The Advocacy and Human Rights Program works to make international law relevant to the women of East Jerusalem and the West Bank, working with them to challenge and change policies that undermine human rights, empower them, and work towards rights based alternatives.
JCW believes that women’s rights are part and parcel of human rights. While Palestinians are still struggling under occupation to achieve human rights, recent setbacks in Palestinian society have effectively rendered women’s rights to a separate political sphere. Many Palestinians argue that there is little space for women’s rights until statehood has been achieved. JCW believes that this mentality undermines the concept of universal rights and creates real challenges for human rights in the Palestinian context. For this reason, JCW has seen a direct need to change the way Palestinians view human rights, and to educate men and women, both separately and together, about the true meaning of human rights and the inclusivity of women’s rights.
With this in mind, JCW has established a human rights and democracy education project that works in tandem with our Legal Aid and Counseling Unit. Together, they work to raise women’s awareness to their rights, educate women about International Law, and provide legal aid and counseling to women on a wide range of issues, including preparing marriage contracts, property and inheritance rights, home demolition and eviction, domestic abuse, divorce, and custodial law.
Meanwhile, JCW works to raise local, national, regional, and international awareness to violations of Palestinian women’s rights by using varied advocacy techniques, including the use of new media, social networking, lobbying, researching, documenting, and disseminating information to key outlets and decision makers.