Our mission is to contribute to the rectification of the long-standing neglect of women's human rights in Palestinian society. We strive to provide support and guidance to Palestinian women whose human rights and rights under the law have been violated. We defend women's rights as human rights and seek to promote the development of a social, political and legal order in which human rights are well respected and women's rights are well protected.
Inspiration
Over centuries the denial of self-determination has seriously limited the ability of Palestinian women to mobilize institutionally and politically to exercise and protect their fundamental human rights. Having taken note of the difficulties confronting the women's movement during and following struggles for national liberation elsewhere in the world, the founders of theWomen's Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling(WCLAC), resolved to focus their efforts on preventing a similar neglect and erosion of the position of women in Palestinian society as it wages its own struggle for liberation. Further, as Palestinians continue to work toward a just political and economic future, we believe that women, who represent 52 per cent of the population, should be present at the negotiating table.
Hopes and Challenges
Traditional leaders and groups resist the promotion of women's human rights by stressing local cultural specificity and national liberation. This is a condition created out of the fear of globalization, continuous Israeli occupation, and intensive assault. The resistance to these external elements allows for the continued subordination and isolation of women and the women's movement. The WCLAC challenges this tendency and is determined to place the issue of gender equality and women's participation in decision-making at the forefront of the national agenda. The WCLAC hopes for the development of democratic Palestinian social and political institutions that promote human dignity irrespective of creed, race, religion, and gender, that are based on the rule of law."
This is some of what Maha Abu-Dayyeh Shamas, director of the WCLAC had to say about how the center is adapting to the ongoing situation for Palestinians as of January, 2003:
"We have now entered the third year of the Second Palestinian Intifada, a low-level war in which killing under the pretext of rooting out "suspected terrorists" - more recently known as "militants" - have become daily occurrences. When it comes to Palestinian lives, it seems that the Israeli military believes it has a license to kill. Israeli crimes of war are camouflaged under creative terminology, in an attempt to legitimise inhuman acts and to avoid accountability. Stuck in a perpetual game of Russian roulette, our society has dug in our collective heels and tried to go on with life, despite encountering death at every turn and sensing its presence deep within our midst.
For most of us, going on with our lives necessitates daily contact - and hence friction - with Israeli soldiers. Their presence is ubiquitous. Troops circle our towns and neighbourhoods in their tanks and armoured personnel carriers, directing their flechette rockets (banned under international law) at our homes and drawing civilians into the scope of their carefully aimed, fully loaded machine guns. All Palestinian males between the ages of 14-50 are potential targets for killing. If not killed, they can expect a good beating and humiliation by the bored, teenaged soldiers manning the checkpoints. Getting to school or college has become a life-threatening endeavour for our young adults.
Meanwhile, Palestinian women are forced to make the impossible choice between allowing their men to go out and earn a living or keeping them at home in the hope that they will be safe. With the rise in the number of men staying at home due to fear and unemployment, Palestinian women have had to cope with increased domestic friction and the attendant problems which inevitably arise. On top of these concerns, Palestinian women have become direct targets for hostage taking, imprisonment and torture just because they happen to be a relative of a person sought by Israeli authorities.
In this atmosphere of military excess and wanton disregard for civilian safety, the Women's Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling (WCLAC) has begun to analyse the Intifada in terms of the legal standards governing Israel's occupation, its use of force and exercise of effective control, and the Palestinian resistance to Israel's unlawful policies and practices, and Palestinian efforts to end Israel's occupation. The rule of law is one of the principal aims of our mission, and it is something that is severely lacking in the world's understanding of the ongoing conflict...
...The status and roles of women in armed conflict has become a main theme that we have incorporated into the Centre's program of activities. At the same time, we have maintained our core activities, including the provision of essential legal and social work services to needy women, and our engagement in policy-oriented research, human rights training, and lobbying on behalf of Palestinian women. The Centre is planning on incorporating women's human rights as a central component of our work on women's roles in conflict and conflict resolution.
This is a new direction for us, and one which is absolutely necessary in light of the ongoing crisis that is unlikely to be resolved in the foreseeable future. Given the existent power imbalance, the work of organisations such as WCLAC is critical to ensure that women remain central players in shaping their own environment and determining their own destiny. As women, we must not allow our future to be imposed by others."