Amman – Nisaa FM:
The report from UN’s The Secretary General on the status of and assistance to Palestinian women will be submitted to the Commission on the Status of Women at its 62nd Session (CSW62), which will take place from the 13th-24th of March 2018. The Economic and Social Council did however express their deep concern about the situation for the Palestinian women in The Occupied Palestinian Territories as a result of the serious consequences of the continuing illegal Israeli occupation.
The Women’s Solidarity Association of Jordan (Tadamon) adds that the report, covering the period from 1/10/2016 to 30/9/2017, is based on information provided by United Nations agencies.
Education
Young men and women face different gender related challenges in terms of access to education, insecurity for the girls’ on their way to school, the risk of engaging in confrontations or demonstrations for the boys as well as social and cultural norms within the families and communities - all of which has a negative effect on children and youth. These issues may deprive young women the opportunity to pursue education and many girls remain trapped at home because of the lack of safety in public places.
Violations of children's rights continue to be at a terribly high level. 39.762 children were arrested in the 4107 incidents during the reporting period. 19 Palestinian children (3 girls and 16 boys) were killed, 570 children (33 girls and 537 boys) were wounded and 318 Children (including 10 girls) were in military detention.
Economic Empowerment
Women continue to face serious challenges of economic empowerment and insecurity. There has been no improvement in food supply security. 46% of the Palestinian households in Gaza are insecure when it comes to food supply, compared with 17% of the Palestinian households in the West Bank. The rate is 10 points among the households headed by women in the West Bank and 3 points for the female-headed households in Gaza.
The economic participation of Palestinian women remains low. The labor force participation rate is 19.1%. The unemployment rate is 71.5% in Gaza and 36.2% in the West Bank and for the young people in the age group 20-24 it has reached 46.3% (38.3% for males and 72.7% for females). The gender wage gap continues to be 37.3%. This is the case in spite of the fact that Palestinian women searching for work have higher levels of education than their male counterparts.
Power sharing and decision-making
Palestinian women continue to be underrepresented in all decision-making positions. Women represent 12.8% of the members of the Legislative Council. A single woman is represented among 19 elected members of the Fatah Central Council. Only two women hold ministerial positions in the current government: the Minister of Tourism and the Minister of Women.
The amount of female ambassadors does not exceed 5.8%. Women are representing only 17.2% of judges, 16.7% of prosecutors and 22.5% of lawyers. While women hold 42.6% of public sector jobs, only 11.7 % holds director positions.
Violence against Palestinian Women
"Gender-based violence in all its forms, including sexual violence, intimate partner violence and forced marriage, remains a major concern in relation to safety and health." In Gaza, poverty and lack of economic opportunities, contributes to increasing violence as well as impunity. Those who commit acts of violence against women, rarely face legal, criminal or social sanctions. Violence against women in a marriage is not a crime under civil law.
The results of the surveys show that "honor" holds great value, with 47% of men and 38% of women believing that women and girls deserve punishment from their families, when "honor" is considered to have been violated. One third of men and a fourth of women believed that some violence against women was justified, and a majority of both men and women believed that women should be tolerated with such violence. Partly because of these beliefs, the proportion of women survivors seeking help does not exceed 0,7%.