Empowering Palestinian Women

2 February 2005

Palestinian women experience many barriers to training and education but times are slowly changing, according to leaders of the East Jerusalem YMCA’s Women’s Vocational Training Centre (VTC) in Ramallah, supported by Y Care International.

During our youth delegation to Israeli and the Occupied Palestinian Territories in December 2004 we spoke with director Mai Jarrar, who oversees a programme of career counselling for girls aged 15-17: “The problem we want to tackle in this YMCA programme is that young girls usually enter certain fields such as teaching or working in a kindergarten.

Broadening horizons

“We want to help those girls broaden their horizons – to see opportunities of other things they can do and learn more about themselves and what’s available in the job market. A lot of girls think they can’t do certain jobs or they’re not smart enough.”

The YMCA Women’s VTC works closely with the Ministry of Education, training counsellors who are appointed in schools to offer career guidance. Its next step is to work with families to improve their understanding of the scheme and encourage them to support girls in their training.

Careers advice

“We want them to know more about what career counselling is and why they need to negotiate with their daughters. Usually it is the mothers who come to the family training sessions – the real struggle will be at home with the male members of the family. But even some mothers still only want the boys of the family to be educated. It is a very slow process but I think we will make a difference in the end.”

Trainers from the VTC visit rural areas and villages around Ramallah, Nablus and Bethlehem teaching women in their homes. They provide training in health and nutrition, agricultural work, home food production or irrigation techniques as well as marketing and management training skills. After 100 hours or more of training the women will have the skills needed to start their own projects, using small loans to buy sheep, seeds or beehives.

Shadow of conflict

Of course all this work takes place under the shadow of occupation and conflict and the dangers and challenges that creates. Computers and other equipment were destroyed when the Women’s VTC in Ramallah came under attack in 2001.

“Sometimes the conflict pushes us backwards, sometimes forwards,” says Mai. “People are unemployed, we have large family numbers so people want their daughters to marry early because they’re an economic burden. But sometimes girls stay at home because parents are more worried about their daughters, not wanting them to go to college or university because of the risks.”

The YMCA is committed to playing a significant role in supporting and training young women. For Judeh Majaj, General Secretary of the East Jerusalem YMCA: “The gender issue is built in – it is not just something we have got on paper.”

Sense of identity

One staff member explained her vision of empowering young women: “Our children were not allowed to learn about their identity and their nationhood, so they grew up with low self-esteem and little sense of identity. We try to give them this sense of identity and improve their self-esteem.

“We hope that women will take a stronger role within future Palestinian governments. Women have always played an important role in Palestinian community, achieving a lot.They should not be confined to the kitchen.”

• A full version of this article appeared in the Y Care International publication: ‘Palestine: In Their Own Words. Views from Young People on a Y Care International Delegation’, published in August 2005<!--[endif]-->