Ref: 38/2022

Date: 24 November 2022

On Thursday, 24 November 2022, PCHR concluded a training course on “Women’s Rights in International and National Legislations” with the attendance of 24 university students and graduates.  The 20-hour course was held in Gaza City over the course of five consecutive days, from 21 to 24 November 2022.

The training course program tackled different topics: International Bill of Human Rights and its 3 components; the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW); International Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women; Gender-Based Violence (GBV), its forms, reasons and ways to address it; intervention mechanisms and legal protection for women who are victims of violence in addition to the Palestinian legislations and their role in protecting women.

At the end of the course, PCHR organized a closing ceremony, where Mona Shawa, Head of Women’s Rights at PCHR, emphasized that this course aimed at disseminating and promoting human rights concepts in general and women’s rights in particular.  It also aims at raising awareness among young men and women on international and domestic laws relevant to women to enhance their capacities in the advocacy work on women’s issues and empowering them to advocate for women’s rights and combat violence against women and girls, which is considered among the most prevalent human rights violations.  Shawa also highlighted the significant role of youth in promoting values of justice and equality in the society.

For his part, ‘Abdel Halim Abu Samrah, Head of the Training Unit at PCHR, underscored that this course is part of PCHR’s ongoing role to disseminate and promote the concepts of women’s rights among the society.  Abu Samrah reviewed Palestinian women’s conditions on the eve of launching the 16 days of activism campaign to end violence against women and girls and the ongoing Israeli violations and racist measures, including the closure and recurrent aggressions on the Strip and their impact on women.  He added that the Palestinian division and consequent disruption of the Palestinian Legislative Council have hindered having a legal system that guarantees achieving justice and equality for women, girls, and the whole society in addition to the patriarch culture and traditional view of women.  He indicated that all of this combined has always constrained women and will always do, requiring huge efforts from the societal forces to enact Palestinian legislations that ensure criminalization of discrimination and violence and protection of women who are victims of violence.

Abu Samrah called on the participants to transfer what they have learnt in the course to their smaller groups and peers for the benefit of all, urging them not to hesitate contacting PCHR’s staff to benefit from its knowledge and receive advanced training courses in this field.

For their part, the participants emphasized that the course was characterized with its rich topics and trainers’ efficiency as well as various and interactive training methods used in the course, which shed the light on several important topics which enhanced and developed their skills and expanded their knowledge.