Women and the Palestinian legislative and legal structure
Prepared by: Ahmed Abu Ayyash
The first section
Palestinian women and the Palestinian declaration of independence
The Palestinian legislative structure in its general direction was prepared to include women's issues within a framework of equality and non-discrimination in rights between women and men, before the establishment of the Palestinian Authority. The declaration of independence issued by the Palestinian National Council in 1988 at its nineteenth session in Algiers formed an important constitutional basis for realising the rights of Palestinian women, and it stated: "The state of Palestine is for the Palestinians wherever they may be. In it they develop their national and cultural identity and enjoy full equality in rights, and in it their religious and political beliefs and their human dignity are safeguarded, under a democratic parliamentary system based on freedom of opinion and of the other opinion, the freedom to form parties, the majority's care for the rights of the minority and the minority's respect for the rights of the majority, and on social justice, equality and non-discrimination in public rights on the basis of race, colour or religion, or between women and men, under a constitution that believes in the rule of law and an independent judiciary.
On examining the text set out by the declaration of independence, it is quite clear that it provided for guaranteeing women's rights on an equal footing, under a pluralist democratic parliamentary system. It also affirmed without the least ambiguity that all people are equal before the law without discrimination in colour, race or religion, or between women and men. In this sense the declaration of independence drew a legal direction based on doing justice to women, proceeding from the legitimacy of human rights and the relevant international agreements.
The second requirement
Palestinian women and election law No. "13" of 1995
The election law on the basis of which the presidential and legislative elections were held in 1996 provided for the participation of Palestinian women in standing for election and in voting without the least discrimination, and this may be shown through the following articles:
- Article "6", set out under the right to vote, provides that voting is a right for every Palestinian man and woman in the West Bank including noble Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip who meets the conditions provided for in this law for exercising this right, regardless of religion, opinion, political affiliation, or social, economic and academic standing."
Article "7": eligibility to vote (7a) that they be of Palestinian nationality and have reached eighteen years of age, and therefore there are no bars
on the woman's participation or her eligibility to vote.
- Article "9": eligibility to stand for the office of President. The candidate for the office of President is required to be a Palestinian who has completed thirty-five years of age, and here too there is no discrimination.
- Article "12": the right to stand for membership of the Council, clause (12-1). The text reads: every Palestinian person, whether male or female, who has completed thirty years of age or more on the day set for the ballot, whose name is entered in the final voters' register and who meets the conditions that must be met in a voter, has the right to nominate himself or herself for membership of the Council.
- Article "14", which includes the exceptions for those not entitled to stand: there is nothing that touches the woman as a woman, but as a citizen in the event that she is a minister, or in the judiciary or the security services, and this same measure applies to the man as a citizen too.
On the whole, election law No. "13" does not indicate any discrimination against women or any infringement of their legal capacity and the rights of citizenship. But on the other hand it also did not include any positive discrimination in women's favour, if we consider that positive discrimination for women in the election law is an important matter, in order to guarantee a minimum of participation and representation at a particular stage, in consideration by
decision-makers of society's transitional situation and the protective legal measures that follow from it.
The third requirement
Palestinian women and the Palestinian Basic Law
The Palestinian Basic Law came into force on (7/7/2002), and it is the Palestinian constitution for the transitional stage. As is known, the constitution, as the highest law in the state, is based on regulating the relationship of the public authorities with one another and their powers, and from it the basic public and individual rights are derived, and by it the nature of the political system is determined.
As for women and their rights to equality and fair participation, it dealt with that in several texts, in a way that confirms the Palestinian Authority's commitment to the spirit of the principles of human rights, and this is what may be drawn from article "10" of the law, which
provides that
1- Human rights and basic freedoms are binding and must be respected.
2- The Palestinian National Authority shall work without delay on acceding to the regional and international declarations and covenants that protect human rights." As a conclusion, the law guaranteed non-discrimination on the basis that women's rights are human rights in the end.
As for article (6), it provided that: "The principle of the rule of law is the basis of government in Palestine, and all authorities, agencies, institutions and persons are subject to the law."
