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Integrating Gender Criteria in the Work of Local Government Units in the Qalqiliya Governorate

 

Qalqiliya: Saturday, 28 January 2012 – In cooperation with the Ministry of Local Government (MoLG), the Institute of Law (IoL) at Birzeit University launched a specialised training course on Integrating Gender Criteria in the Work of Local Government Units. The training event targets staff members of local government units (LGUs) in the governorate of Qalqiliya.


In his opening remarks, Mr. As’ad Sawalmeh, Director General of the MoLG District Office in Qalqiliya, welcomed the Governor of Qalqiliya, Chairman of the Qalqiliya Municipality, and audience. Highlighting significance of this valuable training course, Mr. Sawalmeh stated that women’s representation throughout the Qalqiliya LGUs was low. He also hoped that this training workshop help promote the role of women in the local government sector.


Brigadier General Rabih al Khandaqji, Governor of Qalqiliya, welcomed the audience and expressed his pleasure for attending this training course. He stated:
The Palestinian people duly acknowledges the significant role Palestinian women have played in the struggle towards liberation, institution building and social development. We believe in the vital role of women not only in theory, but in practice as well. LGU officials will shoulder the burden of enhancing women’s status and role in the public development process.


Brigadier General Al Khandaqji also wished that the training event come up with specific, effective and efficient recommendations that contribute to changing and consolidating the status of women. LGUs should serve as a tool of pressure to redraft relevant regulations, develop clear operational mechanisms, and exercise effective oversight on implementation of these mechanisms.


In the opening ceremony, Mr. ‘Uthman Dawoud, Chairman of the Qalqiliya Municipality, also emphasised importance of this training course, which seeks to promote and integrate gender issues throughout local government functions. Mr. Dawoud stated that LGUs’ broad participation in this course reflects their interest in gender criteria and high quality application. In this context, gender issues are part of parcel of the Development Strategic Plan, which is currently implemented by the Qalqiliya Municipality.


Mr. Hanan Imseih, Director General of the MoLG Gender Unit, explained that the goals of this training course are consistent with the MoLG’s vision of creating a good local government sector that is capable of materialising sustainable development with the participation of both women and men. Mr. Imseih further explained that this “training aims at promoting effective and efficient performance of LGUs, embodying principles of good governance, and consolidating the concepts of integrity and transparency.”. She also expressed her thanks and gratitude to the IoL for its effective contribution to societal issues in general, as well as for the multiple programmes it has launched to support and develop the local government sector in particular.


Representing the IoL, Advocate Mu’in al Barghouthi, Director of the Project, stated that this training course “addresses gender from specialised perspectives that are of interest to LGU staff.” Local government is the most important component of this IoL project. This training course is one of a series of events that have been organised in several governorates in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Advocate Al Barghouthi highlighted recommendations to be concluded by participants in this training workshop, which would be held over of a period of five consecutive days. Recommendations will contribute to developing respective legislation. “At this stage, we need to develop sound legislation and legal identity to serve as a clear terms of reference to protect both human rights and Palestinian citizens. Finally, Advocate Al Barghouthi expressed his thanks to Brigadier General Rabih al Khandaqji, Governor of Qalqiliya, Mr. ‘Uthman Dawoud, Chairman of the Qalqiliya Municipality, Mr. As’ad Sawalmeh, Director General of the MoLG District Office in Qalqiliya.


As part of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on Promoting Gender Equality and Empowering Women in the occupied Palestinian territory, six UN Agencies, namely UNDP/PAPP, UN-Women, ILO, UNESCO, UNFPA and UNRWA, are implementing a Joint Programme funded by the Government of Spain on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment, covering the period 2009-2012. The Program aims to achieve three major Outcomes:


1. Reducing gender based violence and all form of violence against women and the girl child;
2. Increasing the representation of women’s and women’s issues in decision making bodies;
3. Advancing equal opportunities for women’s economic participation, especially women survivors of gender based violence.

With reference to output 1.3 “Capacity to provide refuge, security, and access to justice strengthened” and output 2.2, “Organize training and workshops to raise awareness on gender in local authorities and related NGOs”, UNDP seeks to:

1. Develop specialised curricula and training material and conduct training for judges, lawyers and prosecutors on gender issues and the provision of assistance to victims of violence and gender based violence.
2. Provide gender awareness training to local government staff in 15 districts to develop their capacity on mainstreaming gender in district development planning and service provision.