The Center has played a leading role in advocacy campaigns and lobbying official authorities within the judiciary and legislative bodies to push for legal reforms that guarantee women’s rights and facilitate litigation procedures in Sharia courts. Among the most notable achievements are the following:

1– The Center is actively working on developing national legislation that aligns with women’s rights and human rights standards as outlined in the Palestinian Basic Law and international conventions. This includes advocating for amendments to relevant laws such as the Penal Code and the Personal Status Law, through the following efforts:

• Launching a campaign to raise the legal custody age for children of divorced and suspended mothers to 18 years. The Center successfully persuaded the High Council of Sharia Judiciary of this demand, and the issue is now under review by the Change and Reform Bloc in the Legislative Council.
• Conducting advocacy efforts to promote the adoption of a Family Protection Law against domestic violence.
• Continuing to work through a civil coalition formed by the Center in 2021, comprising various women’s and human rights organizations and activists. This coalition aims to pressure the Change and Reform Bloc to raise the custody age to 18, increase the minimum marriage age, pass a law on Khul‘ (female-initiated divorce), and accelerate the approval of these laws in a way that serves the stability and well-being of society.

2– The Center held a number of meetings with civil society organizations: within the Women’s Sector of the Palestinian NGOs Network to discuss the developments surrounding a wave of judicial circulars issued by the High Council of Sharia Judiciary. These circulars followed a prior meeting with the Center and were all in favor of women’s rights. Issued during January and February, these circulars faced backlash from elements within the Change and Reform Bloc, particularly concerning the one related to arbitrary divorce. The meetings focused on strategies to counter this backlash and support the judiciary, which has been responsive to our demands.

3– The Center engaged in a series of intensive meetings with official (police, public prosecution) and non-official entities to confront the attacks targeting the Center and its director, Ms. Zainab Al-Ghneimi. These attacks later extended to other partner women’s organizations and included death threats, defamation, insults, and slander.