Ramallah – 11/8/2020 – MIFTAH recently held a zoom meeting showcasing the results of its report entitled “Political participation and economic repercussion on Palestinian women during the state of emergency”.
The report is part of MIFTAH’s “Policy dialogue and good governance” program which is aimed at promoting the participation of women and youth in formulating policies and supporting their representation at the decision-making levels. The report covered districts in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with the objective of highlighting the gaps in the public discourse and enacted measures during the state of emergency. It also showcased the nature of the challenges and policies of exclusion against women’s participation during this period and displayed the nature of the programs directed towards supporting women during the state of emergency and home quarantine.
The session was opened by MIFTAH Deputy Executive Director Dr. Tahreer Araj, who stressed on the importance of employing a women’s perspective or ”gender lens” to expose the biases in public policies and which could be used as a tool for assessing their ability or inability to meet the needs of women and marginalized sectors in general. That is why, she maintained, it is important to begin periodic monitoring of the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic on women in order to offer an ongoing reading of the impact of interventions on women and the extent to which they take gender into consideration.
Araj said the report could help shed light on the interventions and public policies that do not take gender into consideration in order to rectify them through recommendations that would minimize the negative impacts of these policies and interventions. She also stressed on the importance of the report’s analysis of the political, economic and social status of women and the ramifications of the pandemic on women. She pointed out that MIFTAH was one of the first institutions to take an initiative in this regard through publishing this report, which focuses on the available data and information pertaining to women’s political participation and how the pandemic has reflected on the economic reality of Palestinian women in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. She maintained that the report addresses political participation from the perspective of its discourse and the enacted measures during the state of emergency and the programs targeting women whether from official or nonofficial parties.
This was followed by a presentation of the report’s results by head of the research team Lubna Al Ashqar. She discussed the preventative measures and procedures taken by the Palestinian government to contain the spread of COVID-19 after President Mahmoud Abbas declared a state of emergency in March, 2020.
The report pointed out that the lockdown contributed to the decline in economic conditions, affecting the situation of women who work in unsafe economic conditions in addition to families that lost their livelihood due to the pandemic and who were added to the list of “the new poor.”
Working women comprise 68% of the private sector (108,900 women), 31% of the public sector (50,400 women) and around 0.6% of those working in Israel and settlements (approximately 1,000 women). What’s more, women comprise 31.7% of the total number of workers in Palestine who work in the irregular sector32,200 females as opposed to 288,400 males. The irregular sector is comprised of wage employees who have no rights in the labor market (except for end of service compensation/pension), neither paid annual leave nor paid sick leave. These women are vulnerable to poverty and abject poverty, with estimations from the Ministry of Social Development indicating that at least 53.000 families in Palestine have fallen into a cycle of poverty in the first several weeks since the start of the pandemic because of loss of income. Moreover, 11% of Palestinian families are headed by women – 12% in the West Bank and 9% in the Gaza Strip, a criterion which was not taken into consideration when distributing aid among families.
Meanwhile, social conditions were exacerbated by the deteriorating economic situation, especially among women. Since the start of the pandemic, two women died because of domestic violence and 21% of women attempted suicide. Dozens of others were subjected to physical and psychological violence. 40% of women whose cases were reviewed had been subjected to psychological violence and 31% to physical violence although most of the women suffered from various forms of violence at the same time. Moreover, others suffered from different forms of violence such as restriction of freedom, sexual harassment, economic violence, rape, risks to their lives, cyber violence and forced marriage. According to the ministry, these conditions prompted 60% of women to flee from home and 21% to attempt suicide in addition to other negative impacts such as physical and mental illnesses, suffering broken bones, bruises and pregnancies out of wedlock.
There was also a noticeable rise in the rates of discrimination, exclusion and marginalization against women in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in addition to a spike in unemployment and poverty rates. This forced women to face socioeconomic challenges that pointed to the increased fragility of their situation and the growing discrimination between men and women. Ultimately, this contributed to the weakening and marginalization of women and to discouraging them them from participating in emergency committees, which reflected the declining situation of women at the level of political participation, starting from their limited participation in emergency and guidance meetings and excluding female local council members from combatting the pandemic alongside their male peers.
