Skip to main content

ActionAid Palestine to Support Women to Conduct Accountability Sessions in the South of West Bank

Palestinian Women in the West Bank city of Hebron participate  accountability session targeting  decision makers in the sectors of health  and public transportation

Raising Women's Demands for better Gender Sensitive Services

Hebron-West Bank

23rd November 2019

Women groups of ActionAid Palestine in the south of West Bank organized accountability session targeting  decision makers in the sectors of health  and public transportations through project of “ Valiance “Basala”: Empowering women in Old Hebron City” funded by Australian government. It was attended by representatives of community organizations and local community. This session was conducted to enhance communication mechanisms between women groups and decision makers to hold them accountable about their role in developing the reality of  gender sensitive services in the communities of the south of West Bank.

During the session, women groups raised a set of demands and recommendations to decision makers including improving  the public transportations and health services through the provision of public transportation system and construction of health centers for their communities. Those communities suffer from protection threats caused by Israeli settlements surrounding them as settlers’ violence taking place on round routs making access to educational and health services difficult. Furthermore, girls in those communities are sometimes are unable to continue their secondary and  high education due to the lack of public transportation system since secondary schools and universities are located  in cities and villages far from their residences.

   Accountability session is an outcome of the project of “ Valiance “Basala”: Empowering women in Old Hebron City” which aims to empower women and develop their life skills as negotiations and opinion expression by  training women on advocacy campaigns and raising their awareness about many community issues and rights, intensive meetings and systems of community accountability. This session is a practical implementation to theoretical trainings that women have been trained on. Women showed their skills in dialogue and debate and raising gender sensitive community demands with objective ways.

 Hiba Al-Zaro who was one of the participants says: “ this session was very useful, and this kind of session has given us the opportunity to express ourselves and raise our voices to decision makers strengthening our self-confidence. We could our demands officially  and our capacities in networking with organizations and addressing official parties were enhanced”. 

 AAP involves women in discussing public issues and raising their awareness about health and legal issues. AAP’s approach is building the capacities of women in leading advocacy campaigns so that they could defend their rights and promote their resilience and ensure that they enjoy decent and healthy life under protection threats in the old city of Hebron and other parts of the south of West Bank. 

Background Information

ActionAid

ActionAid is ActionAid is a global federation working for a world free from poverty and injustice. It is a leading international charity working in over 45 countries. We work with the poorest women and children in the world, changing their lives for good. Our local staff provide immediate, hands-on support to women and children living on the margins of survival. Together we demand action at local, national and international level. We don’t walk away until we’ve achieved lasting change. 

For more information, please contact:

Riham Jafari Coordinator of Advocacy&Communication in ActionAid Palestine

Mobile Number: +972 (0) 595242890

Email: Riham.Jafari@actionaid.org