UNRWA marks International Women’s Day 2010
Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities: Progress for All
8 March 2010
Monday 8 March 2010 is International Women’s Day. It is a global day to recognise and celebrate women’s achievements, and to look ahead to the opportunities that await future generations..
Literacy helps reconnect mother and son
March 2010
Gaza
Amal Moh’d Fayyad’s eldest son has been in prison in Israel for seven years, but she is unable to leave Gaza to visit him because of the blockade of the Strip. Amal cannot even write him letters because she cannot read or write, having left school at 14.
Amal, known as Um Hassan, got married at 14 and did not continue her education. Now 45, she is a mother of 14 children.
She said “I wanted to communicate with my son, to write him letters by myself without the need to ask my other sons or daughters who were not available or willing to help most of the time. I decided to join the Ata’a Centre for Women’s Development in Beit Hanoun.
Motivated
“I started from the very beginning motivated by my dream: the dream of writing a letter by my own hand, a letter in which I can convey all my love and thoughts to my son, a letter that can break all the barriers, and melt the distances between us,” she continued.
Her persistence and motivation helped her attend the classes for almost a year, without ever being bored or frustrated. At home, Um Hassan would compete with her youngest son to see who achieved the highest grades in dictation tests.
“My son felt so happy that I could do the same homework, and he encouraged me too,” Um Hassan said.
Defeating darkness
"With the help of these classes I started to read too. Simple stories, with little words. When I go home, at night when my children go to sleep I narrate to them the story I read. I felt so happy and proud that I no longer am unable to read.”
At the Ata'a Centre for women in Beit Hanoun, Um Hassan and 12 other women gathered around the table holding their pencils, eager to learn more to defeat the darkness imposed on them either by their families or their society.
Most of them were very happy that they could attend such classes, and also exchange their experiences around their lives, their children, and what they might face.
Text by Najwa Sheikh, Gaza Strip
“I decided to break the chains tying me up”
March 2010
Gaza
After family problems caused her stress and depression, Ibtisam Akieleh found support with a group of other Gazan women – and realised she was not alone. With this help, and her own willpower, Ibtisam was able to come off her medication.
Ibtisam, 45, lives in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip. She is married with five children, one of whom died in 2003 during the Israeli invasion of Beit Hanoun.
Feeling isolated, Ibtisam’s mental health began to suffer. She said: “I suffered greatly in my life and was isolated from the outside world because I felt inferior inside. I felt everyone around me was contributing to the frustration I lived in.
Breaking the barrier
“I felt my life was inanimate and confined to raising my children and taking care of my house. I convinced myself that life isn’t like this; that human beings are not livestock that only eat, drink and sleep. I decided to go out and break the chains than tie me up.”
Other women in the community told Ibtisam about the Ata’a society, a Palestinian charitable society that cares for women and children’s welfare, and targets women in Beit Hanoun.
Describing the turning point she experienced, Ibtisam said: “I was on psychiatry medication to relieve my stress and family problems. I used to be good student, but I turned into an introverted person who is unaware of the outside world.”
Self-esteem
The centre offered Ibtisam psychiatric support and discussion sessions with other women. Answering a question about the real reason behind her introversion, Ibtisam said: “What drove me to the psychiatric illness was a lack of balance as well as the collapse in my life, especially after my husband brought in a second wife to share my life. This led to family problems.
“I thought I was the only woman that suffers from a dominant second wife, but found that a lot of women suffer from greater and multiple problems.”
“After I joined the centre, I witnessed a great difference in my personality. I acquired new self-esteem. The psychiatric medicine became unnecessary and I returned to being an ordinary human being. I knew what was wrong with me; it was simply that I needed to have contact with the outside world.”
Women train their sights on the future in Nahr el-Bared
8 March 2010
Nahr el-Bared, Lebanon
Women from the destroyed Nahr el-Bared camp (NBC) in Lebanon are rebuilding their lives – and their businesses – thanks to specialised training courses.
The 2007 conflict at Nahr el-Bared destroyed most of the camp’s thriving economic climate. Women, who had owned more than 10 per cent of the camp’s businesses, were left with few options to contribute economically.
UNRWA’s capacity building project for women and girls of NBC, a partnership with the NBC Women’s Programme Centre and the Austrian Development Corporation, prepares women to join the workforce – and boost the camp’s economy.
The courses, which include hairdressing, food preparation and sweets manufacturing, were offered based on the women’s own preferences.
Hairdressing training
Sisters Ahlam (34) and Ayda (30), students on the popular hairdressing course, plan to open their own salon. Ahlam’s small grocery was destroyed during the conflict. The training, she says: “provided encouragement for us financially and mentally to open our own shop. We have high spirits about it.”
Ayda agrees: “Before we were feeling so bored; we were not doing anything. Our family prevented us from going out and we had no friends. Now we feel much better and have much more freedom.”
Learning with others also extends women’s informal social networks, and with it their access to information and resources. One student says: “We have developed our hairdressing skills but also how to work and deal with other people.”
“The course is making girls feel more confident and like they have a purpose.”
Social barriers
The students must overcome social barriers to even attend the training, including convincing family members of its value. But the women say it is worth the fight. They point to the difference between their own personality and those of their peers who have remained at home, focused only on domestic work.
“My personality has changed, I now have the freedom to express my feelings,” says one woman.
Other women and girls who left school early plan to seek jobs in established salons after graduation, rather then return to home and domestic duties.
While the women realise there are also considerable challenges to seeking work outside the home, they feel the benefits will far outweigh the initial difficulties. Studies show that including women in the labour force is often the single step out of the poverty cycle, as the income they contribute makes a crucial difference to their families’ wellbeing.
Text by Kristen A. Cordell, UNRWA gender consultant
Computers help Gazan woman reach “another world”
9 March 2010
Gaza
After years of being unable to contact her son in Algeria, 65-year-old Gazan Amena Al Ajrami has learned to use computers to communicate with her son and grandchildren.
Amena only finished eighth grade before she got married and stopped going to school. She said: “I was only 14 years old when I got married. Now, after my kids have grown up and married I have lots of spare time, so I decided to use this time learning different courses.
"I am eager to learn more than before. I was forced to leave school; I could not say no, but now I want to learn as much as I can.”
Most of Amena’s eight children are married and have children. One son lives in Algeria and is unable to visit his family, who have not seen him for years.
Keeping in touch
Amena decided to start a computer course at Jabalia Women’s Programme Centre, so she could use the internet to keep in touch with her son and grandchildren. She said: “Yesterday was the first time I saw my grandchildren since 1995. You cannot imagine how happy I was, and proud at the same time."
"I was hesitant to use the computer or just to think of using it. Now whenever I have time I can use it and go through different programs. I also use the internet to gain any information that I need; it is another world," she continued.
“I am 65 years old, but I am not ignorant, I like to read. Ignorance is not only being unable to write or to read. I have changed a lot, and can understand now what my children are talking about."
Spreading the word
"I can use Word, Excel and PowerPoint. I am so happy to learn and very proud,"
Amena said. “I told all the women that I met them to join this centre and learn all kinds of training. It is good for them, for their lives, and for their characters."
Jabalia Women’s Programme Centre is one of 22 centres for women’s development in the Gaza Strip. The UNRWA initiative helps women promote themselves in society.
Text by Najwa Sheikh, Gaza Strip
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