Dorothy Shea: "Palestinians should be applauded for largely eliminating the gender gap in education. Unlike in some parts of the Middle East and North Africa, Palestinian girls and young women enjoy equal access to education as their male counterparts."

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http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=732403

Graduation ceremony at Bethlehem University, 2010. (MaanImages/file)

Analysis: The marathon to close the gender gap in Palestine

By Dorothy Shea

Dorothy Shea is the Deputy Principal Officer at the United States Jerusalem Consulate General.

Secretary John Kerry said that finding a solution to gender inequality is a marathon and not a sprint. I've only recently arrived in Jerusalem but I've already been impressed by how boldly Palestinians are running this marathon.

On Oct. 11, 2014, we celebrate the International Day of the Girl in recognition of girls' rights to education and the unique challenges girls and women continue to face around the world, including women and girls in the Palestinian Territories.

Empowering women throughout the world has been a long-term goal of Secretary Kerry as it was for former Secretary Clinton. Closing the gender gap will take time, but we must steadfastly move towards a more inclusive society if we want peace and prosperity.

Palestinians should be applauded for largely eliminating the gender gap in education. Unlike in some parts of the Middle East and North Africa, Palestinian girls and young women enjoy equal access to education as their male counterparts.

In 2012, girls accounted for half of all students enrolled at Palestinian schools, making up 50 percent of the primary school population and 54 percent of secondary school students. In fact, last year's statistics show an even stronger female presence in higher education, where 58 percent of students were young women. Among graduates, too, women form a clear majority -- around 60 percent in 2012. The literacy rate is 94 percent for women, one of the highest rates in the Middle East.

However, Palestinians still have a gender gap in the workplace, and this is where greater attention is needed.

In 2014, 72 percent of men were employed as opposed to just 19 percent of women, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. Paradoxically in Palestinian society, employment opportunity among Palestinian women decreases as their level of education increases.

Palestinian women with 13 years of schooling or more suffer from the highest rate of unemployment, at over 53 percent. As a result, many more women than men with higher-education degrees are forced to accept jobs that are far below their qualifications. Female graduates from Gaza to Jenin to Jericho file away their diplomas and go to work in hair salons or tailor shops. They conclude they have no chance of working in their professional field, but they can contribute to their household income as low-skilled workers.

I've been fortunate in my role at the American Consulate General to witness first-hand the enormous energy, creativity and confidence that girls and young women bring to our public events. Recently, we sent two amazing young Palestinian women to Boston to participate in a leadership conference as part of the Women-2-Women exchange, and our TechGirls program is emboldening young girls to pursue professional and academic careers in science and technology.

Politically, the voice of Palestinian women is also incredibly significant and inspiring; some of the most articulate and compelling arguments regarding the Palestinian cause that I have heard come from women. Palestinians have done a commendable job in embarking on the marathon but as we acknowledge this important day we should also recognize that Palestinian women are ready for the next phase in achieving gender equality.

A whole host of data, from the World Bank and World Economic Forum to the OECD, indicates that when women are gainfully and fully employed, societies tend to function better, are more stable and prosperous. I am convinced that when Palestinian women are more fully integrated into business, journalism, and politics all Palestinians will reap the benefits. I think that the Palestinian leadership understands the transformative power of female employment and is committed to ending discrimination in the workplace and ensuring broader rights for women. Now is the time to realize this noble goal -- in the boardrooms, on the mastheads, at the summits.

Ultimately, Palestinians themselves must choose to invest in their society and better utilize the talents and education of women. Overcoming gender inequality will not come overnight, but we cannot stand still either and let time pass.

As we celebrate the International Day of the Girl, let us consider how far we have come and what is left to be done for a more inclusive society.

The views expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily reflect Ma'an News Agency's editorial policy.

In a common struggle for education and against extremism: "“If with my humble efforts the voice of tens of millions of children in the world who are living in servitude is being heard, congratulations to all,” Kailash Satyarthi on winning the Nobel Peace Prize 2014

Malala Yousafzai, with her father, Ziauddin, spoke in Birmingham, England, after learning she had won the Nobel prize. Darren Staples/REUTERS

Reaching across gulfs of age, gender, faith, nationality and even international celebrity, the Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday awarded the 2014 peace prize to Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan and Kailash Satyarthi of India.