The number of women members in these committees did not exceed 120 women in the 400 committees formed. There were also the local women’s initiatives, which were halted or cancelled because of the lockdown in addition to discrepancies in terms of support for women, both cash or in-kind, during the state of emergency. This points to the deep gap between the official political, social and economic discourse which espouses equality and social political and economic justice for women (including the fact that Palestine is a signatory to international conventions such as CEDAW) and the actual implementation of this discourse on the ground.
In terms of how the economic situation reflected on the social condition of women, the report indicated that with women, girls, men and boys all remaining in the house, this should have generated a new functional dynamic for the household that would contribute to a change in the division of household roles, impacted by the changeup in economic social and political factors compared to the pre-lockdown situation, however, it has not changed.
The report also addressed women’s initiatives and institutions during the state of emergency which focused on awareness initiatives and programs that offer moral and monetary support, either through the efforts of community and local organizations in the West Bank and Gaza or through individual endeavors.
Recommendations
There were several interventions and commentaries regarding the report’s data, conclusions and recommendations, most significantly the demand for adopting new tools and mechanisms for action to avoid the gaps mentioned in the report and also to demand that the women’s movement take on a more effective role in confronting the repercussions of the crisis on women during the state of emergency and adopt a new feminist discourse. They also pointed to the need to conduct an in-depth study on the scope and impact of women at the various psychological, social and economic levels and to focus on issues pertaining to women’s political participation. Another recommendation was to shed light on the positive practices resulting from the state of emergency, citing the international community’s allocation of 50% of its support to women who head poor households, in addition to conducting an exploratory study from a women’s perspective which could be built on in the future. The participants called for a halt to the clear government biases against women and to hold discussions on the challenges women face along with creating alliances with progressive men who support women and their participation in public life. They also called for investing in positive initiatives for men during the pandemic and not excluding civil society from the measures and decisions taken by the government.
The report concluded with a number of recommendations at three levels: governmental, international and civil society.
Government: the report called for reviving the principle of separation of the three authorities and the implementation of measures pertaining to the pandemic to coincide with legal stipulations; to reconsider the division between the West Bank and Gaza; to organize general elections with the goal of reviving the PLC and the political system in general; to send a letter to the Prime Minister requesting reconsideration of the government discourse and executive decisions to guarantee that social justice and equality are achieved for both sexes; adopting a comprehensive democratic discourse that promotes freedoms and rights and guarantees pluralism and women’s political participation in responding to the pandemic; calling on citizens to call for protection of women and vulnerable social sectors in their discourse and to announce this in accordance with the law; to mete out the harshest possible punishment against those who attack women; to call for the formation of emergency committees and economic and social funds to be based on a clear and straightforward legal premise, which takes into consideration the standards of efficiency and diversity in expertise and individuals when forming any national committee to guarantee the integration of women’s competencies in these committees in various areas.
Another recommendation was for the government to expand the circle of consultations with the various parties when formulating the emergency plan or imposing a full lockdown to guarantee that the different needs of social sectors are met and to find effective solutions for poor families before announcing plans; to follow up on measures to implement the decisions with accuracy and transparency.
At the international level, the recommendations called on international institutions working on issues of democracy, human rights and gender to follow up on all human rights violations during the state of emergency with a focus on women’s rights and to send a message to the government urging it to implement policies that could combat cases of violence, poverty, impoverishment and exclusion exercised against women.
They also called for the continuation of support for civil society and government institutions in offering assistance and programs supporting women and families affected by the pandemic and formulating relief programs on the ground that help to pull women and families out of the cycle of poverty and violence.
Meanwhile, the recommendations called on civil society institutions to work through the government to organize the distribution of social aid in partnership with women’s organizations, federations and unions based on official and accurate statistics; that is, distribution should begin from the sectors most affected by the pandemic including women who head households and who lost their source of income, then progressing from the most to the least neediest without discrimination.
