RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Palestinian Center for Policy Research and Strategic Studies (Masarat) held its second women's peace table on Oct. 26. A videoconference brought together two meetings: one at the center's headquarters in Ramallah, and one at its other headquarters in Gaza. The event was held in conjunction with dozens of other women's peace tables across the world. 

This year, the event focused on refining the role of women in bringing peace to Palestine and Palestinian society. The meetings brought together women leaders and pioneers in the West Bank and Gaza, such as Siham al-Barghouthi, a former minister and undersecretary-general of the Palestinian Democratic Union, and Rula Abu Duhou, a lecturer on women’s issues at Birzeit University.

The first such peace table, held in 2015, was called “Conflict, Peace, International Dimension: A Palestinian Feminist Point of View.” This year's peace table is themed “A Call for the Consolidation of the Role of the Women's Movement in Defending Women and their Political and Societal Rights.”

Fayha Abdul Hadi, a regional coordinator of Women for Peace, worked with Women Seriously to organize the peace tables around the world. She told Al-Monitor, “We tried through this table to take a step forward in the peace process from a feminist perspective, with the objective of ending the occupation and empowering women to bring peace inside Palestine.”