My Right to My Future – Women’s Participation in Peace Building and Conflict Resolution in occupied Palestinian Territories – WBG942

Efforts towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Authority have been affected by the military escalation, which is ongoing at the moment of writing this proposal. In the current situation, the proposed intervention has become more difficult to plan – e.g. conducting stakeholder consultations in Gaza was not possible – but also all the more necessary, as women heavily carry the burden of the war and its aftermath. Women’s voices will not be heard as ceasefires are being negotiated and their views will not be integrated in any political agreements towards peace. 

The overall purpose and approach of the action are therefore highly legitimate in the current context: The project aims at building a strong and politically active Palestinian society that engages for a just and lasting peace, towards which men and women are equally contributing.

The project will champion women’s role in peace building through a focus on women’s meaningful political representation and changing social norms around women’s role in politics. It will support women to lead in political parties and be politically active in their communities, with the aim to increase women’s contribution to peace building. At grassroots level, the action will build young women’s leadership and raise awareness on women’s role in peace building in the 5 governorates in Gaza and 9 governorates in the Westbank, where it will be implemented. At national level, the media will be involved into awareness raising campaigns.

Overall Objective

To establish conditions for the advancement of the peace process by strengthening the political and societal participation of women leaders for a just and lasting peace

Specific Objectives and Expected Results

SO 1: Promoting women’s leadership to play an active role within the political parties

The first result area is aimed at supporting women’s representation and meaningful participation in political parties, leveraging their contribution to the peace building process. CARE and WATC’s strategy is to work from “both sides of the equation”: civil society at the grassroots in a watchdog and advocacy role and political parties as key instruments of a functioning democratic state that can bring in demands through political mechanisms, such as parliament or official negotiations. Research by UN Women confirms that this two-pronged approach is necessary as “women’s groups often represent and voice women’s priorities and concerns, and indeed are more likely to do so than women within negotiation delegations, who are bound to their political party’s interest” (UN Women 2012, Women’s participation in peace negotiations, p. 2).

SO 2: Shifting social attitudes towards women’s political participation and empowering youth and specifically young women to play an active role in civil society peace building and reconciliation

The second outcome area of the project is youth leadership for reconciliation and peace building at the grassroots for changes in attitudes towards women’s participation in peace building. The project chooses an entry point whereby peace activists are capacitated and engaged as multipliers. They will work with influential groups in their communities, such as heads of CBOs or political party representatives, engaging them in dialogue on peace. Acceptance of women’s role to be part of that discussion will be gained through young women activists’ engagement itself and pro-active discussion of women’s contribution as well as raising awareness on the Charter of Honour. The media component will complement the work of peace activists as media will inform about their actions and amplify the messages of peace building.

ER 1: Women are supported to actively participate in political parties towards peaceful settlement of the conflict

ER 2: Selected Media is actively engaged in promoting women’s political participation and the central role of women in reconciliation and peace building

ER 3: Youth and specifically young women activists from 20 conflict affected communities have increased political awareness, confidence and skills and play an active role in mobilizing and contributing to greater peace and security in the OPT

Beneficiaries

200 peace activists, 50 media students and 20 community leaders in 20 marginalized, conflict-affected communities; 20 women will have gained international exposure and have practiced their skills within organisations; 4.000 members of the 20 target communities, including key community leaders, will have increased awareness of women’s participation and peace building.

Location

Occupied Palestinian territory

5 governorates in Gaza Strip: Beit Hanoun, Rafah, Al- Maghazi, Al- Nusirat, and Khan Yunis

9 governorates in the West Bank: Jenin, Tulkarem, Qalqilya, Nablus, Salfeet, Ramallah, Jericho and the Jordan valley, Bethlehem, Hebron, and East Jerusalem

Duration

01.05.2015 – 30.09.2017

Budget

EUR 624,669.10