Empowering Women Leaders to Advocate for Women’s Rights in the Buffer Zone Areas in Gaza Strip

The proposed project is a three year project that is to be implemented in the following six buffer zone (B/Z) areas in the Gaza strip: Khuza’a and Al Shuka in the South, Juhor Al Deek, Heker Al Jame’e and Al Mughraka in the Middle, and Biet Hanoun neighbourhood in the North of the Gaza Strip. The project will be implemented in the B/Z because of the disadvantages women face in these areas. Women do not have access to services such as literacy centers, there are no secondary schools for girls and women do not have enough knowledge of their rights with regards to family law or their social, economic and political rights. The aim of the project is to empower rural women and raise community awareness of women’s rights through sensitizing the society towards gender issues and narrowing the gap between women and men. The project will include empowerment, awareness raising activities, training, advocacy and utilization, and local committee’s initiatives to support women’s rights and issues. 120 women will be selected from the six locations to be trained in gender equality issues and women`s rights. The participants will be trained to be advocates for women`s rights in their local communities and to implement local initiatives to enhance women’s position in the public sphere.