Women’s activist Ahlam Khdeir from the village of Jamaeen near Tulkarm is one of MIFTAH’s success story, which she tells in her own words.

“My relationship with MIFTAH began after I became a candidate in the 2012 elections and participated in its trainings. After that, I continued to participate in all the meetings MIFTAH held for the candidates who later became members of local council elections” she says.

MIFTAH played a major role in empowering Ahlam and in strengthening her leadership personality, especially in her capacity as member of Jamaeen’s local council. Ahlam credits this transformation to the courses she participated in, the meetings with officials and decision-makers, exchange visits and other meetings with women and youths in her community. “MIFTAH’s training played a huge role in shaping my personality and increasing my information on the work of local communities, especially during the period of elections and after I became a member of our local council,” Ahlam says. She explains that she participated in formulating a training program which also gave her the tools needed to deal with other members of council and ordinary citizens. “I also learned better ways of discussing a number of financial and administrative issues, such as tenders and price offers,” Ahlam maintains.

MIFTAH coordinator Abeer Kilani also helped Ahlam to put together a town hall meeting with a number of people from her village to discuss their problems and identify their needs. She says this direct contact through the meetings and the trainings in which she participated is necessary for any women who is involved in community and political action.

Ahlam became involved in political action back in 1996 and has worked with several institutions as a trainer in handiwork, training scores of women in this field. She has also trained women in workshops and meetings on social issues such as violence against women.

Currently, Ahlam heads the Jamaeen Women’s Club and was one of its founders in 1998. She is a founding member of the women’s savings and loans association and was a member of its first board of directors in 2001. In addition, she is a member of the monitoring unit in the Agricultural Relief Committees, a board member and vice president of the rural women’s development association, board member of the Palestinian youth federation and member of the Jamaeen town council, elected in 2012.