Finally, the participants called for pressure on the government to push for all government, private and civil sectors to assume all of their social responsibilities during the pandemic by involving it in specifying roles and responsibilities. An example of this is offering donations and directing programs for supporting marginalized sectors, including women, and coordinating efforts in support of cancelling taxes on women and individuals because of delays in bank loan payments and bounced checks, to guarantee the continuation of micro-projects and the economic protection of women.
جلسة ل'مفتاح' تستعرض نتائج تقريرها حول: 'واقع المشاركة السياسية والتبعات الاقتصادية بالنسبة للنساء الفلسطينيات في ظل حالة الطوارئ'
تاريخ النشر: 13/08/2020
بقلم: مفتاح
رام الله – 11/8/2020 – عقدت المبادرة الفلسطينية لتعميق الحوار العالمي والديمقراطية "مفتاح" اليوم الثلاثاء الموافق 11/8/2020، جلسة خاصة عبر تطبيق الزووم، تم خلالها استعراض نتائج التقرير الذي أعدته "مفتاح" حول:" واقع المشاركة السياسية والتبعات الاقتصادية بالنسبة للنساء الفلسطينيات في ظل حالة الطوارئ".
يأتي هذا التقرير، ضمن برنامج "حوار السياسات والحكم الرشيد"، والذي تعمل من خلاله "مفتاح" على تعزيز مشاركة النساء والشباب في رسم السياسات ودعم تمثيلهم في مستويات صنع القرار، حيث شمل التقرير محافظات الضفة الغربية وقطاع غزة، بهدف إبراز الفجوات في الخطاب الرسمي والإجراءات التي كان معمولاً بها، واستعراض طبيعة التحديات وسياسات الإقصاء التي مورست على مشاركة النساء خلال تلك الفترة، وتبيان طبيعة البرامج التي وجهت لدعم النساء خلال فترة الطوارئ والحجر المنزلي.
استعراض التقرير ونتائجه
واستهلّت الجلسة بكلمة د. تحرير الأعرج، نائبة المدير التنفيذي لمؤسسة "مفتاح"، أكدت فيها على أهمية الرؤية النسوية أو الرؤية المبنية على النوع الاجتماعي كعدسة تكشف أولويات وانحيازيات السياسات العامة وكأداة لتقييم قدرتها – أو عدم قدرتها على تلبية احتياجات النساء والفئات الأكثر تهميشا ككل. لذلك من الأهمية بمكان البدء في عمل رصد دوري لعواقب جائحة كورونا على النساء، وذلك لإعطاء قراءة مستمرة لتأثير التدخلات على النساء ومدى مراعاتها للنوع الاجتماعي. فمن الممكن أن يساهم هذا التقرير في تسليط الضوء على هذه التدخلات والسياسات العامة الغير مراعية للنوع الاجتماعي، بهدف تقويمها أو تجنبها من خلال التوصيات التي قد تقلل من الآثار السلبية لهذه السياسات والتدخلات على النساء. كما أكدت على أهمية ما تضمنه التقرير من تحليل وضعية النساء السياسية والاقتصادية والاجتماعية والآثار التي ترتبت على النساء بعد جائحة كورونا، في ظل غياب قراءة تحليلية للواقع الجديد الذي فرضته جائحة كورونا على النساء سياسياً واقتصادياً. وجاءت "مفتاح" بأولى المبادرات من خلال اعداد هذا التقرير لتركز، وبنحو كبيرعلى استعراض للبيانات المتوفرة والمعلومات المتعلقة بالمشاركة السياسية للمرأة وما عكسته هذه الجائحة من واقع اقتصادي على النساء الفلسطينيات في الضفة الغربية وقطاع غزة، مشيرة إلى أن التقرير يتناول واقع المشاركة السياسية بين الخطاب والإجراءات المعمول بها أثناء فترة الطوارئ، وأشكال التبعات الاقتصادية المترتبة على النساء خلال الفترة ذاتها، وأشكال البرامج التي استهدفت النساء خلال فترة الطوارئ؛ سواء من الجهات الرسمية أو غير الرسمية.
