Sunday, 16 September 2012

A new group running for municipal elections in Hebron is offering
residents an alternative to politics as usual in the conservative West
Bank city: Women at the helm, instead of men.

The
all-female list, which is called “By Participating, We Can,” is gearing
up for next month’s vote with a campaign that aims both to win
at the polls and to convince voters that women can lead just as well as
men.“

Men here traditionally want their women to stay at home, and when they
allow them to go out to work, they send them to do traditional jobs like
teaching,” said Maysoun Qawasmi, the 43-year-old group leader, who
entered the race this week. “But we want them to go further, to work
like men in all possible jobs they can.”

The group is fielding 11 previously independent candidates for the Oct. 20 vote. Should the bloc
succeed in garnering significant public support, the women hope to
ultimately unite and form an official political party.

But the women are well aware of the challenges they face in conservative
Palestinian society, and the chances of an all-woman ticket performing
well at the polls - for now at least - appear slim.

Qawasmi said the candidates are campaigning door-to-door to attract what
they see as their natural electorate … fellow women. If elected,
Qawasmi promises to open women-only facilities, like a sports club … an
idea that has faced opposition by religiously conservative Muslims in
Hebron who believe it is immodest for women to play sports.

She predicts her group could nab three out of the Hebron council’s 15
seats, and she has ambitious hopes that after the vote, when the council
chooses the mayor, she will be selected for the post.

A journalist for the Palestinian news agency Wafa, Qawasmi also holds
training sessions to empower Palestinian women in the West Bank. She
wears a hijab, or headscarf, but also dons pants and a blouse, and
describes herself as secular.

At a recent meeting at Qawasmi’s Hebron home, the group’s members took
turns sharing their personal stories of success. Liyana Abu Asheh, 28,
said she worked as a civil engineer, stunning locals by helping pave the
streets, and now runs her own private business. Asma Deis, 38 and
recently widowed, said she’s opening a small cleaning materials factory
on her own to support her five children.

“Women can make the impossible possible,” Deis said.

While Qawasmi’s bloc is unique in its composition, women have long been
politically active in Palestinian politics, and some hold office in the
government run by the Palestinian Authority. There are six female
ministers in the 24-member Cabinet of Western-backed Palestinian Prime
Minister Salam Fayyad. In the 132-member Palestinian legislative
council, there are 17 female lawmakers.

But other indicators show that women in Palestinian society have largely
retained traditional roles. Only 16 percent of women in the West Bank
are employed, and in Hebron the number drops to 10 percent. If the
women's bloc were to win seats, it would likely challenge taboos in
Hebron and beyond.


Link to English Version of Article: http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/09/16/238342.html