Pal-Think continues its awareness meetings on democracy and human rights

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, Pal-Think continues carrying out its awareness meetings focusing on the issues of democracy and human rights, targeting society's different groups, especially the youth category, and making them aware of the topics and issues that face them especially and face society generally. The meetings are carried out by a team of trained youth who took part in the project's different activities and received intensive training at the project's start on these topics and the mechanism of passing culture and knowledge to the rest of society's members.

The first meeting was titled “Gender and the roles gap”, in cooperation with the Khatwa Association for Development and Community Advancement in the northern governorate. The trainees Hadeel Zaqout and Sawsan al-Ajouri took up the fundamental definitions of the concept of gender and gender roles, and the measurement of the extent of the roles gap between the sexes. Discussion ran with the attendees — university graduates of different specialisations — around these axes, in addition to discussing gender from the legal side and acquaintance with the international treaties and covenants concerned with women and gender, foremost the CEDAW convention, taking up its content and discussing it from the youth's perspective.

As for the second meeting, in cooperation with the Wefaq Association for Woman and Child Care, it was led by the trainees Ahed Abdallah, Zainab al-Az'ar, and Amir Hasanein on the topic of “Gender justice”, with the attendance of a group of women and activists of civil society. The meeting took up the concept of gender justice and gender-based violence, making clear the importance of gender justice and equality and their effect on women in Palestinian society. The lecturers likewise reviewed the obstacles and challenges facing Palestinian society in preventing violence against women, and the mechanisms of facing it. Discussion ran with the attendees on the most important roles women can perform to face violence and the challenges that impede their progress and to prove their participation in society.

The trainees expressed their satisfaction with the level they have reached in their capacity to lead such meetings and their successful efforts in sharing knowledge and culture with society's different groups.

It is recalled that the project's activities also comprise a series of radio episodes and lobbying and advocacy campaigns, in addition to accountability sessions and debates, in order to contribute to finding a generation of youth that believes in the issues of democracy and human rights and works to spread and strengthen them in society.

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