• by IPS Correspondents (amman)
• Tuesday, November 08, 1994
• Inter Press Service

AMMAN, Nov 08 (IPS) - Palestinian women are facing the prospect of limited access to resources, social services and legal rights in their fledgling new state, according to a newly published report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

"Women's participation in the Palestinian decision-making process in law, health, education, labour organisations and financial institutions is almost non-existent," stated the document, which was made public here to the 350 delegates from 22 Middle East countries at the Arab Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing.

This comes in spite of the fact they have a history of involvement in the political and economic processes of Gaza and the West Bank which helped to keep the territories functioning during the darkest days of the Israeli occupation.

The 135-page report came as a result of a 10-day 'Needs Assessment Mission for Palestinian Women' conducted by the UNDP in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in January this year.

"This report is intended to serve as a reference point for the for the forthcoming policy dialogue with the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) in its transitional period and beyond," said Othman Hashim, U.N. resident coordinator and representative of the UNDP here on Monday.

Constanza Farina, head of the 'Assistance to the Palestinian People' project programme based in Jerusalem, said the mission worked in partnership with women's groups and NGOs. The mission had the financial support of Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands.

"The Palestinian organisations involved in the mission are partners not beneficiaries," she said in response to criticisms raised here that the international donor institutions wanted to give instructions and impose orientations on their so-called benificiaries.

The report also said that Palestinian NGOs are playing a major role in the health of the West Bank -- where they serve some 45 percent of the population through some 132 health clinics. In fact they say after 26 years of Israeli occupation Israel controls only one-third of Palestinian health services.

The report mentions another mission to the West Bank by the World Bank which said that five million dollars will be needed to fund specialist women's development and youth programmes.

© Inter Press Service (2014) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

Where next?

Advertisement