MIFTAH recently completed two discussion sessions in the southern and northern districts of the West Bank, with the participation of representative of several national factions, dozens of women activists and members of local councils. Recommendations from research studies conducted by MIFTAH were presented during the sessions on the available ways of making amendments to the electoral system in Palestine for promoting a climate of democracy and the peaceful transfer of power and which would expand the scope of women’s and youth participation.
MIFTAH project manager Hanan Said maintained that the discussion sessions sponsored by MIFTAH are part of its interventions within its project “Promoting political partnership of women in public life”, which is aimed at shedding light on the challenges of political participation for Palestinian women.
Said said the research paper highlighted the characteristics of the Palestinian electoral system, including legislative and local council elections, and the crucial stages of this system. It also sheds light on the ramifications and impacts this system has on the political participation of Palestinian women and youth in legislative and local elections. In addition, it highlights the legal gaps in the electoral law and the obstacles to local monitoring commissions and the media. The paper, she said, produced practical recommendations that could be implemented should there be political willingness for change, most significantly, shedding light on women and youth being in advanced positions on electoral lists.
Reflections on the discussions
The participants of the discussion session expressed their varying views on the presentations and the research paper. Director of the Ya’abad Women’s Center, Salam Abu Bakr said she would like to see more discussions on the paper by giving the participants more time to discuss other issues pertaining to the proposed amendments to the elections law and the scope and nature of women’s and youth participation in local and legislative elections. “In terms of the recommendations, I support open lists in any elections because it gives more of a chance for everyone to choose the candidates they believe are the most suitable. However, I reject the quota system like the one implemented in municipal elections. I believe this system is one of the main obstacles to women and youth reaching decision-making positions.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Raja’ Sargali, a women’s activist in Tulkarm, confirmed the need to lower the candidacy age for youths so they could be able to actively participate in decision-making. She said the current elections law is unjust towards this societal sector. “This will require that all civil society organizations and rights institutions exercise pressure towards changing part of the Basic Law and making amendments to the elections law. It also requires that factions adhere to what they signed on in terms of the percentage of women’s participation.” Sargali also said she supported open electoral lists.
Attorney Yazan Masri from Nablus called for nonstop action from civil society organizations and women’s and youth movements to pressure for the demanded amendments to the electoral system. He also showed support for lowing the candidacy age for youth and lowering the threshold from 8% to 5% in addition to opening opportunities for broader participation of youth in local and legislative elections.
Mohammed Bakri, National Office Secretary and representative of the national factions in the southern region, proposed the inclusion of other sectors of women in any future discussions on the elections law. He said discussions should not be limited to women from elite institutions but should take into consideration the viewpoints of women from other sectors of society and ordinary employees, in addition to having a larger youth representation in such discussions.
Bakri also proposed lowering the candidacy age in local elections to a minimum of 22 and to also determine the maximum age so it does not exceed, for example, 65. He called for raising awareness and knowledge on open and closed lists and the difference between the lists on women and youth, adding that this is the responsibility of the factions even though he said, “Our concept of ‘party’ is still immature given that we still believe in liberation and struggle movements. We do not have parties in the true sense of the word like in independent countries.”
MIFTAH is continuing the dialogue on supporting women’s and youth representation in the electoral system with participation from political leaders from the various factions, decision makers and civil society institutions.
بمشاركة ناشطات وممثلين عن القوى الوطنية..
'مفتاح' تختتم جلستي حوار ناقشت التعديلات المقترحة على النظام الانتخابي لتعزيز مشاركة النساء والشباب
تاريخ النشر: 14/04/2018
بقلم: مفتاح
اختتمت المبادرة الفلسطينية لتعميق الحوار العالمي والديمقراطية "مفتاح" مؤخرا جلستي حوار عقدتا كل على حدة في منطقتي الجنوب والشمال، وبمشاركة عدد من ممثلي القوى الوطنية، والعشرات من النساء الناشطات، وعضوات الهيئات المحلية، عرضت خلالهما توصيات تضمنتها دراسة بحثية أعدتها مؤسسة "مفتاح" حول السبل المتاحة لإجراء تعديلات على النظام الانتخابي في فلسطين، بما يعزز المناخ الديمقراطي والتداول السلمي للسلطة، ويوسع مجال المشاركة للنساء والشباب.
وأشارت حنان سعيد منسقة المشروع في مؤسسة "مفتاح"، إلى أن هذه السلسلة من الجلسات الحوارية والتي ترعاها مؤسسة "مفتاح"، تأتي في إطار تدخلاتها ضمن مشروع "تعزيز المشاركة السياسية للمرأة في الحياة العامة"، والهادف إلى تسليط الضوء على التحديات تواجه المشاركة السياسية للمرأة الفلسطينية وسبل مواجهتها.