The award joined You-safzai, a Pakistani teen who attained worldwide fame when she was shot by the Taliban in 2012 for promoting girls’ education, with Satyarthi, a veteran of campaigns to fight child labor and trafficking...READ MORE

***

Malala Yousafzai speaks in Britain about winning the Nobel Peace Prize with Indian activist Kailash Satyarthi, who speaks with journalists at this home in New Delhi after the announcement.

“I’m thankful to my father for not clipping my wings and for letting me to fly.” Malala Yousafzai

Today is International Day of the Girl Child! To mark the day, Hina Jilani calls on the international community and civil society to work together to improve the lives of girls and women.

The Elders

“Have the courage to take action. Society is ready to change.”

Today is International Day of the Girl Child! To mark the day, Hina Jilani calls on the international community and civil society to work together to improve the lives of girls and women.

Read her blog: http://theelders.org/article/lets-not-be-afraid-challenge-traditions-harm-girls

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Opinion

Hina Jilani, 11 October 2014

Let's not be afraid to challenge the traditions that harm girls

“Have the courage to take action. Society is ready to change.”

Marking the International Day of the Girl Child, Hina Jilani calls on the international community and civil society to work together to improve the lives of girls and women.

In the international community we talk about the family as being the basic unit of society. Today we see that the family has become the biggest locus of violence, especially against women and children.
If we do not address issues like child marriage, we will never expect the family – or allow it – to become a unit which is able to give dignity and equality to all its members.

Challenging culture and tradition

We need to correct the perception that any harmful practice is a part of what we call culture and tradition, which people can be proud of. Harmful practices should not be equated with culture and tradition.

Even if some parts of the world consider harmful practices a part of culture or tradition, we must remember that those who are harmed by these cultural and traditional practices are women.
Are women not a part of that society? Are they only subjects of culture, with no hand in making culture?

Culture and tradition in themselves evolve out of historical changes. They should not be allowed to become obstructions to change.

International community: have the courage to act

Local and international actors need to understand that child marriage is an issue that has gone from the local to the international. It is not an issue that the international community is using or is imposing on national and local communities.

There are political movements in these countries. I come from such a movement. We don't deal with figures; we leave that to UNICEF and the United Nations. We deal with actual lives, so we are not talking about child marriage and its effects on society, and on girls and women in the abstract. We have faces to show you; we have victims to put before you; and our society has seen those faces.

The international community needs to know that any initiative to eliminate and curb child marriage will receive the weight of those movements behind it.

Have the courage to take action. Society is ready to change – and accept change.

In Pakistan – my country – about two decades ago, there were a significant number of people, myself included who were trying to resist state-sponsored trends, trends which would have decimated women’s and girls’ rights. Instead, there have been legal reforms on child marriage, progressively making it better for women and girls. It’s still inadequate, but when these positive reforms were implemented, there was no resistance from the broader society.

We must work together

Governments should make sure that they have courage to take the step, to ensure that they are not being overcautious. They must not submit to the influence of interest groups, of religious lobbies, of conservative lobbies. This is not the time to either become an apologist or be defensive, or over-romanticise what is certainly something which has proved to be – figures have proved it, data has proved it, research has proved it – definitely harmful for the world’s population, whether they are girls or women.

It is time that local and national movements – and international initiatives – become mutually reinforcing and strengthening. We need to work together to ensure that local initiatives and movements do have an impact. Because local pressure as well as international pressure can force governments to change. To make sure that state social policy and the weight of state social policy is put behind laws – so that these laws have impact.

The work for the defence of human rights must prioritise the welfare and the protection of the girl child.

Governments have the duty to protect. At the same time, civil society also has the duty to promote and defend human rights.

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The Elders were impressed that men in nearby Ambo Meske village were willing to discuss gender equality. Many men have taken part in courses that raise issues such as family care, non-violence, alcohol abuse and sharing domestic duties.

"Let’s not feed Islamophobic bigotry... The great divide is not between faiths, but one between intolerant zealots of any tradition and the large numbers of decent, peaceful believers likewise found in each tradition." Nicholas Kristof

Cultural diversity is a driving force of development... an asset that is indispensable for poverty reduction and the achievement of sustainable development:  Do One Thing For Diversity and Inclusion a facebook page

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http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/09/opinion/nicholas-kristof-the-diversity-of-islam.html?ref=opinion

The Diversity of Islam

by Nicholas Kristof

A few days ago, I was on a panel on Bill Maher’s television show on HBO that became a religious war.