بعد ذلك، تم استعراض لنتائج التقرير من خلال الباحثة لبنى الأشقر رئيس فريق البحث، حيث تناول الاستعراض التدابير والإجراءات الوقائية التي اتّخذتها الحكومة الفلسطينية بهدف محاصرة انتشار جائحة فايروس كورونا المستجد (COVID-19)، بعد إعلان الرئيس محمود عباس حالة الطوارئ في الخامس من آذار 2020 بموجب مرسوم رئاسي.
ولفت التقرير إلى أن إجراءات الإغلاق أسهمت في تردي الأحوال الاقتصادية، حيث طالت أحوال النساء اللواتي يعملن في ظروف غير آمنة اقتصادياً، إلى جانب الأسر التي فقدت مصدر رزقها بفعل الجائحة ,وتم إدراجها ضمن قائمة "الفقراء الجدد"
و,تشكل النساء العاملات في القطاع الخاص 68% (108,900 امرأة عاملة)، فيما يشكلن في القطاع الحكومي 31% (50,400 امرأة)، ونحو 1,000 امرأة عاملة في إسرائيل والمستعمرات؛ أي ما نسبته حوالي 0.6%.. وليس هذا فحسب، بل تبلغ نسبة العاملين في هذا القطاع غير المنظم نحو 31.7% من إجمالي العاملين في فلسطين، بينهم 32,200 أنثى، مقابل 288,400 ذكر. (ويشمل القطاع غير المنظم المستخدمين بأجر الذين لا يحصلون على أيٍّ من الحقوق في سوق العمل؛ سواء مكافأة نهاية الخدمة/تقاعد، أو إجازة سنوية مدفوعة الأجر، أو إجازة مرضية مدفوعة الأجر). الملفت أن هؤلاء النساء معرضات للفقر وللفقر المدقع، إذ تشير تقديرات وزارة التنمية الاجتماعية إلى أن ما لا يقل عن 53,000 أسرة في مختلف أنحاء الأرض الفلسطينية المحتلة، قد وقعت في دائرة الفقر على مدى عدة أسابيع قليلة من بدء جائحة كورونا، بسبب فقدان مصادر دخلها نتيجة للإغلاق الشامل، علماً أن أكثر من عشر الأسر الفلسطينية (11%) تترأسها نساء، بواقع 12% في الضفة، و9% في قطاع غزة. وهذه المعايير لم تتم مراعاتها عند توزيع المساعدات على الأسر.
بينما تفاقمت الأحوال الاجتماعية المترتبة على تردي الوضع الاقتصادي، لاسيما في صفوف النساء. منذ بداية الجائحة لقيت سيدتان حتفهما بسبب العنف النفسي والجسدي، و21% من النساء حاولن الانتحار، إضافة إلى تعرض العشرات إلى عنف نفسي وجسدي. أما النساء اللواتي تم التعاطي مع قضاياهن، فغالبيتهن قد عانين أشكالاً متعددة من العنف في الوقت ذاته، إذ تعرضت 40% منهن للعنف النفسي، و31% منهن تعرضن للعنف الجسدي، في حين عانت أخريات أشكالاً أخرى من العنف (كحجز الحرية، والتحرش الجنسي، والعنف الاقتصادي، والاغتصاب، والخطورة العالية على الحياة، والعنف الإلكتروني، والإجبار على الزواج). وبحسب الوزير، وقد دفع ذلك النساء، بما نسبته 60% منهن إلى الهروب من المنزل، و21% منهن إلى محاولة الانتحار، إضافة إلى مجموعة من الآثار السلبية الأخرى كالأمراض الجسدية أو النفسية، والإصابة بالكسور والرضوض، والحمل خارج إطار الزواج.
