s movement would continue with their message to pressure the rival parties on the need for women representation with 45% in the reconciliation committees.
The participants reiterated that if all parties put Palestinian national unity as a priority, this would end disputes and allow national unity to be achieved so that both parts of our homeland could be reunited.
Quotes from the event
MIFTAH coordinator in the Gaza Strip, Shadia Al Ghoul said the women stressed on the need to carry out similar activities on a weekly or monthly basis, either collectively or by individual institutions.
Khitam Saafeen from the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees said the important thing is that the message makes an impact. “It seems we need more messages and consecutive campaigns,” she posited, adding that the follow-up committee would meet soon to decide on more steps in this regard including contacting the various political faction leaders.
Meanwhile, Nada Tweir from the Union of Women’s Work Committees said the event was an expression of Palestinian women’s determination to end the political division. “We are waiting for practical measures to be taken to end the political division; our people should not be made to wait for long. This human chain will not be the last of its kind.”
Tweir called for action at the popular and factional levels to achieve this goal, saying there should be broader youth participation to lay a sound foundation for national reconciliation and for electing a Palestinian National Council (PNC)that includes everyone on the national spectrum.
Nabila Riziq from the Women’s Work Union (Palestinian Democratic Union -FIDA) agreed that there should be daily activities on the ground to pressure the political parties. “We as women must play a crucial role in putting more pressure on the Palestinian leadership as a whole, not just on the two sides of the political division ,” she said, suggesting a return to the weekly protest in front of the PLC in Ramallah and Gaza, with a larger youth presence.
MIFTAH’s Bethlehem coordinator Rasha Mousa suggested partnerships with various institutions and groups that participated in the chain and to work towards a popular platform for these institutions so the movement could continue nonstop.
A press release read during the event confirmed the need to work towards achieving national reconciliation through the immediate implementation of the Prisoners’ Document and the Cairo Agreement according to the Shati’ declaration. It also called for setting a date for presidential, PLC and PNC elections.
The statement also reconfirmed the priority of regaining national unity as a basis for continuing the battle to end the occupation and for reaching a social contract based on the concept of citizenry and women’s rights to political participation. It also necessitates a complete halt to all practices that harm the Palestinian social fabric including political summonses and arrests. Such a contract calls for taking responsibility to halt such measures, which threaten to divide us and divert our course from freedom and independence.
The statement also reaffirmed that the Palestinian national cause and achieving true national unity that ends all political division-based disputes, must come first. Civil and security institutions must be united and the democratic process and political pluralism in Palestinian society must be safeguarded through the democratic transition and through the participation of all citizens in the election process.
Finally, the statement called on the media to adopt a national and responsible discourse which calls for national unity. The statement reaffirmed the role of the local media in promoting values of tolerance, freedom of opinion and expression and the denunciation of fragmentation, discrimination and factionalism.
بمبادرة من 'مفتاح'...
سلسلتان بشريتان في رام الله وغزة تطالبان بإنهاء الانقسام وإجراء حوار وطني شامل
تاريخ النشر: 17/03/2016
بقلم: مفتاح
شهدت مدينة رام الله بالتزامن مع مدينة غزة أمس أكبر سلسلتين بشريتين حول مقري المجلس التشريعي في المدينتين، ضمت فعاليات نسوية ومجتمعية من الفصائل الفلسطينية كافة، وجهت خلالها رسائل ودعوات ملحة طالبت خلالها بإنهاء الانقسام وتحقيق المصالحة الوطنية فورا.
في حين دعت المشاركات إلى إجراء حوار وطني شامل، يضم جميع الفصائل والتنظيمات السياسية، والقوى الاجتماعية، ووضع إطار تنفيذي لبنود اتفاق القاهرة وبيان الشاطئ ملزم ومحدد بإطار زمني معلن لشعبنا الفلسطيني.
ونفذت هذه الفعالية- التي شاركت فيها أكثر من 1200 إمرأة من مختلف محافظات الوطن -، بعد عقد مؤتمرهن: "رفع صوت النساء لإنهاء الانقسام وتحقيق المصالحة"، وتحت شعار " النساء يردن وطن واحد، شعب واحد، علم واحد ، والذي أكد بيانه الختامي على مشاركة النساء في الحياة العامة، السياسية والمجتمعية وتجسيد دورها الوطني في الحفاظ على وحدة الشعب العربي الفلسطيني والتأكيد على دورها الريادي بالنضال التحرري ضد الاحتلال الاسرائيلي
وحول هذه الفعالية والهدف منها، قالت نجوى ياغي، مديرة مشاريع في "مفتاح": "جاءت السلسلة البشرية بمبادرة من مؤسسات مجتمع مدني وعدد من الأطر النسوية والتي انضوت بعد مؤتمر حزيران 2015، تحت مسمى لجنة المتابعة، وبعد عدد من اللقاءات الجماهيرية التي استهدفت المئات من النساء في قطاع غزة والضفة الغربية واللقاءات المتتالية مع القيادات النسوية اللواتي أكدن على ضرورة رفع اصواتهن للدفع باتجاه المصالحة الوطنية وانهاء الانقسام، وشددن على تبني قيم التسامح واللاعنف في المجتمع الفلسطيني، واخترن المجلس التشريعي كرسالة موجهة للنواب بضرورة الضغط باتجاه وجود إرادة سياسية نحو انهاء سنوات الانقسام التي دخلت عامها التاسع وضرورة التئام المجلس التشريعي، ليصار بعد ذلك إلى الاعلان عن الانتخابات التشريعية والرئاسية".
