"Dorek": Palestinian women's political renaissance

Kayan staff has been reviewing and reflecting on our past experience of promoting women in politics and are getting ready to launch our next phase. We completed an external evaluation of the first phase of the project. The evaluation found that the project had a “very good” impact. It found that the project succeeded in, “changing the discourse regarding women participation in politics, challenging men political hegemony, and allowing a new discourse to flourish,” and also stated that, “The project had changed the attitudes and beliefs of women involved towards the way they perceive themselves in politics and their role within the council.” The evaluation confirms, from an outside perspective, that this project was successful in creating real change.

The evaluation and the reflection on the project also helped us to identify the next steps for the project. The next stage has two major components: supporting women to be effective leaders in the council and training youth to challenge social norms about women’s leadership.

We believe that it is important to work with youth because they are the next voters and are the most likely to be able to change their perspectives by challenging social norms. The evaluator also pointed out that youth are also harmed by the local councils’ incompetence and suggested that we pursue working with youth as a next step. Kayan staff is currently working to develop a curriculum to bring to schools in order to change student perspectives.

We continue to provide support to women who are serving on councils and those around them. We noticed in the first part of our project, however, that we did not always have all the right information in order to support the women. We found ourselves asking questions like, “what makes a successful woman candidate?” and “How can we support women through the unique challenges they face on local council?” We are starting to learn how to answer these questions by studying and documenting the experiences of current women councilors. We are starting a process of research planning, interviews, and writing. This project will be focused forward towards supporting women to be in the strongest possible position as local councilors and to advise women who are interested in becoming candidates.

We are also starting to partner with other Arab organizations that are working on women’s involvement in politics. We are sharing our experiences and resources so that we can all work together to support these women and build strong, independent leadership for a healthier Palestinian society.

If you share our excitement about these next steps, consider increasing your support for Kayan. Together, we can build a stronger Palestinian society based on a vibrant and diverse grassroots advocacy. Stand with us to realize this future.