فيما لوحظ ارتفاع معدلات التمييز والإقصاء والتهميش بحق النساء في الضفة الغربية وقطاع غزة، إلى جانب تزايد نسب الفقر والبطالة، ما وضع النساء أمام تحديات اجتماعية واقتصادية تدلل على زيادة هشاشة وضعية النساء، وتفاقم حالة التمييز بين النساء والرجال، ما أسهم في إضعاف النساء، وتهميشهن وحجب مشاركتهن في عمل لجان الطوارئ، الأمر الذي عكس وضعية متردية لحالة النساء على مستوى المشاركة السياسية في مستويات عدة؛ بدءاً من محدودية مشاركة النساء في لجان الطوارئ والإسناد والتوجيه، وإقصاء مشاركة عضوات الهيئات المحلية في التصدي للجائحة، جنباً إلى جنب مع نظرائهن الرجال فلم تتعدى عدد النساء العضوات في اللجان المشكلة 120 امرأة من أصل 400 لجنة مشكّلة، مروراً بالمبادرات النسوية المحلية التي تعطلت أو تأجلت بفعل إجراءات الحجر، وانتهاءً بالدعم المقدم للنساء نقدياً أو عينياً في حالة الطوارئ، ما يدلل على عمق الفجوة بين الخطاب السياسي والاجتماعي والاقتصادي الرسمي الداعي إلى المساواة والعدالة المجتمعية والسياسية والاقتصادية للنساء (بما في ذلك توقيع دولة فلسطين على اتفاقيات دولية تحض على نبذ التمييز القائم على النوع الاجتماعي، والالتزام بمعايير المساواة والعدالة الاجتماعية ومنها اتفاقية "سيداو") وبين التطبيق الفعلي على أرض الواقع.
وفيما يتعلق، بانعكاس الوضع الاقتصادي على الحالة الاجتماعية للنساء، لفت التقرير إلى أنه مع بقاء النساء والفتيات والرجال والفتية داخل المنازل، من المفترض ان تشكل ديناميكيات وظيفية جديدة تفرض واقع جديد يساهم في التغيير ومن تقاسم الأدوار داخل المنزل، متأثرة بخليط من العوامل الاقتصادية والاجتماعية والسياسية مقارنة مع قبل الإغلاق،
وتطرق التقرير إلى المبادرات النسوية والمؤسسات خلال فترة الطوارئ عبر تصميم مبادرات وبرامج توعوية وداعمة معنوياً ومادياً بأشكال وأنماط مختلفة؛ إما بجهود المؤسسات المجتمعية والمحلية في الضفة والقطاع، وإما بجهود فردية.
التوصيات
وشهدت الجلسة، العديد من المداخلات والتعليقات على ما تضمنه التقرير من معطيات واستنتاجات وتوصيات، من أبرزها المطالبة باعتماد أدوات وآليات عمل جديدة لتجنب الفجوات التي أشار إليها التقرير، ومطالبة الحركة النسائية بدور أكثر فعالية في مواجهة انعكاسات الأزمة على النساء في ظل حالة الطوارئ، وتبني خطاب نسوي جديد، وضرورة عمل دراسة معمّقة على حجم وتأثير النساء على مختلف المستويات النفسية والاجتماعية والاقتصادية، والتركيز على القضايا المتعلقة بالمشاركة السياسية للنساء، بالإضافة إلى تسليط الضوء على الممارسات الإيجابية الناتجة عن حالة الطوارئ، في إشارة إلى تخصيص المجتمع الدولي 50% من دعمه للنساء اللواتي يرأسن أسراً فقيرة، بالإضافة إلى القيام بدراسة استكشافية لرؤية نسوية يمكن البناء عليها مستقبلاً، ووقف انحيازات الحكومة الواضحة والصريحة بحق المرأة، وإجراء نقاشات حول التحديات التي تواجهها النساء، و وقيام تحالف مع الرجال التقدميين الداعمين للمرأة ومشاركتها في الحياة العامة، واستثمار المبادرات الإيجابية للرجال خلال الجائحة، وعدم إقصاء المجتمع المدني عن الإجراءات والقرارات التي تتخذها الحكومة.
وقد خلص التقرير إلى مجموعة من التوصيات على ثلاثة من المستويات: الحكومي، والدولي، وعلى مؤسسات المجتمع المدني.
