On May 15, 2016, a feminist conference was held as part of the activity of the “Young Women Parliament” project. The conference, in which about 200 young Arab and Jewish young women participated, was held in the “Darca Druze High School for Science and Leadership” in the Galilee village of Yarka, and dealt with the topic: Women’s groundbreaking in Arab society: Challenging society – women and young women paving the way.
The conference was hosted by young women who are active in the “Young Women Parliament”, which is supported by the US Embassy in Israel, and was established in 2010 by members of Women’s Parliament, so as to create a consciousness shift among young women and in the environment in which they are active, in order to be an open and supportive arena, where the young women participating develop and promote critical thinking and social-feminist activism.
Prof. Esther Hertzog, chairwoman of the SHIN-for equal representation of women – movement: “The meeting today is very important and significant. It is not easy to bring together young women from different groups, communities and societies; and I am proud to say that we have succeeded in doing so since the beginning of this year. I am glad to see that the distance did not deter even young women from Ofakim and Lod from arriving, as well as Bat Yam, Faradis, Jisr az-Zarqa, Herzliya and Kfar-Saba. Prior to the meeting today, I read an article online that Yarka is a major shopping center. The head of the Local Council, Wheeb.Hbesh was quoted saying, ‘For us it is a good sign, for coexistence, for a mutual pastime activity, as well as for income for everyone’. I like that statement, because business and mutual pleasure indeed help to bring people together”.
Wheeb Hbesh, Head of YarKa Local Council: “I am very happy about this meeting of young women from Arab and Jewish societies. The school was founded in 2002, when I was head of the Council, and I am very satisfied with the results and achievements. We decided to focus on leadership and science, because we lack leadership, and it is very important to us. We look forward to seeing the young women sitting here grow to become future leaders of this village, of this region, as well as a part of the leadership of the State of Israel, and assist in the process of integration and inclusion. This project is welcome, and I think that it is important and necessary, and I am sure our wonderful young women will succeed”.
Hunaida Assaf, moderator of the activity of “Young Women Parliament” in the Arab localities: “Women have power, and I believe that we have the ability to be leaders. The activity in the framework of the Young Women’s Parliament helps remove the barriers at the level of individual and social realization”.
Kamil Shela, Yarka’s high school principal: “Our school is unique in the Druze sector. It is rated as one of the five best schools in the country in terms of Bagrut’s results. One hundred percent of the students qualify for Bagrut. Everyone is taking most of the subjects at the 5-unit level of difficulty. The concept of women’s empowerment bothers me because it is men who should be asking women for rights, and I’m not surprised that our girls lead in this area”.
Aya and Sarah, the hostesses of the evening: “Zahra Atalla is the moderator of our group in Yarka, which is composed of 16 girls. Our aim is to achieve gender equality and exercise our rights as young women and women. The group gives us a platform to speak out and make a change. The group gives us motivation to reach our goals”.
The U.S. Embassy, which supports the project, said, “We are excited to see how the activity of the Young Women’s Parliament illuminates the social diversity in Israel, and how this activity indicates that the similarities can connect between you, young women, much more than the differences can divide you”.
The conference presented women who did not allow the way to pave them, but paved the way for themselves, and they are an inspiration:
- Grandma Jamila – owner of factories for soaps, creams and oils for skin-care in several countries, in which the workers, among others, are persons with special needs
- Raja Khir – horse trainer and owner of a horse farm
- Ulfat Haider – athlete competing in marathons and triathlons
In addition, the young women watched a show by the Playback Theatre, in which professional actors improvise play segments based on stories from the audience. The stories told by the young women in the audience dealt with the status of young women in society, their power to act for change, and their success in meeting the challenges. Young women from the “Young Women’s Parliament” group in Yarka also participated and improvised in the show.
The entire evening was conducted in Arabic, and translated simultaneously by Taghrid Shbeta.
Click here for an article that was published in “panet.co.il” (in Arabic) on May 2016 >>