«Electoral Issues», final episode: women's role and support for elections

The media figure and researcher in gender issues Hedaya Shamoun affirmed the existence of a direct relationship between women's work in decision-making positions and the amendment of the law to improve its responsiveness and the defence of the rights of girls and women in all fields.

This came during the final episode, titled “The feminist role in supporting the elections”, of the programme “Electoral Issues”, broadcast on the local Zaman radio within the project “Strengthening civil society's role in supporting the Palestinian elections”, implemented by Pal-Think for Strategic Studies with funding from the Government of Canada, to empower the role of society and youth and strengthen their political and communal participation in order to support the elections.

She said: “We are all sorrowful toward the crimes that happen against women and children, and the principle of violence is rejected wholly and in detail. It is important to affirm that women's right to life is more important than their right to political participation, and it is a great battle extending since old times.”

She pointed out that talk of women's political participation in the elections must be a permanent matter, and not tied only to the electoral process.

Shamoun added: “The elections are the sole solution for all the problems, such as the Israeli assaults, the blockade, and the division.

We Palestinians are the most entitled to hold elections, and we look forward to what comes after the elections, because there are whole generations that have not practised their right to vote.”

She described the Palestinian scene as “very complicated, and there are very enormous losses as a result of the latest Israeli assault on Gaza” — pointing to the absence of any clear channel or means to improve the living situation in the Strip: “therefore we cannot consider the elections a luxury, and all of us suffer from frustration because of the standing reality”.

Violence against women and the elections

The media figure said: “The abused women in Gaza need protection, but there must exist laws set by the Legislative Council. For example: the family-protection law protects women, but the rights and women's institutions could not impose this law, because the Palestinian legal system is a traditional system. If we want to speak of an actual presence of women in decision-making centres, it must happen through official channels such as the elections, to amend and enact laws that protect women — because they are the most understanding of their needs.”

She affirmed the necessity of raising men's awareness of women's rights so that they defend them, adding: “If we do not demand women's rights, we will shift to life under the law of the jungle.”

She added: “We must continue defending women's rights, despite all the standing circumstances, and we always believe there is hope.

Many women suffer in Gaza because of customs and traditions and some laws that limit their freedom, such as the travel laws.”

Social media sites, a means against women

According to Shamoun, social media sites created a new reality, and much of the published content is against women; some likewise used them as a means to pass rumours in the incidents of the killing of women and to justify their killing — although the original purpose is that those sites be used to limit the violence against them.

She continued: “The women's and rights institutions play an important role in raising women's awareness, because awareness is very important for change. There are many women who do not know where to turn if deprived of their inheritance or their rights, or if subjected to violence. And if women know their rights, they can resort to the specialised institutions more quickly and easily. It is very important for women not to keep silent over their rights, and to resort to the specialised institutions for their protection.”

The media figure made clear that the media plays an essential role in limiting the cases of violence against women, through focusing light on the roles of the rights and women's institutions in supporting and empowering them during the electoral process — since woman is equal to man and has multiple roles.

She affirmed that half-solutions are of no avail with the issue of violence against women.

Shamoun said: “Whether the elections are held now or later, women's issues must be placed for discussion and solution in a true manner, and light must be shed on their issues. And I say to the new generations that the woman is not a follower but a partner, and she must be a partner from the beginning, especially in marriage.”

She set out that the foundation of the solution is the deep and true understanding of women's issues to improve the response to them — a matter that needs long institutional work.

The gender researcher stressed that material independence is very important for women, as many of the feminist models pointed to with pride are materially independent and rely on themselves.

She concluded by saying: “I would have hoped that the women candidates for the Legislative Council would discuss women's issues in depth, and not for the media only.”