RAMALLAH, May 18, 2017 (WAFA) – As outgoing local councils members across the West Bank prepare to hand over offices to the new elected councils, the outcome of the May 2017 elections reveal a persisting gender gap in the Palestinian society.
The percentage of women in the new local councils did not exceed %21.1 (%19.8 by vote and %22.4 by acclamation), which is an extremely low figure in comparison to the percentage of men participation of %78.9 (%80.2 by vote and %77.6 by acclamation).
The Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development (PWWSD) said in a press release that political factions did not adhere to demands by feminist voices to ease the gender gap and fight insufficient women representation in local elections.
“We stressed the importance of conducting democratic elections that enable Palestinians, both women and men, to choose their representatives freely and without clan or family pressures.”
PWWSD along with other institutions and organizations that promote women rights called on political factions to ensure that women represent at least 30% of any list running for local elections.
“We were surprised to see that factions did not abide by our demands and men dominated the lists with only 26% of women representation in any given list.”
PWWSD also demanded to place women in advanced positions on electoral lists and involve women in the process of choosing list’s candidates whether men or women.
It said that despite calls, women candidates’ names were often placed at the bottom of lists, guaranteeing that the winners are mostly men.
“This result is a confirmation that the Palestinian society continues to reject civil rights’ concepts, political parties failed to promote the status of Palestinian women and continues to submit to family and clan quarrels, which are often at the expense of women.”
PWWSD held Palestinian decision makers fully responsible for failure to enforce the 30% in hopes of achieving an equal participation later.
“Decision makers are responsible for this decline, especially since Palestine has signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and has produced a Basic Law that stipulates the principle of equality,” it said.
M.H./M.K