وتابعت:" كما يأتي تنظيم هذه الفعالية في وقت ينشط فيه، حاملو ملف المصالحة الوطنية في لقاءاتهم، حيث ارتأت فيه لجنة المتابعة الوقت المناسب للضغط على طرفي الانقسام بالمضي قدما وتنفيذ البنود المتفق عليها في اتفاقية القاهرة ووثيقة الأسرى (الوفاق الوطني).
فيما أكد منظمو الفعالية، بأن الحراك النسوي سوف يستمر حاملا نفس الرسالة الضاغطة على طرفي الانقسام بضرورة تمثليهن بلجان المصالحة بنسبة 45%، وهو ما تضمنه البيان الصحفي الذي تمت تلاوته خلال تنظيم السلسلة البشرية في رام الله وغزة بالتزامن.
وأكد المشاركون في الفعالية، أن تغليب مصلحة الوطن من جميع الاطراف من شأنها ان تنهي جميع الخلافات السائدة في المجتمع الفلسطيني وان تحقق الوحدة الوطنية وتعيد اللحمة إلى شطري الوطن.
قالوا في الفعالية..
وأضافت شادية الغول منسقة "مفتاح" في القطاع، أن ما تم من خلال السلسلة البشرية كان رسالة هامة وذات مغزى، من حيث ما أوصلته هذه الفعالية من رسالة لطرفي الانقسام ولقادة الأحزاب والفصائل الفلسطينية الأخرى، مع ضرورة القيام بفعاليات مشابهة ومستمرة أسبوعية أو شهرية سواء بصورة جماعية، أو بصورة فردية من قبل بعض المؤسسات والأطر.
أما ختام السعافين، من اتحاد لجان المرأة الفلسطينية، فأكدت أن الرسالة من الفعاليات وصلت فعلا. ولكن المهم تأثيرها. وأضافت:" يبدو أننا بحاجة إلى مزيد من الرسائل، وأن تكون هناك حملات متتابعة ومتتالية، علما بأن لجنة المتابعة المنبثقة عن مؤتمر النساء ستلتئم قريبا لتتخذ مزيدا من القرارات والخطوات بهذا الشأن، بما في ذلك الاتصال مع قادة الفصائل المختلفة".
في حين، تحدثت ندى طوير، من اتحاد لجان العمل النسائي، فأكدت أن الفعالية عبرت عن إرادة نساء الوطن لإنهاء الانقسام البغيض. وقالت:" نحن ننتظر اتخاذ الاليات والإجراءات العملية التي ستنهي الانقسام، وشعبنا لن ينتظر طويلا، وما قمنا به عبر هذه السلسلة البشرية لن تكون الأولى ولا الأخيرة".
ودعت طوير في هذا الشأن، إلى تحرك على المستويين الشعبي والفصائلي لتحقيق هذه المهمة، ومشاركة واسعة أيضا من قبل الشباب لبناء أسس صحيحة للمصالحة الوطنية، وانتخاب مجلس وطني جامع لكل أطياف العمل الوطني.
بينما دعت نبيلة رزق، من (اتحاد العمل النسوي – فدا)، إلى فعاليات يومية وتحركات ميدانية للضغط على طرفي الانقسام لإنهائه وتحقيق المصالحة الوطنية. وقالت: هذا يفرض علينا كنساء أن نمارس دورا ضاغطا أكبر على القيادة الفلسطينية برمتها، وليس على طرفي الانقسام فقط. من هنا لا بد من فعاليات يومية بما في ذلك العودة إلى الوقفة الأسبوعية أمام المجلس التشريعي في رام الله وغزة، وإشراك الشباب فيها بصورة أكبر.
في حين، اقترحت رشا موسى، منسقة "مفتاح" في محافظة "بيت لحم، إقامة شراكات مع مختلف الأطر والمؤسسات التي شاركت بالسلسلة البشرية، والعمل مع القاعدة الجماهيرية لهذه الأطر والمؤسسات، ليستمر الحراك دون توقف.
وكان بيان صحفي، تلي خلال تنظيم الفعالية، أكد على ضرورة العمل، من أجل تحقيق المصالحة الوطنية الفلسطينية عبر التنفيذ الكامل والفوري لوثيقة الاسرى (الوفاق الوطني) ولاتفاق القاهرة، وفق بيان الشاطئ بكافة بنوده، وتحديد موعد لإجراء الانتخابات الرئاسية والتشريعية وانتخابات المجلس الوطني.
كما أكد البيان، على أولوية استعادة الوحدة الوطنية كأساس لمواصلة معركة إنهاء الاحتلال، والسعي للوصول إلى عقدٍ اجتماعيٍ يستند إلى فكرة المواطَنة، وإقرار حقوق المرأة في المشاركة السياسية، ووقف كامل المظاهر والممارسات التي أضرت بالنسيج الاجتماعي الفلسطيني، من استدعاءات واعتقالات سياسية وتحمل المسؤوليات في الكف عن هذه الممارسات التي تحمل في طياتها تداعيات وآثار تهدد بشق الصف الوطني، وتحييد مساره من أجل الحرية والاستقلال.
ودعا البيان، إلى تغليب مصلحة الوطن، وتحقيق وحدة وطنية حقيقية تُنهي جميع الخلافات السائدة في المجتمع على خلفية الانقسام، وتوحيد المؤسسات السيادية المدنية والأمنية، والحفاظ على العملية الديمقراطية والتعددية السياسية في المجتمع الفلسطيني من خلال التداول السلمي للسلطة، ومشاركة الجميع في العملية الانتخابية، بما يضمن حرية وكرامة المواطن الفلسطيني.
كما حث البيان، وسائل الإعلام إلى تبني خطابٍ إعلامي وطني مسؤول يدعو إلى الوحدة الوطنية، وتعزيز قِيَم التسامح وحرية الرأي والتعبير، ونبذ التشرذم والتمييز والفئوية.
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.
