Duha Shellah, 26 years old, is a Palestinian young doctor and medical journalist. She is the founder & CEO of the Researchist, a research community working to increase youth and women’s representation in research and science. In 2022, Duha was recognized as one of the world’s 21 outstanding young physicians by the Inter-Academy Partnership in Berlin, Germany. She is also an Eastern Mediterranean Region Delegate at World Federation of Public Health Associations (Young Council). Additionally, Duha is a coordinator at the Medical & Health Sciences division of the Palestine Academy for Science and Technology. Among other things, Duha is the Student Editor-in-Chief and Ambassador at the International Journal of Medical Students.

Female inmates in the correction and rehabilitation centres of the West Bank are battling with their mental health due to the lack of strong family and community ties and the harsh realities of violence they have faced. To address these challenges, the Ministry of Social Development (MoSD) organized a specialized training programme for counsellors, with the support of the Sawasya Programme through UN Women Palestine.

Huthayfa Shbair, 26, is a Palestinian lawyer whose upbringing instilled in him great respect for the legal profession. Huthayfa was drawn to defend human rights and fight injustice. However, his path to becoming a human rights defender was not without its challenges. Growing up in a culture that frowned upon interactions with women had limited his exposure to gender-related issues.

After taking part in UN Women’s Regional Men and Women for Gender Equality Programme, men and boys have become change makers to promote gender equality and challenge the tradition of early marriage.

UN Women and Musawah organised a meeting with Palestinian sharia judges and international experts to discuss new directions in Islamic legal thought and opportunities to respond to needs of women in the Shari'a courts. In Palestine, the Shari’a court deals with family matters which have significant and disproportionate impacts on women’s lives.

The newly adopted Palestinian police gender strategy - also the first of its kind in the Arab States - tackles the issues of recruitment and retention of women in the police force. Beyond words on paper, read what it means in practice for women and men in the police.

The Palestinian Civil Police officially launched its 5-year gender strategy - the first of its kind in the Arab States and in the Palestinian security sector. Supported by UN Women the strategy is the culmination of the past years' efforts of the Palestinian police to promote gender equality in the police and its services.

How to attract and retain women was at the centre of the discussions of the workshop for the development of the PCP gender strategy beginning of November. With 300 females in its rank out of a total of 8,000 staff, representation of women in the police force continues to remain low and far below international average.