In 1998, the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy, MIFTAH was “born” in Jerusalem. Since then, it has carried its message within and beyond the city through its activities with the various sectors in Jerusalem, particularly women and youth, the effects of which are tangible to date.
From the day of its inception, MIFTAH has always raised the banner of democracy and dialogue, taking this message to every corner of the homeland, including Jerusalem. It espouses the principles of democracy and good governance in all of Palestinian society, with Jerusalem as a major demographic and geographic prominence. The organization has always sought to develop its strategy of empowering young leaders to participate in promoting principles of democracy and good governance and to raise social awareness towards the rights and duties of good citizenry. Moreover, MIFTAH has always encouraged participation in influencing policies and legislation insofar as they guarantee the protection of civil, social, and political rights.
In this regard, its role has been manifold in Jerusalem where MIFTAH has worked towards promoting the national identity of young men and women in the city through engaging them in activities, programs, and projects. For example, Jerusalemites were part of the formation of the Palestinian National Coalition for Implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and are active members in MIFTAH’s Social and Political Active Palestinian Youth Network. Grounded in the vision that economic empowerment can provide the impetus for women to be empowered politically, they have also been involved in areas that focus on women’s economic empowerment through modest income-generating activities in towns and villages northwest and south of Jerusalem.
Palestinian women in Jerusalem suffer from the same legal, health, and social issues as other Palestinian women and are the victims of dual violence: violence from the society and violence perpetrated by the Israeli occupation. The violence against women in Jerusalem takes several forms, including arrest, assault, and harassment of women and their families and the obstacles to women’s free movement and travel across checkpoints, especially in areas located outside of Israel’s Separation Wall. Thus, MIFTAH involves Jerusalemite women in its awareness activities in conjunction with the General Union of Palestinian Women, while purposely promoting the role of women’s organizations from Jerusalem in advocacy efforts applied to amplify the voices of women for peace and security at the national, regional, and international levels, as steps toward holding Israel accountable for its violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in the occupied state of Palestine, more specifically in Jerusalem.
MIFTAH’s programs have impacted the moral, psychological, and economic empowerment of youth and women’s segments in Jerusalem and have strengthened their steadfastness and sense of belonging to the city in spite of Israel’s avid targeting of their national identity and attempts to Judaize and “Israelize” the city and its inhabitants. Interventions have helped disseminate the Palestinian narrative in Jerusalem, reflecting the everyday suffering of Jerusalemites and monitoring Israeli violations against them and their institutions, the latter of which are constantly being shut down or their work impeded.
Most recently, MIFTAH conducted several awareness meetings on the importance of the role of youth in political participation. Dozens of youth between the ages of 17 and 37 – including activists from organizations in the old city of Jerusalem – participated and offered their ideas on the political participation of youth and youth initiatives. The Jerusalem participants were offered the opportunity to express their issues through skits, which addressed such topics as the major drug problem and sexual harassment. This year, MIFTAH joined local coalitions to contribute to combatting these problems which are considered forms of gender-based violence.
Furthermore, MIFTAH conducted a survey of youth institutions in Jerusalem, one output of the “Active Youth for Social Change” program. The survey aimed to support the youth sector and NGOs in promoting their role in developing youth leaders active at the grassroots level in the Jerusalem area. The youth have become more aware and better informed of the problems they face and of their own needs and interests, and are more confident in dealing with these problems. MIFTAH has given youth a platform from which to express themselves in light of the critical challenges they face as Palestinian youth in Jerusalem. Cooperation was strengthened among the Jerusalem organizations in terms of empowering and supporting youth in Jerusalem.
This has always been our role and strategy at MIFTAH in working with all Palestinian sectors, including Jerusalemites who have, over the years, received support from MIFTAH and who will continue to get support in the years to come. We want to make their voices heard and bridge the gap between Jerusalem citizens and PA officials. The support that MIFTAH can give them in this regard is through promoting social and political accountability among Jerusalemites and decision-makers and through raising the awareness of official bodies about their needs through direct meetings or the media.
♦ “We are the only people on Earth asked to guarantee the security of our occupier … while Israel is the only country that calls for defense from its victims.” Dr. Hanan Ashrawi
MIFTAH includes Jerusalem in its programs in order to address the issues of citizens there. Hence, the series of awareness-raising meetings and workshops held by MIFTAH in the city have succeeded in delivering the voices of Jerusalem’s residents to Palestinian decision-makers. They have also helped to convey Jerusalem’s male and female youth as citizens committed to their social, national, and educational role whether at the level of youth or individual initiatives on the ground, including the embodiment of the concepts of citizenry, social participation, good governance, and participation in decision-making.
MIFTAH will always work according to this broad-based vision and is determined to continuously develop it in order to achieve the goals it has sought to achieve since its establishment in Jerusalem.
'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.
