Palestinian female candidates struggle to change political, social attitudes
Despite efforts to encourage women to both vote and run in local elections in the West Bank, candidates say much work remains to be done.
Rajaa Hamayel submitted her candidacy to the “Al-Bireh Brings Us Together” list running in the second phase of the local (municipal) council elections in the West Bank slated for March 26.
Hamayel, who heads the Palestinian Businesswomen’s Association – Asala, and who also worked as a lecturer at Birzeit University in Ramallah for 14 years, told Al-Monitor that her disappointment with the previous municipal councils prompted her to run in the hopes that things would change. She said that she has things to offer to her city of al-Bireh in the central West Bank.
The second phase of the elections includes 50 local councils in larger cities, such as Karamallah, al-Bireh, Hebron and Nablus. The elections’ first phase, which was held on Dec. 11, 2021, was limited to small towns and villages.
But as the elections draw near, Hamayel seems dissatisfied with the efforts of women’s organizations to support women’s participation in the elections.
