Zahra Ahmed, 38, lives with a physical disability, and suffers from diabetes, pituitary tumours, and bowel cancer. She is a refugee living at Al Shatee refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. She had to drop out of school when her parents died. Zahra was among the women who received cash assistance and cash for work opportunity. She worked as an office helper at the Palestinian General Union of People with Disabilities from December 2021 to March 2022. These services were also paired with skill development trainings and gender-based violence (GBV) protection services including legal counselling, awareness-raising sessions, and psychosocial support; all provided by UN Women through the generous funding from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).

Ramallah - In commemorating International Women’s Day, Palestine Exchange (PEX), in partnership with UN Women, the Palestine Capital Market Authority (PCMA) and the International Finance Cooperation (IFC), organized the Ring the Bell event for Gender Equality for the fifth time in Palestine.

Health care employees provide survivors of violence with the highest quality health care services necessary to care and support them on their road to escaping the cycle of violence, in partnership with the Ministry of Health and UNODC through the HAYA Joint Programme.

On 2 March 2023, on the occasion of the visit of Her Excellency the former President of Finland Tarja Halonen, the Representative Office of Finland to Palestine and UN Women Palestine Country Office held a roundtable on “New paradigms for new realities: promoting an intergenerational and feminist peacebuilding perspective in Palestine”. The event took place in close-door format under Chatham House rules.

Vitas Palestine launched its strategic plan to implement the WEPs, at Vitas Palestine's headquarters in Ramallah, represented by Mr. Alaa Sisalem, CEO of Vitas Palestine and Ms. Maryse Guimond, UN Women Special Representative.

Samar Al Shaer, 40, is living with a joint disability and has metal plates inserted in her leg. She is from Hableh, a rural area in Qalqiliya, the West Bank. Al Shaer is a divorced mother of three children, and she is their only breadwinner.

The Youth Gender Innovation Agora members provide expertise on youth and gender issues, design innovative solutions and campaigns, encourage the mobilization of young people and facilitate the dissemination of information to networks and organizations around the region.

The Women’s Peace & Humanitarian Fund (WPHF) has launched a Call for Proposals in Palestine to support civil society organizations working to enhance meaningful participation and decision-making of women in conflict prevention processes.

As of today, and under this year’s theme of ‘Protection is a Path not a Slogan’, local and international partners in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza launched the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Campaign in Palestine. Along with raising awareness on violence against women and girls, the campaign calls for action and advocacy both locally and globally for the elimination and prevention of violence through knowledge exchange and innovation.

On 16 and 17 November, UN Women Palestine held its annual Open Day on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), in partnership with the General Union of Palestinian Women (GUPW), and with generous funding from the Government of Norway. The Open Day dialogue brought together women and youth leaders from leading civil society and feminist organizations- in the West Bank including from East Jerusalem and Gaza- with United Nations representatives, member states and international organizations, as well as international distinguished speakers and Palestinian women from the diaspora.

Asma’ Sweirky, a 29-year-old entrepreneur from Gaza, holds a master’s degree in Chemistry, and the founder and owner of “Asala for vinegar products”. She employs a number of women, who are the main breadwinners of their families, and who come from low-income background, widows, divorced and survivors of violence.

Journalists and media university graduates in the West Bank follow gender standards for language and content in media reporting, after participating in training by UNODC through the HAYA Joint Programme, funded by the Government of Canada.

One father’s story of transformation as he becomes a role model and leader in his community, after participating in awareness raising activities by the Sharek Youth Forum with UN Women through the HAYA Joint Programme, funded by the Government of Canada.

With the aim of raising awareness on the essential services package available to support victims and survivors of gender-based violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the HAYA Joint Programme launched the new media campaign “Our Services” at the end of June 2022.

Zainab Al-Qolaq, a fine art artist, was a 22-year-old university student of English literature when she lost 22 members of her family, including her mother and three of her siblings, in an Israeli airstrike on her home in Gaza City. Through a series of paintings, she made afterward, Zainab tells her story and the moments she lived.

In April 2022, the Government of Japan granted UN Women Palestine one million dollars for a one-year project to support women and girls in Gaza. The project attributes a special focus on supporting the resilience of women and girls affected by the May 2021 Escalation/Conflict in Gaza. Over 53 thousand beneficiaries are expected to benefit from this project, directly and in directly, in the span of a 12-month cycle.

UN Women Palestine, alongside the State of Palestine represented by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, the Government of Norway, and the United Nations Development Programme, co-sponsored a virtual side-event at the Sixty-Sixth Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW66) entitled “Climate Change in the Framework of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda (WPS) in the State of Palestine”. The event was organized in partnership with the General Union of Palestinian Women (GUPW).

To mark the International Women’s Day (IWD), Palestine Exchange (PEX), in partnership with UN Women, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Palestinian Capital Market Authority (PCMA), organized the “Ring the Bell for Gender Equality” virtual ceremony for the fourth time in Palestine, within the IWD theme “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow”, with a high level and wide range participation of national stakeholders.

Women survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) are empowered through violence awareness and survivor sessions by PWWSD in partnership with UN Women through the HAYA Joint Programme.

Thanks to the HAYA Joint Programme both students and parents had a chance to familiarize themselves with concepts of gender equality to prevent and respond to gender-based violence (GBV). Teachers and school counsellors say that they have a better understanding of how to prevent and respond to violence in their schools due to interventions carried out through the joint programme, in partnership with UNFPA, the Ministry of Education and NGO Juzoor for Social Health and Development.