Towards a More Secure Future: UN Agencies Operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territory Call for Action in Improving the Situation of Palestinian Women
By UN Agencies
March 08, 2005
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International Women’s Day 2005
Today, on the
occasion of International Women’s Day, 11 UN agencies[1] operating in the
occupied Palestinian territory have put their voices together in a call to
action for the protection of Palestinian women from the political, economic and
social insecurity that threatens their wellbeing.
“In Beijing, the nations of the
world recognized that gender equality, peace and development are inexorably
linked, but ten years later, it is still a Palestinian woman’s face that we see
in this conflict when we speak of suffering from poverty, social upheaval and
violence.” says Alia El-Yassir, UNIFEM Programme Coordinator.
- Women in the occupied
Palestinian territory face particular challenges due both to the ongoing
conflict situation coupled with internal constraints, including:
- Poverty: As a result of
growing unemployment, declining incomes, loss of property due to house
demolitions, land requisitions and levelling, the number of poor people has
reached more than 2.2 million. Approximately 11% of the affected households,
which are living on less than $2 per day, are female-headed households,
which studies show are suffering more acutely from the continuing cycle of
poverty and vulnerability.
- Low political
participation: Less than 6% of PLC members are women and there are only 2
women in the new Palestinian cabinet. Palestinian Authority institutions
have a representation of only 13% women, which decreases to below 1% at the
local government level. Women account for just over 10% of lawyers and less
than 9% of judges
- School drop-out: Early
marriage contributes to 46% of the drop-out rate for female students,
particularly at the secondary level, due to the limitation of compulsory
education and the worsening economic situation.
- Food insecurity: 368,480
non-refugee Palestinian women are food aid dependent, constituting 49% of
the total number of non-refugee beneficiaries in oPt.
- Lack of access to
reproductive health services: 31% of pregnant women are anaemic. Home
deliveries increased from 5.2% (2000) to over 30% (2003); 61 women delivered
at checkpoints between September 2000 and October 2004, out of which 36 were
stillbirths.
- Low participation in
formal labour force: 82.7 % of women in the West Bank and 90.5% of women in
the Gaza Strip are outside the labour force, reflecting a heavy burden of
care, a large portion of unpaid work, low levels of qualification and
limited job opportunities that are clustered in a small number of
occupations. About 25% of working women from refugee camps in oPt are
employed in elementary occupations, which are low-paid and irregular.
- The Barrier: If
construction of the Barrier continues as planned, an estimated 50,000
Palestinians in the area between the Barrier and the Green Line would be
adversely affected by loss of work, limited freedom of movement resulting in
limited access to health and education services, migration and psychosocial
burdens. Women would suffer the impact more deeply due to social
fragmentation and loss of personal freedoms.
The UN agencies call upon:
- Israeli authorities to
ensure the protection and safety of Palestinian women as well as their
unconditional access to crucial services in health, nutrition, education and
employment.
- the Palestinian Authority
to provide legislation that ensures formal and substantive equality and
equity between men and women in respect to all their human rights, in line
with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women. (CEDAW)
- the international
community to ensure that all parties to the conflict respect human rights
laws and principles and abide by International Humanitarian Law regarding
the protection of civilians, including women; and that an environment be
created that is conducive of Palestinian reform and institution-building
processes that are based on gender equality and equity standards.
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