وأشارت سعيد، إلى أن الورقة البحثية التي تم مناقشتها، أبرزت ملامح النظام الانتخابي الفلسطيني سواء للانتخابات التشريعية أو الانتخابات المحلية، والمراحل الهامة التي مر بها النظام الانتخابي وانعكاساته وتأثيراته على المشاركة السياسية للمرأة الفلسطينية والشباب الفلسطيني في الانتخابات التشريعية والمحلية، إضافة إلى إبراز الفجوات القانونية في القانون الانتخابي، ومعيقات عمل هيئات الرقابة المحلية ووسائل الاعلام، وخرجت الورقة بتوصيات عملية وقابلة لموضع التنفيذ في حال كان هناك ارادة سياسية للتغيير، ومن أبرزها تسليط الضوء على وجود النساء والشباب في المواقع المتقدمة من القوائم الانتخابية.
انطباعات من نقاشات الجلسة
وعبر المشاركون والمشاركات في الجلسة الحوارية عن آراء متفاوتة حيال ما عرض من مداخلات وما تضمنته الورقة البحثية بهذا الخصوص. فقد أبدت سلام أبو بكر مديرة مركز نسوي يعبد، رغبة في المزيد من النقاش حول ما تضمنته الورقة من خلال منح المشاركين والمشاركات وقتا إضافيا إزاء مناقشة كثير من القضايا المتعلقة بالتعديلات المقترحة على قانون الانتخابات وحجم وطبيعة مشاركة المرأة والشباب في الانتخابات المحلية والتشريعية. وقالت:" من حيث التوصيات أنا أشجع القوائم المفتوحة في خوض أية انتخابات لأنها تعطي فرصة أكبر للجميع، واختيار الأنسب من المرشحين. أما نظام المحاصصة – كما هو الحال في الانتخابات البلدية-، فهو مرفوض بالنسبة لي، وهذا النظام يعد واحدا من أهم المعيقات أمام وصول المرأة والشباب لمواقع صنع القرار".
في حين، أكدت د. رجاء سرغلي – وهي ناشطة نسوية من طولكرم – وجوب تخفيض سن الترشح للشباب حتى يتمكنوا من المشاركة الفاعلة في صنع القرار، مشيرة إلى أن القانون الانتخابي الحالي مجحف بحق هذه الشريحة من المجتمع. وقالت:" هذا يتطلب من المجتمع المدني بمؤسساته كافة، وكذلك المؤسسات الحقوقية ممارسة الضغوط إحداث تغيير في جزء من القانون الأساس، وإجراء تعديلات على قانون الانتخابات، وأن تلتزم الفصائل بما كانت تعهدت به ووقعت عليه بشأن نسبة مشاركة المرأة، مبدية دعمها لنظام القائمة المفتوحة.
أما المحامي يزن المصري، من نابلس، والذي شارك في النقاشات، فدعا إلى حراك مستمر لا يتوقف من قبل مؤسسات المجتمع المدني والحراكات النسوية والشبابية للضغط من أجل إحداث التعديلات المطلوبة على النظام الانتخابي، مبدياً تأييده لخفض سن الترشح للشباب، وتخفيض نسبة الحسم من 8% إلى 5%، وأن تتاح الفرصة على نطاق أكبر لمشاركة الشباب في الانتخابات سواء كانت المحلية أو التشريعية.
من ناحيته، اقترح محمد البكري، أمين سر المكتب الوطني وممثل القوى الوطنية في منطقة الجنوب، ضم شرائح أخرى من النساء في أية نقاشات مستقبلية حول قانون الانتخابات، وأن لا يقتصر الحضور على نساء النخبة في المؤسسات، وضرورة أن تؤخذ آراء نساء من داخل المجتمع وموظفات عاديات، وأن تكون هناك مشاركة وتمثيل أكبر للشباب في مثل هذه النقاشات.
وأشار البكري، إلى أنه اقترح تخفيض الترشح للانتخابات المحلية حتى سن 22 عاما كحد أدنى، وتحديد الحد الأقصى لذلك، بحيث لا يتجاوز على سبيل المثال الخامسة والستين. كما دعا إلى تعزيز الوعي والمعرفة بالقوائم المفتوحة والمغلقة، والفرق بين كل قائمة لدى النساء والشباب، موضحا أن الفصائل تتحمل مسؤولية بهذا الشأن، علما بأن مفهوم الحزب لدينا غير ناضج بعد، بالنظر إلى أننا لا زلنا نؤمن بالحركات التحررية والنضالية والكفاحية، وليس لدينا أحزابا بالمعنى الحقيقي للحزب كما هو في الدول المستقلة.
وتستكمل مؤسسة "مفتاح" الحوار حول دعم تمثيل النساء والشباب في النظام الانتخابي، بمشاركة القيادات السياسية من مختلف الفصائل، وصناع القرار، ومؤسسات المجتمع المدني.
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.
