Her Excellency the Minister of Women’s Affairs, Dr. Amal Hamad, visited the Hayat Project for the Protection and Empowerment of Women and Families on Monday, January 20, 2020. She was received by Ms. Zeinab Al-Ghunaimi, the Director of the Center, and the center’s staff.

This visit was part of the efforts made by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs to work towards unifying protection policies for battered women and those threatened with danger in shelters in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Her Excellency was briefed on the center’s departments and the services provided to battered women, including the shelter department. Her Excellency also clarified the role of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs in supervising the joint Hayat project, which targets shelters. Ms. Zeinab Al-Ghunaimi discussed with Her Excellency the Minister ways of joint cooperation between the Ministry and the Center, and the project implemented by the Center in partnership with UN Women through the joint Hayat project, funded by the Government of Canada, which aims to increase women and girls’ access to gender-responsive protection services (shelter) in the Gaza Strip. For her part, Her Excellency the Minister praised the work and effort exerted in the Hayat Center in protecting women from violence, and empowering them psychologically, socially, legally, and economically.