* The projects were completed in 2023. Currently, we are not active in Palestine. *
Our work in Palestine counters the increasing social, political and geographical fragmentation of Palestinian society. It supports Palestinian visions for a feminist future marked by justice. With our project partners, we work to bring together and empower women and queer people affected by violence and gender injustice across fragmented and militarised borders, in order to become more aware of and claim their rights.
In the fragmented Palestinian context, physical and virtual spaces play a central role as places of exchange and activism for women and the LGBTIQ community. With our Palestine Country Programme, which we expanded in 2021, we aim to protect and extend existing civil society spaces.
In the struggle against the Israeli occupation, feminist concerns and gender issues are often seen as less important. Yet the occupation affects women and queer people differently from men. Militarised Israeli and Palestinian societies produce specific forms of masculinity. The occupation and gender-based violence are mutually dependent and therefore need to be addressed together.
Learn more about the projects and our project partners:
Digital spaces are increasingly becoming places of repression and surveillance, and gender-specific violence and discrimination do not stop there. Our partner organisation TAM - Women & Media Development in Bethlehem is acting against gender-specific violence on the internet. The goal of our joint project "To be safe" is to enable women to safely use digital communication technologies and platforms for exchange, networking and activism.
Our partner, the Madaa Creative Center (MCC) is located in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Silwan, which is characterised by high poverty and unemployment. For decades, there have been land confiscations, house demolitions, attacks on residents by the settler movement, which claims the neighbourhood for itself, as well as imprisonments by the Israeli police. Patriarchal power structures and gender-based violence are thus exacerbated.
Our project with MCC focuses on awareness-raising and counselling on gender-based violence against women. The Jerusalem Women's Forum, a house in Silwan, plays a significant role in this. It is a safe place of retreat and exchange for women throughout East Jerusalem. The project helps to strengthen the community so that they can stand up for their rights as a collective.
LGBTIQ people are also affected by the impact of the occupation. The patriarchal power dynamics contribute to queer-hostile violence and exacerbate the precarious situation of queer people in Palestinian society.
Our partner organisation alQaws - for Sexual and Gender Diversity in Palestinian Society promotes discussion on gender and sexual diversity throughout the occupied Palestinian territory.
Our project focuses on the dynamics within and between the families of queer people and the community. Families are sensitised on how to engage with their queer children.
With its work, alQaws also counteracts fragmentation within Palestinian society and contributes to visions for a queer feminist future of Palestine.