Women Reborn: Social Empowerment for Palestinian Women

Women Reborn was the inspiration of Ibtisam Mahameed, a religious Muslim feminist who has been active in CRT interfaith activities since 2001. The program began in 2008, and is already having a significant impact on the participants, their town, and the region.

WEP GroupWomen Reborn is located in Fureidis, an Arab village in northern Israel. The program includes a course on women’s empowerment, instruction in Hebrew, job training and placement, and community development. The women participating are Muslim Palestinians who remained in their homeland after the 1948 war. Although they are Israeli citizens, most speak only rudimentary Hebrew, and most live in poverty. As Arabs living in Israel, they are culturally and geographically isolated, and they face ongoing discrimination. Trauma from the violence of the past 60 years is an additional barrier to full participation in public life.

During the first year, 23 women participated in the program. At the start, few could conceive of having a goal for themselves. Now all have goals and plans and most are taking concrete steps towards entering public life. Five are working, three are studying for their matriculation exams (high school equivalency), and two are pursuing higher education. Others are taking courses in leadership, fundraising, and nonprofit administration. Their progress has had a profound impact on their families –especially their daughters. Given the extended family structure (hamula) that forms the basis of Arab cultural life, hundreds of people have been directly impacted by the program.

One of the highlights of the first year was the involvement of the women in the mayoral election in November, 2008. Women Reborn hosted a “candidates forum” and over 300 women turned out – a groundbreaking event in a village where women have until now been largely invisible. They went on to spearhead a successful campaign in support of the candidate who was most committed to women’s issues. The election has inspired women across Israel, regardless of religion or national identity.

Women Reborn represents a unique alliance. The founder and director, Ibtisam Mahameed, is a devout Muslim from the local village. All of the teachers are Muslim Palestinians. Administrative support comes from Israeli Jewish feminists who believe strongly in the project. Documentation and evaluation is being done on a volunteer basis by CRT. Funding comes from the J.A. Clark Charitable Trust in England, The Alan and Nesta Ferguson Trust in England, the Oberle Foundation in Germany, and CRT.

Read the Summary Report or final Evaluation Report from year one.

Goals of the Project

This project has three objectives:

  1. to assist Palestinian Israeli women to develop the skills needed to become more independent and to increase their level of economic self-sufficiency;
  2. to develop an ongoing support network;
  3. to train a group of women leaders who can expand the program to additional Palestinian towns and villages in Israel and the West Bank.

The project also contributes to building conditions for sustainable peace by improving conditions for Israeli Palestinians and by modeling cooperation between Muslims and Jews. Staffing. Project Director Ibtisam Mahameed is internationally recognized as a leader in women’s rights and interfaith dialogue. As a religious Muslim woman, Ibtisam demonstrates that women can become educated, travel, and work outside the home without abandoning their traditional culture or religion. Ibtisam has developed strong ties with Jewish partners as well as Palestinian Christian and Druze women, and was recently selected as an “Unsung Hero of Compassion” by the Dalai Lama.

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