Whether or not Islam itself inspires conflict, debates about it certainly do. Our conversation degenerated into something close to a shouting match and went viral on the web. Maher and a guest, Sam Harris, argued that Islam is dangerous yet gets a pass from politically correct liberals, while the actor Ben Affleck denounced their comments as “gross” and “racist.” I sided with Affleck.

After the show ended, we panelists continued to wrangle on the topic for another hour with the cameras off. Maher ignited a debate that is rippling onward, so let me offer three points of nuance.

First, historically, Islam was not particularly intolerant, and it initially elevated the status of women. Anybody looking at the history even of the 20th century would not single out Islam as the bloodthirsty religion; it was Christian/Nazi/Communist Europe and Buddhist/Taoist/Hindu/atheist Asia that set records for mass slaughter.

Likewise, it is true that the Quran has passages hailing violence, but so does the Bible... READ MORE

REZA ASLAN: "No religion exists in a vacuum. On the contrary, every faith is rooted in the soil in which it is planted. It is a fallacy to believe that people of faith derive their values primarily from their Scriptures. The opposite is true. People of faith insert their values into their Scriptures, reading them through the lens of their own cultural, ethnic, nationalistic and even political perspectives." 

Palestine adopts UN human rights treaties, becoming a formal party to five global treaties banning torture and racial discrimination, and protecting the rights of women, children and the disabled

(MaanImages/file)

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http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=694530
03/05/2014

GENEVA (AFP) -- Palestine on Friday became a formal party to five global treaties banning torture and racial discrimination, and protecting the rights of women, children and the disabled, the UN said.

Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN human rights office, told reporters that the move followed the Palestinians' April 2 declaration to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that they were adopting the treaties.

In addition, Palestine will on May 7 become party to an accord protecting children in conflict zones -- which is an optional part of the overall child rights treaty -- and on July 2 it will adopt two agreements governing civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.

"This accession to seven core human rights treaties and a key protocol is a significant step towards enhancing the promotion and protection of human rights in Palestine," Coville told reporters.

"It is notable in a region with a high number of reservations to human rights treaties, that Palestine is acceding to eight human rights treaties without making a single reservation," he added.

In the face of fierce Israeli opposition, Palestine won observer status at the United Nations in November 2012, opening the way for it to adopt a host of international accords.

The PLO had pledged to freeze all moves to seek membership in UN organizations and international conventions during peace the talks in return for Israel's release of veteran Palestinian prisoners.

In addition to the UN treaties, the PLO has also signed up formally to the Geneva Conventions, which set down the rules of warfare and humanitarian operations in conflict zones.

The PLO also submitted requests to the United Nations to adopt accords including the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, and an anti-corruption agreement.

Jerusalem life: 'Are you aware? Women should not be strolling outdoors'

Flyers cast off a balcony during a large funeral gathering in Jerusalem give this reporter a crash course in modesty, at least by one fringe group's standards.

By Christa Case Bryant, Staff writer / October 11, 2013 

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http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/Olive-Press/2013/1011/Jerusalem-life-Are-you-aware-Women-should-not-be-strolling-outdoors 

 Jerusalem

People often ask me what it’s like to be a female reporter in the Middle East, expressing concern about the rise of sexual harassment on Cairo’s street or extremist attitudes toward women.

Overall it’s fine, I tell them.

But this week I had an interesting experience in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Geula, where 850,000 people – 1 in 8 Israelis – gathered for the funeral procession of the ultra-Orthodox Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, widely seen as one of the greatest Torah scholars of his generation.

As I was interviewing a secular Jewish man off to the side of a street, a flurry of flyers rained down from a balcony above us.

“ARE YOU AWARE?” the flyer asked, one side printed in English and the other in Hebrew.

“Separating oneself and maintaining distance between men and women is the basis for tznius [modesty],” it said, referencing a passage from Shulchan Aruch, a 16th century compilation that Rabbi Yosef and others have held up as the basis of all Jewish rabbinical law.

But few today would endorse the conclusions that followed this statement on the flyer:

“Thus:

•       When men are in the street, a woman should go off to the side.
•       A woman should not raise her voice whe[n] men are around....READ MORE

Dozens of flyers like this one were thrown over a busy street during the funeral procession for Rabbi Ovadia Yosef in Jerusalem's Geula neighborhood this week. Christa Case Bryant/TCSM

Helen Thomas, Barrier-Busting White House Reporter, Is Dead at 92

Pioneering journalist Helen Thomas dies at 92

April 25, 1988: White House correspondent Helen Thomas (2nd L) takes notes as former U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson faces reporters during a news conference in the White House Oval Office. Source: REUTERS

Helen Thomas, Barrier-Busting White House Reporter, Is Dead at 92

Blunt Chronicler of Presidents From Kennedy Era to Obama 

Thomas was also the first woman to be elected an officer of the White House Correspondents’ Association and the first to serve as its president. In 1975, she became the first woman elected to the Gridiron Club, which for 90 years had been a men-only bastion of Washington journalists.

