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| malaysia | mauritania | morocco | nicaragua | nigeria | palestine | turkey | uzbekistan | zimbabwe |
English
Palestine
| In-Country Activities |
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| - eCourse - Institute and Training of Trainers - IT Center - Leadership Workshops - Curriculum development in Arabic |
Our Partner
Women's Affairs Technical Committee (WATC) is a coalition of individual activists and women's organizations. Established in 1992, the coalition members work together for the realization of the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women in the pursuit of a well established, civic, democratic society that respects human rights.
WATC works to mainstream Palestinian women's issues within the process of constructing a democratic society free of all forms of discrimination; to effect gender sensitive policies and legislation in various spheres of life; to develop the assertiveness of women using the latest methodologies in adult education and training; to enhance the involvement of women in political life at all levels, especially the decision making level; to lobby decision makers in Palestinian society to promote equal rights for women; and to empower and support existing women's committees and groups on the operational and organizational level. WATC attains its objectives through networking, advocacy, campaigning, training, and a media program.
| Women's Status at a Glance |
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Country OverviewGovernment type: -- Education and HealthAdult literacy rate Political ParticipationYear women received right to |
Stories and Reports
Changing Views on Leadership in Palestine, One Workshop at a Time
April 2007: In Palestine, the constant violence continues, often causing disruptions to the work of WLP Palestine/Women’s Affairs Technical Committee (WATC). During their latest leadership workshop, WATC experienced interruptions because several workshop participants experienced regular delays at checkpoints. Nevertheless, they continued to hold the training workshop.
The leadership workshop took place in Ramallah for ten female and five male WATC volunteers in April 2007. During the training, participants divided into two groups and developed advocacy campaign action plans. One campaign focused on the problem of expensive dowries and the other on the increasing prevalence of honor killings. Each group presented their campaign strategies to the other group for feedback and discussion. Participants also discussed the changes they would like to make in their youth and women’s committees, and brainstormed ways in which they could be more helpful to the local community.
Snapshot of Leadership Workshops in 2005
Here are some examples of leadership training workshops that took place in 2005. These stories offer a sampling of the different themes present in WLP's leadership workshops.
Leadership Workshop in Mbouda, Cameroon, December 12-14, 2005
Thirty-two women and two men, predominantly engaged in small-scale subsistence farming, attended the workshop. They identified strategies for tackling the challenges they face in agricultural production, and decided to raise awareness in their communities about the rights of peasant farmers.
Leadership Workshop in Kaédi, Mauritania, November 9-11, 2005
Thirty leaders of women's rights organizations from each department of Kaédi, the capital of the remote Gorgol region, attended the workshop. Participants identified the need for stronger bonds of solidarity between women's organizations operating in the same region, and committed to forming a network, to be coordinated by WLP's Mauritanian partner.
Palestinian Women Gain Confidence as Family Decision-Makers
From November 2005-February 2006, the WLP Palestinian partner Women's Affairs Technical Committee worked intensively with a group of 19 women in their twenties and thirties to develop skills in participatory leadership and effective communication.
As the women came together to exchange experiences each week, a consistent theme emerged - the challenges many of them faced in the home with their husbands, children, or parents.
WLP and Sisterhood is Global Institute/Jordan Convene Middle East/North Africa Institute for Women's Leadership in Jordan
WLP convened the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) Regional Roaming Institute for Women's Leadership from December 9-15, 2003 in Petra, Jordan. Thirty women leaders from eleven Arab countries including Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, the Sudan, and Yemen took part in the week-long Institute for training of trainers. The goal of the Regional Roaming Institute was to empower and train Arab women activists in the Middle East and North Africa to become better trainers and advocates for women's rights and equal participation in civil society. WLP President, Mahnaz Afkhami who was in Jordan for the event said, "The Institute was a positive experience that brought a spirit of hope, optimism, solidarity, and faith in the future so much needed in a region that is undergoing a challenging period of transformation."
The Institute was organized in cooperation with WLP's Jordanian partner, Sisterhood Is Global Institute/Jordan (SIGI/J), one of the most effective Jordanian women's organizations working to promote women's human rights through education and skills training programs. The MENA Regional Institute built upon the material and expertise developed in WLP's pilot international Roaming Institute for Women's Leadership held in Maryland in 2002. Participants included lawyers, educators, grassroots organizers, and activists working to promote democracy, human rights, and women's political participation in the region.
