The Palestinian Family Protection Law was submitted for ratification in November 2020 after much collaboration between advocates, attorneys and governmental officials, as well as community and international organizations. The draft bill addresses a myriad of social issues affecting vulnerable populations in the West Bank of Palestine, including: the legal age for marriage; gender inequality in inheritance; divorce; gender-based violence; and domestic violence. However, immediate feedback from local religious scholars, with increasing pressure from the general Palestinian population, was deeply divided, with negative perceptions relating to the perceived ‘foreign’ nature of the regulations and criticism that the law was not in accordance with Palestinian culture and Islamic Law. This criticism led to two years of inactivity regarding the bill. The current study sought to evaluate the attitudes, behavior and beliefs regarding the underlying human rights issues and assumptions concerning gender, marriage, and domestic violence that could be found in the codices of the proposed legislation as well as among the general population of Palestine. The data demonstrates that the population sampled viewed the underlying premise of the Family Protection Bill negatively. Individuals with a graduate degree or above tended to view the bill with less negativity, whilst females viewed the bill more positively than males. The results of this study illustrate that, with regard to legislation that relates to family life in Palestine, there is a wide gap between the points of view held by human rights advocates and NGO’s and those held by the general population. To further the agenda of family protection community education relating to social issues, the fundamentals of Sharia law and national sovereignty may be needed so as to clarify the core Islamic beliefs in relation to human rights and oppression, as well as to increase Palestinian ownership of the family protection agenda.
This article considers the debate relating to the implementation of the CEDAW in Palestine, particularly the issues relating to underage marriage and equal inheritance. Both of these issues have caused considerable controversy and opened a wide debate in Palestine due to the patriarchal socio-culture in Palestine, where it is considered that such rights would undermine the interests of the male elite and conflict with the dominance of men over women. Accordingly, the article provides an in-depth analysis of how the interaction of religious teachings, socio-cultural systems, and patriarchal traditions shape the Arab and Palestinian view on gender equality and women’s rights in the modern day. Furthermore, the article examines the influence of religion on the patriarchal and socio-cultural system in determining the efforts that are being made to achieve equality and discusses how the Palestinian authorities, human rights activists, and liberal political parties have not been able to overcome the power of traditional religious scholars and clerics who have a much greater influence and are able to win over public opinion. Our findings reveal that more progressive interpretations of Islam are possible, which in turn allows a fuller embrace of women’s rights. The findings also highlight the role of the Palestinian Authority and feminist groups in changing the mindset of Palestinian society regarding women’s rights and equality, where gradual steps that include economic empowerment, education and public engagement with enlightened scholars must be taken to achieve this change.
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