Occupied Palestinian Territory Sabaya Programme Evaluation Report

Initiated in 2004 in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Sabaya was UNIFEM's (now UN Women's) largest programme in the occupied Palestinian territory, benefiting more than 25,000 Palestinian rural and marginalized women both in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Through the establishment and rehabilitation of women's centres, the four-year programme empowered and protected rural women by developing their skills socially, economically, academically and legally, thereby promoting their participation in decision-making within their communities. It now has become a model for community development.

Conceived as a tool to support the work of development practitioners, the UN Women Sabaya Programme Evaluation Report sets forth lessons learned and key recommendations for the implementation of community-based women's development programming. It aims at promoting community-led initiatives for advancing women's human rights and eliminating gender inequality through the generation of intervention models like Sabaya.

The study was commissioned by UN Women in the oPt and conducted independently by an evaluation team.