Ramallah – The Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development (PWWSD) organized an open discussion session on Sunday July 24, 2016 at PWWSD’s Ramallah headquarters, titled “women’s right to access justice”. The session was attended by representatives of governmental, non-governmental, women’s, and grassroots institutions, as well as judges and lawyers, in addition to feminist, political, and community leaders.
The session aimed to discuss the problems women face in accessing judicial bodies, and the obstacles preventing them from doing so. In addition to addressing recommendations that minimize these obstacles, and encourage women to access justice.
Her Eminence Sharia Judge, Khulud Al-Faqih addressed women’s access to justice in Sharia judiciary, particularly regarding personal status law, marriage contract, marriage eligibility, divorce, conflict and discord. Al-Faqih noted that personal status law deal with individuals before birth and until their passing. Many texts in the law need to be amended to fit with the needs of everyday life.
Professor of Law, Wafa’ Al-Araj focused on the discriminatory items in personal status law and the penal code, age of marriage, arbitrary divorce, alimony, polygamy, justifications in murder cases, and crimes of physical violence.
Judge, Ola Al-Shareef said that there is an attack by citizens on the judicial system that it does not uphold justice, but the problem lies in outdated laws from the Ottoman era that are still in effect. Al-Shareef noted that laws in general, and personal status and penal laws in particular, need to be rewritten to fit with this day and age. In addition to the citizens’ lack of knowledge of the laws in effect, and individuals’ lack of awareness of the judicial system.
The session presented some real-life examples of women’s cases in Sharia court, and opened the floor for discussion among participants to express their opinions on these issues.
Field Educator, Ne’ma Assaf talked about the social and legal obstacles facing women in reporting domestic and external violence. These obstacles include unfeasibility in seeking justice, social stigma of experiencing violence in society, and potential threat to the lives of women who report family and societal abuse. Assaf added that clinging to customs and traditions is one of the most significant obstacles in accessing the judicial system.
Coordinator, Hana Al-Qaysi focused on gender equality in family, institutions, and newly legislated laws, and emphasized the need for justice, democracy, and gender equality in the State of Palestine. Al-Qaysi added that there needs to be a completely new law that is fair to women, citing the anti-discrimination attitudes found in CEDAW and other international conventions and treaties signed by Palestine, which places obligations on the state to legislate laws based on gender-equality, such as family and penal laws. She said that we need to adopt policies, procedures, and measures that fit within this framework, and to remove any discriminatory laws and procedures, in addition to the state’s role in shifting society’s culture to guarantee lifting women’s social status.
Al-Qaysi added that UNSCR 1325 garnered international recognition by women, and must be utilized as part of our national priorities, in order to raise women’s status on all levels, such as women’s reproductive health, as well as activating women’s role in political participation and decision making in Palestinian society.
The discussion session included recommendations and outcomes, most notably raising women’s awareness of personal status law, particularly customary marriage, delayed dowry, marriage contract conditions, and the need to raise the age of marriage. In addition to cooperating and coordinating between women’s organizations, civil society, and political parties. As well as working on raising the awareness of school and university students, and changing curricula to promote fair judicial systems and laws. In addition to reaching women in marginalized and remote locations, as they face difficulty in accessing justice, as well as guaranteeing women’s rights under cultural customs and traditions, and providing them with protection in court. At the end of the session, women recommended holding more of these beneficial discussion sessions with judges, lawyers, and decision makers, as they serve to raise women’s awareness of their rights, the Palestinian judicial system, and Sharia and conciliation court.
Participant, Asmaa Abu-Rahma said, “This discussion session enriched my knowledge of my rights and how to access and defend them, including women’s agency over their marriage and divorce, and I learned more about my right to alimony.” Another participant, Sireen Naji added “There are a lot of values and rights we didn’t know about, including women’s right to demand their delayed dowry at any time, not just when divorced.”