Cross-Sectoral National Gender Strategy: Promoting Gender Equality and Equity 2011-2013.

This Strategy is a sectoral document aiming at providing guiding principles on how to consider gender issues in the development work of the different ministries to allow the adoption of an effective institutional approach. The Vision at the basis is as follows "A democratic society living in a climate of social justice, where men and women, girls and boys, enjoy equal citizenship rights and equal opportunities in the public and private spheres seeking to build an independent state that effectively and efficiently invests in the abilities and potentials of its male and female citizens for achieving just and sustainable development that broadens the choices of people, with all members of society taking part in it and enjoying its fruits".
The overall goal of the Strategy is to enable Palestinian women to enjoy full citizenship rights by bridging the gender gap in different aspects of life. A number of strategic objectives are highlighted to achieve this goal. They are (i) enjoy family law and civil rights that ensure equality and equity, in particular with respect to marriage and inheritance; (ii) preserve their rights to residency, movement and nationality, regarding the women of Jerusalem; (iii) reduce all forms of domestic and sexual violence; (iv) improve the status of Palestinian women prisoners; (v) facilitate their active political involvement and activate their role in decision-making, rectifying negative effects of cultural and social heritage and taking appropriate measures to enhance women’s abilities and skills; (vi) improve the quantity and quality of educational services, very low for women especially in rural areas; (vii) increase protection of women’s health; (viii) improve women’s participation in the labor market and increase their participation in economic decision-making; and (ix) mainstream gender concerns and issues in the work of Palestinian ministries.
To make agriculture more productive and sustainable, a gender objective is to promote increased participation of rural women in agricultural production, as part of a larger aim to ensure equal employment opportunities for men and women, though the rate of rural women participating in the labor market is higher compared to other sectors which is likely attributable to women’s role in farming activities.
To enable more inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems, the Strategy encourages actions for female integration, as follows (i) increasing awareness among girls, women and families on the importance of agricultural education; (ii) enacting a law providing partial tax exemption to institutions marketing the products of rural women; (iii) providing custom facilitation to institutions exporting the products of rural women abroad and/or marketing them locally; (iv) providing women’s cooperatives with guarantees for tax exemption.
As for the Governance, the prime responsibility for monitoring and evaluation of the National Gender Strategy will be assumed by the Ministry of Women Affairs (MoWA) in cooperation and coordination with other stakeholders. Therefore, gender units are required to assume monitoring and evaluation of progress in gender mainstreaming and submit periodical and annual reports to MoWA accordingly.