Gaza, 24/11/2015--- Press House- Palestine held a conference, titled " Womens Rights of Protection are Everyones Responsibility" with a support from UNESCO- Ramallah on Tuesday on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women which falls on November 25th of each year.
The conference, held in Al-Roots Hotel, western Gaza, was attended by representatives of women and civil society organizations and a group of legal persons in addition to tens of journalists.
The conference was opened with the Palestinian National Anthem first and a speech by UNSESCO after then. Belal Jadallah, the chairman of Press House, gave a speech, mentioning the reasons beyond holding the conference.
Hala Tammous, Communication Officer of UNESCO, said," UNESCO always seeks severely to enhance the capabilities of the youth, trying to create a safe educational spot.
Tamous mentioned that its one of their responsibilities to eliminate the violations against women and ladies using anything possible to achieve that, asserting that discrimination, which generates the ongoing violation, must be ended.
She presented some challenges faced by women especially the Palestinians, showing the negative effects of the violations including stopping the actions taken to end poverty and bring peace and safety.
Tamous added, " combating violence against women is possible, thats why we are seeking to achieve it, pointing out that 70 % of women all around the world are exposed to violence during their lives.
In Press House speech, Jadallah said, " This conference was organized intentionally on this important occasion to highlight the suffering of women, empowering our belief of the importance of media in highlighting the society issues, especially the violations and violence exposed to the Palestinian women as a different case from all the women in the other worlds."
He clarified saying that the image of women in media doesnt reflect what they have accomplished throughout their progress, and the violations that they are exposed to.
Besides, the organizations roles in helping women to have their rights by actions are not covered in media.
By the end of Jadallah speech, he appealed all the local institutions to work hard on combating the violence against women and boosting their participation in the society in generally and in the institutions particularly, asking the international community and the whole human rights organizations to obligate Israel to stop its continuing crimes against the Palestinians women without being held responsible for anything.
At the end of the opening session, a TV report, prepared and directed by Press House, was displayed about the suffering of women, who lost their houses during the last war in Gaza.
In the second session led by Mariam Shaqora, the director of Woman Health Center, Donia Ismail presented a topic about the reality of women after 2014 war, Then what? At the end of her speech, Ismail presented a pile of recommendations, showing some characteristics of the Gazan Woman throughout their problems faced by them after the third war.
Meanwhile, Saber AlNaireb presented in the second worksheet of the session " the available strategies of the international protection" Nairen opened his speech, saying " The world is the basic element in the vision of human rights, which are supposed to be available for the public.
Theres a big difference between the reailty and the vision though." He explained that in December 1993, the United Nation General Assembly adopted the universal declaration of eliminating the violence against women, asserting that its one of the critical issues of human right field. The second session led by Neda Mdoukh, was opened by displaying a TV report prepared and directed by Press House about " the international protection to women during conflicts", then to be continued by Samia Al-Zbaidy who presented the third paper about " Media role in tackling womens issues during and after 2014 war".
Al-Zaidy said that about 4500 pregnant had through situations continuously threatened their health and lives, as a result of the ongoing shells and bombs which caused limits to access prenatal care.
She mentioned that there are many challenges that the Palestinian media had been through during their coverage for womens violations during the war, such as the lack of privacy care, bathrooms, protection especially those who got away from the shelling to hospitals, gardens, and schools.
Al-Zbaidy presented by the end of her speech a number of recommendations for media coverage of womens violations during and after the aggression, saying:" Following the professional standards in journalism, which guide to make balance in media coverage, may assure more equitable coverage for womens statuses.
Mohammad Abu-Hashem, law researcher, presented the fourth paper about" the law issues related to women during wars" While presenting his paper, Abu-Hashem said that there are many international standards which must be taken into consideration by the institution when rebuilding, including the special standards of women needs and how to get they involved in planning, implementing process for relief and rebuilding.
He added," As a country signed on human rights conventions, especially SEDAW , Palestine failed in making its promises at the international level towards women" He said," moreover, the Palestinian authority didnt do anything to take these fulfillments into its actions, or even find any strategies to apply them in reality." By the end of his speech, he presented a plenty of recommendation, saying:" There must be a place in the court where inheritance issues of women can be followed up and women make sure that they fully have their rights or remuneration".
The attendees of the conference confirmed that the Israeli Occupation is held responsible for the suffering of women due to its crimes in the last war against tens of women. Such representatives of woman and law institutions asked to boost the gender culture in the Palestinian community, and eliminate all kind of social discrimination especially the violence against women.
In the end, the conference was concluded with a plenty of recommendations:
• Take the professional standards into actions, especially the balance, to afford more equitable media coverage. • Enhance the abilities of journalists and develop their skills of reporting womens issues.
• Enhance Medias role in monitoring and accounting those who are supposed to answer the needs of the society and women.
• Build a good communication between media and the relief institutions, which is considered to be a necessity that enables media to accomplish its services and awareness missions at best.
• Make a special sport in the court to follow up inheritance issues of women, and be in charge of making sure that women fully get their rights and remunerations.
• Get women involved in rebuilding, housing and other relief services from the Palestinians authority or relief institutions in a way womens needs can be quenched.
• Establish a committee of destroyed-houses owners where their 50 % of its members must be females to follow up rebuilding and meet womens needs.
• Make allocations to families of martyrs over the Palestinian authority budget, and give advances for the martyrs and wounded families till the budget is taken into actions.
• Boost the gender culture and eliminate all kinds of discrimination.
• Find the international conventions that protect women and work on bringing them into action.
• Show the violations and crimes committed against women to the international tribunals.
