Gender defenders call for promoting women and youth participation

A joint-seminar on women's political participation in Palestine was organized on April 22, 2017 by the Deanship of Student Affairs at Birzeit University and the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy.

 The seminar is part of a project to improve women's political participation in the local governance through achieving gender equality.

The Coordinator of the Initiative Wafaa Ghazawneh said that the initiative contributes in building a democratic state through enhancing the global awareness about the urgent need of improving the capabilities of the Palestinian institutions, especially for empowering women's and youth participation in the political arena.

Lawyer and Head of the gender advocacy group in Jerusalem Abdel Aziz Ghazawneh talked about the mission of this focused group that aim at achieving effective citizenship through dialogue and a society based on gender equality and justice.

"Youth and women are important elements in the planning and the success of the development projects. A special focus must be paid to them in order to activate their role effectively."

The workshop included a movie screening on the political participation of women in local governance. The movie focused on real experiences of local committees' members and the obstacles they face within their jobs.