Ramallah: Jalal Obeido, activist and employee at the Agricultural Directorate’s Planning Department in Hebron says MIFTAH’s impact on his experience as a community leader and activist was an important turning point in his education and awareness on citizens’ rights, reproductive health and gender-based violence. He added that his knowledge on these subjects has increased along with many skills he did not previously have in his long years in the field of social work.
Obeido was one of a group of community leaders who took part in several training workshops organized by MIFTAH for male and female activists. The workshops were part of its UNFPA-funded “Support Women Protection” Project.
Obeido said of his participation in the last training workshop on reproductive health rights and gender-based violence, “I gained skills and education on these subjects, including my information on the laws and international treaties on reproductive health rights and GBV and the agreements on combatting violence and discrimination against women. The training helped mold my experience and character as a community leader and bolstered my belief in the importance of being knowledgeable about reproductive health in terms of its importance and protection of society.”
He continued, “Since I participate in many meetings, I always try to speak about this topic even though the people I encounter do not have a comprehensive idea about reproductive health. On the contrary, violence is often perpetrated at this level. For example, women give birth with very short periods of time between them, without any consideration to how important it is to space these births because of the negative affect it has on women’s health. In this regard, there must be family planning in a way that protects women and their physical and mental health. This was emphasized in the last training MIFTAH held and it is my duty as a community leader to explain this to the people I encounter, especially regarding early marriage and the negative affects it has on society.”
The experience and information Obeido acquired from these trainings prompted him to volunteer with several institutions. He said the trainings revealed how interested the participants were in the subject but how little information they had on the topic of reproductive health and gender-based violence and its devastating consequences. He said they were convinced of the need for more training so they could also help to spread awareness on this topic, adding that they wanted trainings to mostly target young people and on mothers and women in their homes. Obeido said it was imperative for those working in the social fields to bring attention to closing the gap between generations of parents and children. To this effect, he makes sure in all of his own trainings that target the youth sector, to focus on their problems in this regard and on how to deal with them. He maintained that he devotes the largest part of the training to discussing the youths’ issues in order to help minimize the problems they face today “especially with the widespread popularity of games such as PUBG and others,” Obeido said.
Obeido confirmed the importance of MIFTAH’s role in affording more attention to youth and women and to supporting women’s rights. He maintained that every group targeted in these trainings will leave an important impact on the lives of the targeted sectors, which will then impact others and so on and so forth. “I hope MIFTAH will offer ongoing trainings such as these and involve all social sectors in them. They should not be limited to one or another sector because these courses have proven to leave positive impacts on everything pertaining to rights and to changing some perceptions, which is the goal we all seek to achieve.”
الإلمام بالصحة الإنجابية يحصّن المجتمع ويحميه
جلال عبيدو قيادي وناشط مجتمعي: هذا ما تركته 'مفتاح' من أثر لديّ
تاريخ النشر: 30/12/2018
بقلم: مفتاح
رام الله – 24/12/2018 - يصف الناشط جلال عبيدو، الموظف في قسم التخطيط بمديرية زراعة الخليل الأثر الذي تركته "المبادرة الفلسطينية لتعميق الحوار العالمي والديمقراطية "مفتاح" في تجربته كقيادي وناشط مجتمعي بأنها محطة مهمة أثرت خبرته في مجال التثقيف والتوعية بحقوق المواطنة والحقوق الصحية والانجابية والعنف المبني على النوع الاجتماعي، وزادت إلى معرفته مهارات كثيرة لم تكن حاضرة لديه، رغم عمله في الحقل الاجتماعي منذ سنوات طويلة.
كان عبيدو، واحدا من مجموعة من القياديين المجتمعيين الذين انخرطوا في عدة دورات تدريبية نظمتها "مفتاح" لنشطاء من كلا الجنسين ضمن مشروع "دعم حماية المرأة" الممول من صندوق الأمم المتحدة للسكانUNFPA.
عن مشاركته في الدورة التدريبية الأخيرة والتي نظمتها "مفتاح" مؤخرا حول الحقوق الصحية والانجابية والعنف المبني على النوع الاجتماعي، قال عبيدو:" لقد أكسبتني هذه المشاركة مهارة وثقافة وأغنت معلوماتي في القوانين والاتفاقيات الدولية المتعلقة بالحقوق الصحية والانجابية والاتفاقيات المتعلقة بمكافحة العنف والتمييز ضد المراة. وساهمت في صقل تجربتي وشخصيتي كواحد من القيادات المجتمعية، كما عززت القناعة لديّ بأهمية الإلمام بالصحة الإنجابية بما يهم المجتمع ويحميه ".
