Date: June 3, 2012

A ceremony was held to mark the completion of a training course on capacity building and work in safe houses for the staff of the “Hayat” Center for Women and Family Empowerment. The event was attended by Her Excellency Minister of Social Affairs, Ms. Majida Al-Masri, Ms. Siham Rashid, representative of UN Women, Mr. Mahmoud Badran, Director of Social Affairs in Bethlehem, Ms. Zeinab Al-Ghunaimi, Director of The Center for Women’s Legal Researches, Counselling and Protection (CWLRCP) in Gaza, and Ms. Maisoun Ramadan, Director of the “Mahwar” Center for Women and Family Empowerment in Beit Sahour.

Minister Al-Masri emphasized that the training of “Hayat” Center staff at the “Mahwar” Center strengthens joint efforts towards serving women victims of violence. She thanked UN Women for their efforts in supporting the program and stressed the importance of finalizing the operational system in protection shelters, which was accomplished through collaboration between the Ministry of Social Affairs and NGOs. She also spoke at length about the role of the Ministry of Social Affairs in providing services to the people in the Gaza Strip, in cooperation with the directorates of social affairs in the Strip, through a database that helps the Ministry provide its various services. Minister Al-Masri expressed her optimism towards achieving national reconciliation and ending the division, which serves the interests of the Palestinian people throughout the homeland.

Ms. Siham Rashid expressed her happiness at the success of the training course and the extent of UN Women’s interest in training and their continuous follow-up, expressing pride in its accomplishment and looking forward to continuing the journey of defending women’s issues and rights. She also emphasized the importance of the National Strategy to Combat Violence Against Women and the need to implement it in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, while highlighting the importance of the existence of the “Hayat” Center for the protection and empowerment of women and families in Gaza.

Mr. Mahmoud Badran welcomed the sisters from Gaza in Bethlehem and stressed the importance of partnership in addressing violence, as Palestinian society is unified in its structure. He also pointed out the positive changes that government and official bodies have reached in the field of defending abused women, noting that the Mahwar Center faced many conflicts with society and local institutions at the beginning of its establishment, and how the center has become socially and officially accepted.

Ms. Maisoun Ramadan affirmed that the Mahwar Center, with all its staff, feels happy about their success in cooperating and implementing the training course, as the trainers made efforts to achieve this success. She added that they look forward to being able to go to Gaza on an exchange visit so that everyone can gain more experience to unify efforts to protect abused women.

For her part, Ms. Zeinab Al-Ghunaimi thanked Her Excellency the Minister of Social Affairs for her presence and cooperation at the beginning to make the training course a success. She also thanked the Mahwar Center, which hosted the staff of the “Hayat” Center for three weeks, during which approximately 144 training hours were implemented on important topics. She also thanked UN Women for their cooperation and sponsorship of the training program, and pointed to the distinguished role played by the training coordinator, Ms. Najm Al-Muluk Ibrahim, who contributed to the success of the training due to her distinguished experience in this field.

Al-Ghunaimi referred to the experience of working on the “Hayat” Center project in Gaza as the first of its kind to protect women victims of violence as a multi-purpose center. She clarified that women have not yet been sheltered in the center, and pointed to the existence of a safe house for sheltering abused women in Gaza, affiliated with the Ministry of Social Affairs.

At the end of the ceremony, graduation certificates were distributed to 9 female employees of the “Hayat” Center for the Protection and Empowerment of Women and Families.