Youth, both male and female, have always had a share in MIFTAH’s programs and have been allowed the chance to take on a role both politically and socially.
MIFTAH CEO Dr. Lily Feidy believes that catering to youth in particular is part of MIFTAH’s approach to empower and support youth leaders, from the standpoint of its overall understanding of the challenges and problems facing our youth. MIFTAH launched its empowerment of youth leaders program in 2003 to enable youth to actively participate in the change and development process in Palestine both at the political and social levels. “So that MIFTAH can achieve its goals of contributing to building a modern democratic civil society, we focus on empowering young social and political leaders as a strategy, through empowering them to actively participate, offer creative initiatives and contribute to the social change process” she says. Feidy says it is through this process, which is voluntary and optional, that individuals can play a role in society. Through it, individuals seek to impact their communities through the various activities, such as volunteer work. Such activities benefit society as a whole and contribute to positive change in addition to providing youth with a platform for conflict transformation and building a consensus around vital issues pertaining to the transformation of Palestinian society towards building a democratic state.
One of the youth participants, Sajeda Abdallah, says she greatly benefited from MIFTAH’s training workshops, including gaining more skills. “One important skill I learned was accepting others and their different opinions,” she says, adding that MIFTAH’s training was unique in its adoption of the KUMI method.
Another participant, Ghassan Atawneh, says he benefited more from the theoretical aspect, which he says could help him in practical aspects of his life. “Not only did we learn new skills but we gained new approaches in dialogue, leadership and strategic planning,” he says. He adds that MIFTAH has given them the hope that change is possible, expressing his desire for more focus on social issues.
Riziq Tmeizi pointed out another benefit from the training, which was that it offered them information about Palestinian law and the overall conditions regarding inter-factional relations in Palestine as well as the conditions of youth and the role of women in society.
One young woman who participated, Lana Abu Bakr, said the workshops benefited her personally in that they introduced new values and principles at the social, personal and political levels of her life. “We still need many more skills and information, which means we need to continue participating in more MIFTAH workshops,’ Abu Bakr maintained.
Asma’ Zghayar was, like many other participants, impressed with the KUMI methodology employed in the workshops. She says the training left a positive impact on her in terms of ways to deal with certain customs and traditions which stymie her role as a woman.
Jacqueline Khatib agrees. She says the youth participants came out of the training more aware about political and factional matters, saying she hoped the trainings would continue. Abdallah Qadah said he was now convinced of the importance of changing ways of thinking, saying MIFTAH’s workshops impacted each and every one of them. He also gave credit to the trainers who he said had adopted a new approach, unfamiliar to the approaches they had encountered in other organizations.
These are some of the experiences of the socially and politically active youth network, which were discussed during an evaluation session carried out by MIFTAH as part of its “Empowerment of Young Palestinian Leaders” project, funded by the Norwegian and Irish Representative Offices and NDC.
Project coordinator Shadi Zeidat said the evaluation meeting discussed the importance of committing to the activities of the network, which was formed under the umbrella of the politically and socially active youth network last year. The network includes groups of 50 male and female youth from various West Bank universities and who participated in 11-day training workshops between April and November of this year. The workshops utilized the KUMI approach, based on social transformation in conflict and participatory strategic planning.
During the training, the participants carried out a group of activities pertaining to promoting the role of youth and their active participation as a fundamental part of society. It also offered them the platform for impacting decision-making positions on the one hand, and making an impact and change in the socio-cultural structure on the other.
During the evaluation, the most important obstacles were pinpointed in order to overcome them within the last two months of the year. This was achieved through planning to carry out a number of activities and initiatives that serve the goals of the network and its strategic approaches.
The meeting also discussed the mechanism through which the scope of mutual commitment and responsibility could be increased among all parties, so that there could be a sizeable number of active youth to follow up and carry out the activities.
The network also seeks to expand these activities to outside of the organization and into the field so as to be in touch with the needs of the society.
As for his assessment of the evaluation session, Zeidat said he felt that the qualitative training the participants received had created a substantial change at the various intellectual levels of the youth. He said they were forced to think outside the box of conventional and pedantic thinking and analysis and taken to a much more advanced level of dealing with issues from a needs-based perspective rather than one based in narrow factionalism. “Part of MIFTAH’s goals is to create a safe participatory space for this group of young men and women, which will allow them to create their own platform and influence the socio-economic structure and decision-making centers.”
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.