يضيف: "كوني أشارك في العديد من اللقاءات أحاول التحدث في هذا الموضوع دائما، علما بأن من أصادفهم من المواطنين ليس لديهم مفهوما شاملا حول الصحة الإنجابية، بل أن هناك عنفا ممارسا على هذا الصعيد. فمثلاً الولادات في فترات قصيرة دون الأخذ بعين الاعتبار لأهمية التباعد الزمني بين فترة وأخرى ينعكس على صحة المرأة بشكل سلبي. وهنا لا بد من تنظيم عملية الإنجاب على نحو يحمي المرأة ويحافظ على صحتها البدنية والنفسية في آن، وهذا ما ترسخ لدي من خلال التدريب الأخير الذي نفذتها "مفتاح"، وبات محتما علي بحكم دوري المجتمعي توضيحه لكثير ممن التقيهم، خاصة ما تعلق بالتزويج المبكر وآثاره السلبية على المجتمع".
التجربة التي اكتسبها عبيدو، من هذه التدريبات وغنى معرفته بموضوعاتها دفعته إلى التطوع لدى كثير من المؤسسات، كما كشفت تلك التدريبات عن اهتمام المشاركين والمشاركات فيها، ليتبين لهم ضعف معلوماتهم في موضوعات الصحة الإنجابية والعنف المبني على النوع الاجتماعي واثاره المدمرة، ورسخت القناعة لديهم بالحاجة إلى مزيد من التدريب والتوعية، حتى يمكنهم المساهمة في نشر الوعي بخصوصها، وأن يتم تركيز التدريبات لتستهدف فئات الشباب والفئات العمرية الصغيرة، إضافة إلى استهداف الأمهات والنساء في بيوتهن. فهو يرى ضرورة أن ينتبه العاملون في الحقل المجتمعي إلى أهمية العمل على سدّ الفجوة بين جيل الآباء والأبناء. وهو الآن يحرص في جميع التدريبات التي يقوم بها مستهدفا فئات الشباب على التركيز على مشكلاتهم على هذا الصعيد وكيفية مواجهتها وإعطاء الجزء الأكبر منها إلى ما يشغلهم من قضايا، للحد من تأثيرات ما يتعرضون له في هذه الأيام، خاصة مع انتشار بعض الألعاب مثل البوبجي وغيرها".
يؤكد عبيدو، على دور "مفتاح" في توسيع دائرة الاهتمام بالشباب والنساء ودعم حقوق المرأة، مؤكدا أن كل مجموعة تستهدف بهذه التدريبات تترك أثرا مهما في حياة الفئات المستهدفة، وهم بدورهم يؤثرون بغيرهم، كما يؤثر هؤلاء بآخرين، وهكذا دوليك. يقول:" أتمنى على "مفتاح" أن تستمر في تدريباتها تلك، وأن تقدم المزيد منها وتحافظ على ديمومتها، وعلى إشراك جميع فئات المجتمع فيها، بحيث لا تقتصر على فئة دون غيرها. حيث ثبت أن مثل هذه الدورات تترك تأثيرات إيجابية في كل ما يتعلق بالحقوق، وتغيير بعض المفاهيم، وهو هدف نسعى إليه جميعا".
'Cake and Vanilla': One story of success
Date posted: May 05, 2022
By MIFTAH
Ramallah – In the village of “Jadeera” northwest of Jerusalem, Sally Suleiman and a group of friends chose an old abandoned building as a launching point for their project “Cake and Vanilla”. Since then, they have consistently increased the sale of their date and nut cookies, first in their village and then later, in areas around and beyond Ramallah and even inside the Green Line. The women now create a quality, well-marketed product after honing their online marketing skills, creating and running their own website and being part of other similar websites to display their baked goods.
MIFTAH: Financial and technical support
Sally and her project partners admit that their success would never have been possible if it were not for MIFTAH’s support, providing them with the necessary equipment and appliances and working to develop their financial administration and marketing skills.
