YWCA Palestine Meets with Minister of Justice
Ramallah – A delegation from YWCA Palestine, along with representatives
from partner organizations and a group of young women participating in the
"Young Women for Awareness, Agency, Advocacy, and Accountability
(YW4A)" programme, held a discussion session with Minister of Justice,
Counselor Sharhabil Al-Zaeem, at the ministry headquarters in Ramallah.
The session focused on efforts and developments related to the approval
of the Family Protection from Violence draft law.
The session was attended by representatives from partner organizations
involved in the programme, which is implemented by YWCA Palestine in
partnership with the Psychosocial Counseling Center for Women (PSCCW), Al-Harah
Theater, YWCA Jerusalem, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the
Holy Land, as well as
several young women from the programme.
The session began with an introduction to YWCA Palestine, highlighting
its strategic objectives and 132-year history of supporting women, particularly
young Palestinian women, and promoting their participation in decision-making
processes. As a symbolic gesture, the association presented the minister with a
gift from the “Fabric of our Lives” project, an advocacy tool emphasizing
Palestinian women's right of return and their demands to live with freedom,
dignity, and peace.
The young women led the discussion, focusing on the reasons behind the
failure to pass the Family Protection draft law despite 20 years of national
efforts by women's rights organizations. They also explored ways to strengthen
the legal framework for protecting women from violence, particularly given the
difficult political and economic conditions that have exacerbated gender-based
violence against Palestinian women. Additionally, they discussed
awareness-raising mechanisms to reduce the social stigma associated with filing
complaints and the absence of laws, legislation, and deterrent penalties that
could protect women and hold perpetrators accountable.
The minister expressed his commitment to ensuring the protection of Palestinian
women, emphasizing his belief in the necessity of adopting laws and regulations
to formalize these protections.
He affirmed that women's issues are a top priority for the ministry and
fall within the national efforts of the government, women's rights
organizations, and young advocates working to raise awareness and garner
support for protecting women from violence.
The strategic objective of the (YW4A) programme is to advocate for young
women's rights to dignity, physical safety, and equal participation in
decision-making while expanding these rights through the implementation of
public policies and laws that promote gender justice.
The programme includes legal papers and community initiatives developed
by young women to address issues such as youth political participation, child
marriage, workplace harassment, domestic violence, and more.
YW4A is a five-year programme, funded by the Netherlands Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, and led by consortium partner World Young Women’s Christian
Association (World YWCA), working in collaboration with YWCA Kenya, YWCA
Palestine, Christian Agency For Peace And Development (CAPaD)- South Sudan, and
Ibrahimia Media Center (IMC), Equality Now, KIT Royal Tropical Institute, and
Faith to Action Network (F2A).