Students review women’s rights in Palestinian legislation in student affairs session

Birzeit University students, mostly law majors, discussed women’s rights in Palestinian laws in a session organized by the Deanship of Student Affairs on Wednesday, March 6, 2019. 

Led by Amani Aruri, advocacy team leader at Women's Center for Legal Aid and Counselling (WCLAC) − a Palestinian non-governmental organization dedicated to gender equality − the students reviewed laws such as the Personal Status Law, the Penal Code, and the laws that regulate inheritance, considering how they affect Palestinian women. 

This session followed up on a similar workshop, organized in July 2018 by WCLAC and the student affairs deanship, that had introduced students to the rules and regulations that impact the day-to-day lives of Palestinian women.

“The aim of these sessions is to acquaint and familiarize students with their rights and duties as Palestinian citizens,” explained Aruri. “Today, we want to gauge what level of awareness our previous workshop has generated and build on that to reach a greater understanding among youth − the agents of change in our society − of the laws and rules that affect their lives and futures.” 

Amal Deheidel, a psychological counselor at the Deanship of Student Affairs, highlighted the session as one of the many that the deanship organizes for the benefit of the students. “It’s part of our mission to cooperate with civil society institutions on issues that impact on our students,” she added.