On the occasion of the International Woman’s Day

(Witness): The Palestinian Woman being a major partner in facing the challenges, calling for necessary protection

          The Palestinian woman, bearing the concerns of the Palestinian community, has proven her ability to withstand and overcome all the crises that have hit the refugees in Lebanon; including wars, asylum, and economic crises, remaining till this day hostage to these circumstances. She has struggled from various kinds of sufferings rendering her to be the steadfast source of giving and balance beside the Palestinian man in the countries of asylum.

        The population in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in the mid of 2021 has reach 5.23 million, among which 2.66 million are males (51%) and 2.57 million are females (49%). The American "Time" magazine included the two young Palestinians, Muhammad and Mona Al-Kurd, who are both 23 years old, among the 100 most influential people in the world for the year 2021, in a list that included many celebrities, actors, pioneers and politicians from around the world. [1]

      The statistics of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territory indicate the killing of 253 people in Gaza as a result of the Israeli aggression (149 men, 38 women, 43 boys and 23 girls),  about 2,000 wounded (940 men, 398 women and 610 children), damage of 58 educational facilities, 28 health buildings, and partial or complete destruction of more than 1,800 residential and commercial units.

        Palestinian women were evidently present in the Palestinian daily scene at various levels, whether social, economic and political, and dated the beginning of their participation in political work in 1929, and since that time, women have faced the occupation in an open battle, despite the rise of a number of them among martyrs and captives and mothers of prisoners and martyrs.

      As well, there are thirty-four women imprisoned in the Israeli jails, among which eight mothers and seven wounded and diseased, are exposed to violation of their rights, and this contradicts the Convention against Torture that prohibits the inhuman and degrading treatment.

    In Lebanon, in the camps where living is at its minimal conditions with an environment that lacks the convenient health status as well as the necessary services, the Palestinian refugees, specifically women, endure the worst economic, social, and living situation where even the human basic needs are not fulfilled. Not to mention the disenfranchisement of the civil, economic, and social rights because of the Lebanese law that is applied on the Palestinian women considering them refugees on the Lebanese territory.

        In 2021, the working Palestinian women in Lebanon have played a prominent role in the social, educational, and health aspect during Corona pandemic, as they demonstrated a high ability in dealing with the challenges that hit the education sector which mandated the online learning. The same great efforts were observed in the medical field, particularly the nursing sector where the Palestinian woman proved her power in handling the health crisis.

    The challenges that the Palestinian women faced in 2021:

·       Women have faced complex challenges in 2021, as a result of the repercussions of the spread of the Corona epidemic, in addition to the great burdens that the mother had borne because of the distance learning mechanism and the closure of schools, as well as the stifling economic crisis and the living and health problems it carried.

·       Most mothers faced difficult living conditions, especially in adapting to the limited incomes in light of the current economic crisis in Lebanon, the collapse of the Lebanese currency, the limited purchasing power to the basic needs of the family, and the inability to meet all the requirements of children.

·       The Palestinian woman in Lebanon suffers from the lack of legal identity, as well as the right to work and ownership.

We in the Palestinian Association for Human Rights (witness), as we congratulate the women in the world in general and the Palestinian woman in particular, we support the rights of Palestinian women in all fields and in all places of their presence and we call for the following:

1.     Establishment of international committees that monitor the Israeli violations against women and children in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

2.     Implementation the international conventions in this regard especially those that are in account with women’s rights.

3.     Respect for the rules of international law and the protection of special groups, especially women.

4.     Additional support from the international community to the UNRWA to facilitate the process of providing services for Palestinian refugees.

5.     Eviction of civilians from armed conflict regions and avoid harming women and children.

6.     Provision of protection for the women by the countries hosting refugees and giving them their rights according to international laws.