Ms. Thomas’s career bridged two eras, beginning during World War II when people got their news mostly from radio, newspapers and movie newsreels, and extending into the era of 24-hour information on cable television and the Internet. Photo Credit: Doug Mills/The New York Times

I AM MALALA ...infinite hope... #Malaladay

1. I Am Malala (Official Music Video)

2. Video of Malala Yousafzai at U.N. Calling on World Leaders to Provide Education to Every Child

Ms. Yousafzai stressed in her speech that it was “not my day” but “the day of every woman, every boy and girl who have raised their voices for their rights.”

“Thousands of people have been killed by the terrorists and millions have been injured,” she said. “I am just one of them. So here I stand, one girl among many. I speak not for myself but for those without voice.”...READ MORE

Hussein Ibish: Muslim Brotherhood Attack on Women's Rights Just the Start

https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/commentaryanalysis/brotherhoods-assault-of-womens-rights-is-just-the-start
Brotherhood’s attack on women bodes ill

No more illusions. No further evasions. Tolerate not a single additional apologetic explanation. Admit no further concessions to a false moral and cultural relativism. The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood has now fully exposed itself as what many of us have been trying to explain it is: paranoid, chauvinistic, reactionary, retrograde, and, above all, misogynistic.

The Brotherhood has reminded us, in a bizarre rant against the UN Commission on the Status of Women, that Islamism in practice invariably prioritizes misogyny (and homophobia). But this is merely the vanguard of a much broader set of intended and inevitable repressions against minorities, individuals and, eventually, all opposition.

Islamism doesn't have the intellectual depth of a systematic political ideology. It has no specific economic theory or program beyond mercantilism, with some (apparently malleable) suspicions about interest. It doesn't have an analysis of class or other key social structures. Its ‘theory’ of the relationship of the individual and society simply empowers those claiming religious authority and ‘authenticity’. It has no distinctive defense strategy, foreign policy, developmental program, or anything like that.

Instead, it boils down to a set of extremely reactionary social attitudes that don't have any real implications for such key issues of governance.

 

The Muslim Brotherhood was formed in the 1920s in order to exploit and manipulate religious sentiment to seize political power. They seek to use that power to ‘Islamize’ Egypt and other Arab societies along ultraconservative lines that purport to be ‘traditional’ but are often in fact modern innovations or new interpretations of past practices....READ MORE

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Bethlehem 2012 Christmas in Palestine

Christian worshipers visits the Church of Nativity, traditionally believed by Christians to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, ahead of Christmas, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Friday, Dec. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi)

In this photo taken on Monday, Dec 17, 2012, Bethlehem’s first female mayor, Vera Baboun tours near the Church of Nativity, traditionally believed by Christians to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West bank city of Bethlehem. Bethlehem’s first female mayor, Vera Baboun, can’t walk through the main square of the biblical town without being stopped by admirers. “This is our new mayor, who is turning Bethlehem into one of the greatest cities in the world,” a tour guide hollered to a group of Christian tourists passing by the Church of the Nativity, built over the grotto where tradition says Jesus was born. After seven years of Islamist Hamas control of Bethlehem that drained the town of international aid funds, Baboun, a Christian, and her colleagues from the more moderate Fatah Party hope to turn things around, starting with the Christmas season. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

A Palestinian vendor pushes a cart in front of a Christmas tree as he sells corn at Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank town of Bethlehem December 16, 2012. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: RELIGION FOOD)

 

People watch fireworks explode after the lighting of the Christmas tree outside the Church of Nativity in the West Bank town of Bethlehem December 15, 2012. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: RELIGION)

A Palestinian wood carver works on a figurine of the baby Jesus in an olive wood factory in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, ahead of Christmas, Friday, Dec. 21, 2012. (AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi)

A worshipper lights a candle in the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank town of Bethlehem December 20, 2012. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: RELIGION)

Bethlehem's new female mayor gears up for Christmas 

 ****

Tens of thousands of pilgrims and tourists are expected to visit Bethlehem in the West Bank over Christmas. Photograph: Musa Al-Shaer/AFP/Getty Image

 

"OK, we are living in a big prison, but we still hope that things will change."

