Progress Amid Resistance

PALESTINE 373F The PLC should introduce new laws to protect women from all formsof physical, psychological, and verbal violence at home and in publicplaces, and create special police units to handle cases of family violence.F To ensure the security and personal freedoms of women living underIsraeli jurisdiction, the responsible authorities should guarantee therights of such women to an identity card, residency, freedom of movement,and access to their chosen place of employment.F Customs and passport officials who require women to obtain writtenpermission from a male guardian before they can receive a passportshould be reprimanded or prosecuted for their violation of the law.ECONOMIC RIGHTS AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITYThe rights of Palestine’s female workforce are governed by one of the mostadvanced labor laws in the region. While economic participation amongwomen remains low due to socioeconomic, cultural, and political factors,the rate of participation increased from 2005 to 2007, particularly in theWest Bank. In addition, the PA’s new scholastic curriculum, introduced in2002, reflects a greater degree of gender equality, and a growing numberof young women are enrolling in colleges and universities. As with otherrights, a more politically stable situation and open borders will be crucialto advancing women’s economic and academic rights in the future.The property rights of Palestinians are controlled by Jordanian laws inthe West Bank and Egypt’s Law No.1 of 1965 in the Gaza Strip, with thelatter discussing the application of Shari‘a to miri, or state-owned property.Although women have the legal right to own and exercise controlover their land and other assets, only 5 percent of women own land and7.7 percent own a home or other real estate. 61 This inequity reflects theimpact of custom, which encourages married men to retain property individuallyrather than jointly with their wives. There are no legal restrictionson women’s ability to access credit, but because men own most property,they tend to have the collateral necessary to secure loans. 62Women often lack control over their income and rarely enter into businesscontracts and activities. This is mainly due to the customary beliefthat men, as the traditional family breadwinners, are in charge of financialdecisions, even those involving the income and assets of their female familymembers.