In the context of combating and addressing gender-based violence REFORM concludes the youth camp “Dissecting Behaviors"
The Palestinian Association for Empowerment and Local Development—REFORM concluded a three-day youth camp at Star Mountain in Ramallah, which comes in the context of combating and addressing gender-based violence. The camp aimed to address gender roles stereotypes, raise participants’ awareness of the importance of women’s inclusion in the public and private spheres and increase social cohesion between the various social components, and finally, build participants’ capacities and skills in order to change traditional concepts that promote the culture of violence.
The camp was launched by the project coordinator, Mrs. Esraa Obaid, who welcomed the participants to the camp, which aims to provide a safe space for young people to express their issues and needs safely and freely. With its various activities, the camp seeks to provide young people with individual and collective skills that will enable them to lead the process of changing the traditional concepts of gender-based violence. The camp also focused on a set of activities aimed at raising the participants’ awareness of the importance of addressing the phenomenon of gender-based violence and its negative repercussions on the Palestinian national fabric and the rights of women. They further discussed cultural and traditional factors, which contribute in one way or another, to creating unequal power relations between genders, reinforcing traditional gender roles, and thus increasing gender-based violence.
The camp facilitator, and theatre artist, Eid Aziz Dweikat, explained that the training sessions were prepared to help confront youth participants’ isolation and self-dependency, in addition to creating spaces for them to express their opinions, beliefs and personality in general. During the camp, coach Eid worked with the participants on self-discovery and their relationship with the social environment, especially women. Finally, they were introduced on how they can adopt the issue of gender-based violence through the theatre technique of character building.
On the other hand, the gender specialist, Ms. Sherine Al-Tahhan, gave a number of trainings aimed at promoting positive concepts for the role of women in society, illustrating positive women models with active presence from the participants' point of view. They also addressed cultural and violent stereotypes about social roles within the family, contributing to bridging the gaps amongst the participants with regard to women's issues and enhancing the motivation of participants in adopting and opposing issues of gender-based violence.
The camp’s team also implemented a number of extracurricular activities with the aim of motivating the participants to think, challenge the difficulties they face, build their capabilities and skills, as well as increase the social cohesion. Additionally, an interactive game “To be a feminist or not to be” was organized. This game takes place in the present time, in which the characters are a group of students, seeking acceptance from a university, and to get it, they have to go through a test that reveals the truth of their position on gender equality.
Finally, a bicycle tour was launched as one of the camp’s activities, that started from the city center of Ramallah, passing by Jamal Abed Al Nasser Mosque, through the Flee Market and Al Sahel Steer in the old city, then to Al-Sira roundabout to Nelson Mandela roundabout in Al Tereh. During which the participants held a number of dialogues with people in the street and at cafes about the importance of combating violence against women, in addition to raising the campaign’s slogan “Free Woman = Free Homeland.”
At the end of the camp’s activities, the participants presented a number of recommendations, the most important of which is the necessity of providing such spaces for young people on a permanent basis, and the need to stop stereotyping about the characteristics that men and women should have, or about the roles they play or should play.
This activity comes as part of the “Insijam” Initiative, implemented by The Palestinian Association for Empowerment and Local Development—REFORM within the “Naseej: Connecting Voices and Action to End Violence Against Women and Girls in the MENA Region” project, co-funded by Oxfam and the European Union. The Initiative aims to develop the capacities of participants in understanding the cultural and structural dimensions around societal and cultural contradictions that reduce gender-based violence and increase their skills to lead transformation processes in their communities and become agents of change in their communities. The Initiative also seeks to empower and increase the participation of young women and men in local and national efforts to combat prevailing social norms and gender-based violence.