Bethlehem is "a symbol of hope and peace" to the world, said Rishmawi. However, he added: "Hotels in Bethlehem will be full at Christmas, but we need families to come here all the year round, to walk in our streets and eat in our restaurants."

No room at the inn – but Bethlehem's popularity is a boon for Palestinians

More visitors and statehood recognition raises hopes for tourism industry in West Bank city, which is largely controlled by Israel.

When a rose is not a rose is not a rose is not a rose.....

Amal Amireh  "Remember when the salafis of Egypt used a rose instead of their women's candidate photo in their election posters?  Well, now some Palestinian groups are doing the same. 
Do you know what is really sad and disturbing about this poster? It is not the salafis who are doing it; it is the secular leftists!!! This is not new: wedding invitations in some places don't even print the bride's name. And please don't tell me this is in a rural area where leftists had to respect "customs and traditions" or they lose credibility. These are all "new" customs and traditions that have been spreading unchallenged by either the feminists or male secularists. Happy now?"

Amal Amireh is an Associate Professor of postcolonial literature at George Mason University/Fairfax. She was born and raised in El Bireh, Palestine.

New 'wall museum' tells women's stories

A "wall museum" displays stories told by Palestinian women, on Israel's separation barrier in Bethlehem (MaanImages/Jenny Baboun)

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=447156
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BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- A unique museum has been set up on the path of Israel's wall, which snakes through the West Bank city of Bethlehem.

An initiative of the Sumud Story House, it is designed to communicate Palestinian women’s stories about the "truth of Palestinian life which the wall tries to hide and kill," a statement said.

Each panel contains a story that was either written or chosen by Palestinian women’s groups who convene at the Sumud Story House.

During Christmas, 25 posters are being attached to the wall on the northern side of Rachel’s Tomb. Through individual sponsorship, the museum will gradually expand.

The Sumud Story House is part of the Arab Educational Institute in Bethlehem.

Protecting rights of minorities, women

"Evidence of the need for minority protection in the Middle East is already coming thick and fast: This month – eight months after the Arab Spring – 27 Coptic Christians were killed when Egyptian tanks rolled into a crowd of protesters. Yet there is little accountability in Cairo for the massacre of peaceful protesters, part of which was caught on YouTube.

Politically, there is agreement in Tunis and Cairo and elsewhere on "democracy." Yet this is mainly about voting and elections; conceptual rifts are deepening. Will states adopt a simple democratic "majority rule" system, or one that builds in rights that protect minorities ahead of time, a "national consensus" model?

Basic questions are unanswered: Will women be allowed positions of leadership? Will full participation by non-Muslims in politics, public office, and courts be assured? In states like Syria, with a plethora of minority groups and intra-Muslim divides, if change comes, will all Islamic family members receive full rights?"

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2011/1028/Does-the-Arab-spring-need-a-bill-of-rights

Does the Arab spring need a bill of rights?

The hefty victory of an Islamist party in Tunisia's election kicks off a year of constitution writing. Urgently needed now is a bill of rights to guarantee freedom for all, regardless of creed or politics.

By Robert Marquand, Staff writer / October 28, 2011

Keeping the "Arab Spring" from becoming a winter of discontent.

"To protect the rights of minorities, women and individuals from the excesses of a potential Islamist-dominated or -brokered Egyptian parliament with broad powers on domestic issues, the other two centers of power – the military and the presidency – will also have to play the role of watchdog, drawing red lines around a parliamentary majority that begins to exhibit extremist tendencies. It is therefore essential that the emerging Egyptian constitution and system allow for the full participation of such religious parties, but not their use of possible legislative powers to abuse or oppress vulnerable groups.

The broader Arab world could not have higher stakes in Egypt’s ability to develop a functional power-sharing system that includes the division of authority, the participation of all peaceful parties including reactionary religious ones, and the protection of the rights of individuals, minorities and women. Egypt’s influence on the political direction of much of the rest of the Arab world will be enormous, if not decisive. If the Egyptian experiment disintegrates into chaos, direct or indirect protracted military rule, or the emergence of a tyrannous Islamist parliamentary majority, the “Arab Spring” will have well and truly become a winter of discontent." Hussein Ibish

An outline of the coming Egyptian power-sharing arrangement