NGO representatives, officials, and activists called for the economic empowerment of youth and women by finding solutions and job opportunities in light of the Corona pandemic, which has negatively affected all society segments, especially vulnerable groups.
They called for the inclusion of women, youth, and civil society sectors in decision-making processes at various levels, including the bodies and committees dealing with the pandemic. They also called for improving citizens' access, especially women, to the required services and adopting new laws, the most important to protect women from domestic violence.
For the second consecutive day, the annual conference, "The State of Palestinian Civil Society ... the Year 2020", held by PNGO with the title of "Civil Society Organizations ... Resilience and Challenges", continued the activities of the annual conference "Promoting democracy and building the capacities of Palestinian civil organizations," which is implemented in partnership with the Norwegian People's Aid (NPA).
Amjad Al-Shawa, PNGO director, started the second session by pointing out the importance of holding the conference under the difficult conditions experienced by Palestinians at the economic, social, and humanitarian levels. High unemployment, poverty, food insecurity, and the weak ability to respond to the growing basic needs do not make the Strip's reality comfortable, especially with the Israeli siege and the ongoing political split. The spreading of COVID and the diminishing international funding made the situation even worse.
Mona Rustom, Democracy and Workers’ Rights Center Director moderated the session and emphasized civil society organizations' role in facing the repercussions of the Coronavirus following many challenges, such as the decline in funding, the Israeli occupation, and blockade, and the deal of the century.
The repercussions of the Coronavirus spread exceeded the health situation, she said, affecting various economic, social, and humanitarian sectors.
Ammar Al Qidra, PNGO employee, presented the paper prepared by Mohsen Abu Ramadan, Director of the Haider Abdul Shafi Center for Culture and Development, who was unable to deliver his paper entitled, "The Impact of the Corona Pandemic on the Economic and Social Conditions in the Gaza Strip," while Nadia Abu Nahla, Director of the Women's Affairs Team in the Gaza Strip, a paper entitled "The reality of women in light of the crises that the Gaza Strip Experiences."
The Gaza Strip is experiencing difficult economic and social conditions, clearly reflected in the unprecedented rates of poverty, unemployment, and food insecurity, Al-Qidra said. The unemployment rate reached about 54 percent; general poverty is now at about 65 percent, extreme poverty ranks at 34 percent, and food insecurity by at least 60 percent.
He added that four factors play a significant role in the deterioration of the economic and social conditions in the Gaza Strip. The first of which is the Israeli occupation and the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip 14 years ago, followed by three large-scale military operations, in which the infrastructure and production facilities were destroyed, not to mention the restrictions on the freedom of movement of goods and individuals.
The second factor is the ongoing political division and its repercussions on the economic situation, especially for public employees who now get 50 or 30 percent of the value of their salaries.
As for the third factor, it is related to the lack of international funding, which is visible in the financial deficit experienced by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), the retreat of many international aid sources and new funding conditions, and the focus on relief programs instead of development.
The fourth factor is, according to Abu Ramadan's paper, the Corona pandemic that came in the middle of a complex Palestinian crisis in the Gaza Strip. This problem has deepened marginalization and worsened the manifestations of poverty and unemployment, and produced disturbing social shallows such as begging, child labour, youth demotivation, and a state of general frustration leading to an overwhelming desire of immigration and forsaking social and political participation.
The paper also mentioned that the Corona pandemic had affected many sectors, most notably the day-workers sector and projects within the informal economy, which constitutes about 85 percent of the economy's structure in the Strip.
As said in the paper, the pandemic has affected the pattern of social relations through home quarantine and isolation, which led to the enhancement of individualism instead of diving into social activities.
Adding to that, the paper stressed that the pandemic interaction requires the concerted roles of the government, the private sector, and civil society organizations to rehabilitate the affected sectors, especially the owners of small and micro-enterprises, including women and youth. However, a more notable role must be for the private sector, specifically abroad, to provide a fund capable of supporting those in need.
In the same context, the paper called for paying attention to the pandemic's social repercussions, including the problems of youth, women, and children, by strengthening psychological and social empowerment and other support programs. These programs aim to replace negative appearances with positive ones to promote a culture of resilience and social cohesion.
For her part, Abu Nahla said that the pandemic affected women worldwide and that the conditions of women in the Gaza Strip were more severe, as in the case of Palestinian women.
Despite the State of Palestine's particular commitments in battling discrimination and inequality and having sustainable development agenda, she said, discrimination and inequality still exist in all social and economic structures and structures.
Abu Nahla clarified that the violence survey issued by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics monitored a marked increase in the rates of violence against women by 30 percent, and an increase in femicides since more than 19 women lost their lives in the West Bank and Gaza for various reasons. These alerts come filled with challenges for women to access protection centers, such as the government safety house, which the Gaza and the West Bank governments closed as a precaution unless women are subjected to a 14-day quarantine.
Women's Center for Legal Counselling issued a report, Abu Nahla expressed, indicating that 3,130 women and girls from the Gaza Strip requested assistance, counselling, and psychological support during the first three months of the pandemic, which an increase of 69 percent in various Palestinian territories, and a 43 percent increase in requests for telephone assistance and psychological support due to violence during last year.
She added that the economic interests, which affected the poor classes due to the pandemic, greatly impacted human, social, and financial security and revealed economic and political systems' fragility.
According to Abu Nahla, unemployment indicators in Palestine among women are among the highest globally, and the percentage of women participating in formal work does not exceed 18% in the West Bank and less than 14% in Gaza.
She explained that 35% of women infected with Coronavirus compared to 65 percent of men, and the virus deaths reached 75 percent of females.
Abu Nahla emphasized that what is required is leadership roles for women in decision-making processes and not only participation at a minimal level in support and response committees.
She continued to call for a change in policy and legislative orientations, noting that women's organizations demanded a law protecting women from violence, and concerned authorities have not addressed it yet.
There is a significant decline in funding, she pointed out, specifically targeting the entire protection sector, which is a part of the humanitarian intervention department, a dangerous indicator deficit facing UNRWA, from which approximately 67 percent of refugees' benefit, specifically families headed by women.
In turn, Dr. Yasser Abu Jameh, Director of the Gaza Mental Health Program, commented on the papers of Abu Ramadan and Abu Nahla, saying, "They are valuable in information and ideas, and they indicated the most important factors regarding the deterioration of women's situation as well as the economic, living, and social levels. The factors are divided into, the Israeli occupation, the ongoing division, and lack of funding Corona pandemic and its repercussions, respectively. "
He added that the two papers provided severe data and figures about the conditions of employees, workers, and women highlighting the pandemic's adverse effects on these groups, women, youth. "It is regrettable to add young people to socially vulnerable groups because of the high unemployment rate," Abu Jameh said.
He pointed out, as he experienced in his line of work at the Gaza Mental Health Program, that the institution was receiving calls at the beginning of the year expressing fears about the spread of the virus in the Strip; however, after the outbreak of the virus in Gaza, calls started to express psychological and economic concerns, both for males and females. Besides, many people were asking about how to take care of children during the pandemic.
Abu Jameh asserted that the cases recorded during work regarding the rates of depression among women reached 37% compared to 23% for men, and as for the psychological stress and anxiety, it reached 33% for men.
Finally, Abu Jameh noted the necessity of advocacy and investment in the youth and creating sustainable job opportunities to minimize the unemployment rate.