“MIFTAH was a huge support,” Sally says. “It gave us material and technical support, which motivated us to push forward and reach as many people as possible. Today, ‘Cake and Vanilla’ is a household name, not just in Jadeera but in areas in and around Ramallah and all over Palestine.”
Challenges and Obstacles
Sally mostly cites marketing challenges due to competition and gaps in the market in places they have difficulty accessing. She also points to the interminable problem of funding the website. MIFTAH, she says, helped them with ways to tackle this issue through providing them with training in online marketing, website management and funding with the goal of reaching a broader public.
Socio-economic impacts
Sally maintains that the project has tangibly improved their social and economic statuses and has allowed them to become more acquainted with society. She also says it boosted their confidence and their ability to depend on themselves and that their newfound economic empowerment had a positive impact for them within their own households and communities.
Community development project
MIFTAH project coordinator for community development and income-generating projects, Hanan Said, said these interventions with young female university graduates are part of MIFTAH’s efforts to empower women and integrate them in the labor market. The projects also give them the opportunity for financial independence and for developing their personal and professional skills. This, Said maintains, will allow them to carry out an effective role by reflecting the positive impact of women’s economic participation, in addition to elevating women’s statuses in their communities.
The tale of three female university students and their construction materials project
Date posted: February 09, 2022
By MIFTAH
Ramallah – Sarah, Rimah and Aya are three young women from the villages of Beit Iksa and Beit Dukko, northwest of Jerusalem, who ventured into an innovated project like no Palestinian women before them.
The first step on their road to success was MIFTAH, which has and continues to work towards supporting Palestinian women in the West Bank and in the Jerusalem district in particular, by providing small income-generating projects.
Sarah and Rimah are still university students while their colleague, Aya, is already graduated and works full-time with the project. The women tapped into their local communities’ needs, seeing how construction projects were mushrooming in their area. This, they realized, meant they could easily obtain construction materials if they had the means, including jacks and winches.
For Sarah Liqyaniyeh from Beit Ikas, who graduated with a degree in design and décor, their project to rent out construction materials and equipment was a way of fulfilling the needs of their communities. “No other woman or girl has ever thought up this idea before,” she says. “The project entails renting out construction supplies and equipment – jacks and iron elbows and other materials. This is a project that girls and women are probably not used to hearing about, whether in our villages or in other areas. Projects for women almost always revolve around food or embroidery. My colleagues and I wanted to do something different, something only for us, which would allow us to depend on ourselves. So we chose a project that no one has ever done before.”
She continues, “I studied and worked in design and décor and I have also worked in the field at construction sites. During discussions and conversations with my family and others in my village, I heard them talking about buying construction equipment and renting it from outside the village. This is when I had the idea for our project. I said to myself:
Why shouldn’t I be doing this? It’s a sure thing.” So, I pitched the idea to my two colleagues and they were both enthusiastic about it and thought it was a great idea. Our families were also supportive and even our local communities, which helped us find an easy and quick way to obtain the necessary construction equipment and materials. We have reaped profitable financial returns too, and hope one day we will be able to expand. Hopefully, MIFTAH will continue to support us; after all, it was the one that put us on this path.”
Supporting vital projects such as this one for Palestinian women in several West Bank districts has been a MIFTAH intervention for years. It is part of its “Women’s Empowerment” project, which supports small-income generating projects in cooperation with the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development.
MIFTAH project manager, Hanan Said maintains: “The success story this project was able to achieve, whether in terms of impacting or changing the realities of over 400 Palestinian women and their families in rural areas, cities, or marginalized areas, is that these projects empowered and improved the social and economic lives of women. MIFTAH’s interventions have succeeded in reaching women, particularly the marginalized, in over 70 locations in Jericho and the Jordan Valley, the Ramallah/Al Bireh and the Jerusalem districts,” she says. Said continues that MIFTAH works on an almost annual basis, in cooperation with the Arab Fund, to reach new groups of women in various areas and offer them the necessary support to contribute to their economic participation in Palestinian society, with a focus on Jerusalem and its suburbs.
Through its support for women, MIFTAH seeks to increase opportunities for young women especially, to enable them to participate in the labor market and assume an active and influential role in creating positive patterns of economic participation for women, ultimately elevating their status in their respective communities. MIFTAH takes into consideration the needs of marginalized women by economically empowering underprivileged women through small grants.