While article (26) affirmed that "Palestinians have the right to take part in political life individually and collectively, and they have in particular the following rights:
1- Forming political parties and joining them in accordance with the law.
2- Forming trade unions, associations, federations, leagues and clubs in accordance with the law:
3- Voting and standing in elections to choose representatives from among themselves, who are elected by general ballot in accordance with the law.
4- Taking up public posts and positions on the basis of equal opportunity.
5- Holding private meetings without the presence of members of the police ... and within the limits of the law."
As for the woman's right to participate and to take up senior positions in the diplomatic service and the international bodies, article "56" dealt with that in general terms without any specific provision for women, and here the door of positive discrimination is left to the executive authority and its head. Had the law been more specific it would have been better, for the text is more stable and more binding.
Palestinian women and law No. "5" of 1996 on the elections of local councils and bodies
The law on local councils and bodies did not include any discriminatory dimension against women, and required Palestinian nationality,
and articles "9" and "24" may be taken as a general indicator of the law's direction.
Article "9" states: "The right to vote under this law is exercised by everyone who meets the following conditions:
a) That they be a Palestinian who has reached eighteen years of age on the day of the ballot.
b) That they be resident within the area of the local bodies in whose voters' register they are entered
c) That they have not lost their legal capacity."
Article "24" requires of the candidate the following:
1 Reaching the age of thirty for the candidate for the presidency, and the age of twenty-five for the candidate for membership.
2 That their name be entered in the voters' register and that they meet the conditions of a voter.
3 That they have not been convicted of a misdemeanour involving moral turpitude or of a felony.
4 That they not be an employee or a worker at the ministry of local government or at any of the public security agencies or the council of the body or a lawyer for it, unless they submit their resignation attached to the application to stand.
5 That they be resident within the local body for whose council they are standing, and that they not be a candidate in another constituency.
6 That they submit a certificate of payment of all the fees and taxes due from them to the council.
The fourth requirement
Palestinian women and civil service law No. "4" of 1998:
The provisions of this law cover the employees working in government departments who receive their salaries from the treasury of the National Authority according to the system of job structures. The said law guaranteed equality in wages for all employees without discrimination on the basis of sex, and it also gave the same opportunity in senior posts without discrimination, although there are those who hold that the law must guarantee a proportion of women's participation in posts of not less than (30%) if it is not already achieved.
As for leave, the law granted the woman in article "88" the following:
1. A pregnant employee is granted leave on full salary for ten consecutive weeks before and after the birth.
2. A nursing employee has the right to leave work one hour before it ends, for a period of one year from the date of the child's birth, and she has the right to unpaid leave for a year to care for the child." In this it includes flexibility in dealing with the nursing woman and also gives her an opportunity for childcare if she does not wish to lose her job.
The fifth requirement
Palestinian women and labour law No. "7" of 2000
Labour law No. (7) included many articles that do justice to women and improve their situation at work, and it dealt with that in many articles, which are:
Article "2" provides that work is a right for every citizen capable of it, and the National Authority works on providing it on the basis of equal opportunity without any kind of discrimination."
Article "16" provided that: "Discrimination in the conditions and terms of work between workers in Palestine is prohibited."
Article "100" provides: "In accordance with the provisions of this law and the regulations issued under it, discrimination between men and women is prohibited."
Article "101" provided that "The employment of women is prohibited in
1 The dangerous and arduous work defined by the Minister.
2 Additional working hours during pregnancy and the six months following the birth.
3 Night hours, except for the work defined by the Council of Ministers.
4 Article "102": "The establishment must provide facilities specific to female workers."
5 Article "103", clause "1": "A working woman who has spent before each birth a period of one hundred and eighty days at work has the right to maternity leave for ten weeks on full pay, of which at least six weeks are after the birth." And in clause "2", a female worker may not be dismissed because of the leave mentioned in paragraph "1" above unless it is proved that she worked at another job during it."
Article "105" provided that: "In accordance with the interest of the work, a working woman may obtain unpaid leave to care for her child or to accompany her husband."
Article "106": "The establishment must post at the place of work the provisions specific to the employment of women.
