Community-based organizations, women’s institutions, civil society activists, local leaders, and reformers have recommended that women have equal rights to ownership and possession in housing projects affiliated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). This recommendation emerged during a meeting organized by The Center for Women’s Legal Researches, Counselling and Protection (CWLRCP) as part of the “Empowering and Promoting Women’s Rights” project, funded by the Rule of Law and Empowerment Programme in the occupied Palestinian territories: Justice and Security for the Palestinian People.
Zainab al-Ghoneimi welcomed the attendees, emphasizing the importance of the meeting, which addresses a critical issue for women, particularly in the Gaza Strip. She explained that housing projects and compensation for damaged housing do not recognize that rights of use and benefit are jointly owned by both spouses, considering both are heads of the family. Consequently, only the husband’s name is listed on the usage and benefit documents for homes provided to families by UNRWA, whether it is a new dwelling or a replacement for an old dwelling rendered uninhabitable by age or damage from repeated Israeli aggressions on the Gaza Strip, irrespective of whether these projects are existing or planned.
During the meeting, The Center for Women’s Legal Researches, Counselling and Protection (CWLRCP) distributed a position paper on women’s equal rights to ownership and possession in housing projects. The paper stressed the need to adhere to the international human rights agreements and standards issued by the United Nations. These agreements call for the elimination of gender discrimination and the granting of equal rights to women and men in all agency activities and services provided to Palestinian refugees.
The center also emphasized the need to comply with international agreements regarding women’s right to adequate housing, particularly the recommendations issued by the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. It stressed the urgent need to halt discriminatory practices against women in housing projects and to issue requests and forms that include both spouses as beneficiaries by name, thereby providing legal guarantees that ensure both have the right to possession and benefit together. The center also underscored the absolute independence of women and their right to a separate family card so they can benefit from UNRWA’s programs and projects.
Dr. Atef Abu Hamada, head of the Popular Committee for Refugees, stated that UNRWA and international organizations take into account certain specificities of societies, including Palestinian society, which is based on the concept of male guardianship. This gives men the right to own property because women move under the guardianship of their husbands. As a result, benefiting from the agency is based on the head of the ration card. Abu Hamada argues that this constitutes an injustice against women, especially in cases of divorce or widowhood, where the benefit accrues to the man. He called on the agency to be fair to both men and women and to operate its systems and programs in accordance with international regulations.