فعلى المستوى الحكومي: طالب التقرير المطالبة بإعادة الاعتبار لمبدأ الفصل بين السلطات الثلاث، وتنفيذ كافة الإجراءات المتعلقة بالجائحة بما يتواءم مع النصوص القانونية. وإعادة النظر في الانقسام بين الضفة وغزة، وتنظيم انتخابات عامة بهدف إعادة تفعيل المجلس التشريعي والنظام السياسي بشكل عام. وتوجيه رسالة خطية لرئيس الوزراء من أجل إعادة النظر في الخطاب الحكومي من أجل المطابقة بين النظرية والتطبيق على أرض الواقع حول أهمية مراعاة المنظور الاجتماعي في الخطاب والقرارات التنفيذية للحكومة، بما يضمن تحقيق العدالة والمساواة المجتمعية بين كلا الجنسين، وتبني خطاب ديمقراطي شامل يعزز من الحريات والحقوق ويضمن التعددية والمشاركة السياسية للنساء في التصدي للجائحة، ودعوة المواطنين في خطاباتها إلى حماية النساء والفئات الضعيفة في المجتمع، والإعلان عن ذلك بمقتضى القانون، وإنزال أقصى العقوبات بحق المعتدين على النساء. وأن يستند تشكيل لجان الطوارئ والصناديق الاقتصادية والاجتماعية إلى نص قانوني صريح وواضح، وأن تراعى معايير الكفاءة والتنوع في الخبرات والمعارف لدى تشكيل أية لجان وطنية، بما يضمن دمج الكفاءات النسوية في هذه اللجان بمختلف المناطق.
وتوسيع دائرة المشاورات مع الجهات المختلفة، عند وضع الحكومة خطة للطوارئ، أو فرض سياسة إغلاق شامل، بما يضمن مراعاة احتياجات مختلف فئات المجتمع الفلسطيني، وإيجاد حلول فعالة للأسر الفقيرة قبل الإعلان عن الخطط،، ومتابعة إجراءات تنفيذ قراراتها بمنتهى الدقة والشفافية.
أما على المستوى الدولي، فقد طالت التوصيات، من المؤسسات الدولية المعنية بقضايا الديمقراطية وحقوق الإنسان والنوع الاجتماعي متابعة مجمل انتهاكات حقوق الإنسان خلال فترة الطوارئ، بالتركيز على حقوق النساء، وتوجيه رسالة للحكومة تحضّها على تنفيذ سياسات من شأنها مواجهة حالات العنف والفقر والإفقار والإقصاء المرتكب بحق النساء.
واستمرار دعم مؤسسات المجتمع المدني والحكومة في تقديم المساعدات والبرامج الداعمة للنساء والأسر المتضررة من الجائحة، ووضع برامج إنقاذ على الأرض تساهم في إخراج المرأة والأسر من دائرة الفقر والعنف.
في حين، دعت تلك التوصيات مؤسسات المجتمع المدني، إلى السعي عبر الحكومة لتنظيم مسألة توزيع المساعدات الاجتماعية بالتشارك مع المؤسسات النسوية والاتحادات والنقابات، بالاستناد إلى إحصاءات رسمية ودقيقة عند توزيع المساعدات؛ بدءاً من الفئات الأكثر تضرراً من الجائحة، بمن في ذلك النساء اللواتي يترأسن الأسر وتعطلت أعمالهن، ومن ثم الأسر الأشد حاجة فالأقل دون أي تمييز.
والضغط على الحكومة من أجل تحمل كافة القطاعات الحكومية والخاصة والأهلية مسؤولياتها الاجتماعية تجاه الجائحة، عبر إشراكها في تحديد الأدوار والمسؤوليات، ومثال ذلك تقديم تبرعات، وتوجيه برامج دعم للفئات المهمشة ومنها النساء، وتنسيق جهود الدعم لإلغاء الضرائب المفروضة على النساء والأفراد بسبب تأخر تسديد قروض البنوك والشيكات المرتجعة، بما يضمن استمرار عمل المشاريع الصغيرة وحماية النساء اقتصادياً.
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.
