A call for an international plan to combat violence against women

Gaza - public relations
Participants in a workshop entitled "Violence against women is a global phenomenon" called for contributing to setting an international plan to combat violence against women, stressing that violence has become a global phenomenon requiring the unification of efforts to grant women all their rights.
They stressed that Palestinian women suffer greatly from violence, in addition to the violation of many of their rights, which is reflected negatively on all the members of society, particularly as it is the woman who raises the generations, and she is half of society and gives birth to the other half.
They stressed that the prevailing culture in Palestinian society, in addition to customs and traditions, plays a large part in the process of discrimination between men and women, which inflicts violence on Palestinian women. They explained that the practice of violence inside society has made it a phenomenon and not a passing problem, particularly as the whole body of studies carried out on Palestinian women confirms that one in every five women is subjected to one type of violence.
They called for the application of the principles of justice, fairness and equality as set out in the constitution, and for abolishing any discrimination in the other laws that contradicts the texts and the spirit of the tolerant Islamic sharia and the constitution and the international covenants and agreements our country has committed to.
Drawing up just and fair public policies and translating them into programmes and activities that take into account the needs of women and men, and women's effective contribution to drawing up those policies, calling for women to be targeted in the general development programmes under way and for allocating programmes and projects specific to women built on their needs and their roles in society, in a way that leads to alleviating women's poverty, particularly rural women.
They also called for connecting women to services and opportunities such as education, health, employment, rehabilitation, training and opportunities for career advancement, and for connecting women to resources, the most important of them inheritance, in accordance with the texts of Islamic sharia, and for taking deterrent measures against those who circumvent God's law by denying inheritance to daughters.
They stressed the need to take specific measures and procedures to improve women's participation in decision-making positions, to uncover the phenomenon of domestic violence, to provide support and assistance to women and children victims of family violence, and to prepare programmes of psychological rehabilitation and social reintegration for the persons who practise violence against their wives or children.
The workshop was organised by the Palestinian NGO Network "PNGO" and the Palestinian Center for Democracy and Conflict Resolution, within the project to combat violence against women funded by Norwegian Aid, yesterday at the premises of the Al-Huda Development Association in Khan Younis.
The workshop was attended by many representatives of the relevant civil organisations, Mariam Zaqout, director of the Al-Huda Development Association, and Hossam Ahmed, the project coordinator.
Ahmed welcomed the participants, noting that the project aims at mobilising Palestinian public opinion and pressing decision-makers to work on protecting women and combating all forms of violence against them, particularly killing on the grounds of honour, by carrying out a national campaign with the participation of academic, religious and legal figures, members of the Legislative Council and representatives of civil organisations in workshops on the issues of violence against women, and offering the recommendations needed to draft the national document on combating violence against women.
For her part, Zaqout spoke about violence as a global phenomenon, its effect on the Palestinian situation and the various international and local decisions, noting that the women of the world have united on one basic and essential issue, namely the violence practised against them, particularly as they are the weakest link in society.
Zaqout noted that Palestinian women are subjected to violence continuously, and that many women do not express this openly out of fear of increased family problems and of a doubling of the violence practised against them.
She showed that the studies confirm that the woman is a victim of worn-out customs and traditions that increase her suffering, and that Palestinian society is a male society with great discrimination by sex, which places much suffering and pain on the woman's shoulders.
Zaqout presented many situations in which the woman is abused without society supporting her to any great extent; indeed society works to turn a blind eye to the practice of violence against the woman.
At the end of the workshop, some of the participants, representatives of the relevant civil organisations, presented examples of the forms and images of the violence practised against women, stressing the need to make all the members of society aware of the importance of combating violence. They also focused on the need for social upbringing, given its importance in saving society from the clutches of this practised phenomenon, which would double the pain of a Palestinian society already subjected to great violations.