Program
The Women’s Group
Bereaved Israeli and Palestinian women, building the standing to shape whatever comes after the conflict.
About
Engaging Women for Change
The Women’s Group was born out of a need to express the voice of the women in the organisation.
The group’s aim is to equip women on both sides of the conflict with an authoritative voice and a real say in any future reconciliation process. It was formed by some 20 women and has grown to more than 150.
Bereaved women pay the highest price of the conflict, and are seldom consulted in the decision to go to war, to hold a ceasefire, or to sign a peace agreement. Their experience speaks to the sanctity of human life across the divide, and they have a part to play in peacebuilding.
As more women joined, and as the political atmosphere in Israel and Palestine deteriorated, the Parents Circle’s female members asked to build their own leadership, dialogue and peacebuilding capacity — to make a change in public, not only among themselves.
150+
Women in the group today, up from the 20 who founded it
78%
Of participants felt more hopeful about the possibility of peace
82%
Increased their empathy and their knowledge of the other’s point of view
A two-pronged approach to gender-based peacebuilding
Two strands run alongside each other: the women train, and they meet the other side.
The program engages bereaved women from both sides of the conflict in workshops focused on reconciliation, in both bi-national and uni-national sessions. Topics addressed include:
- Personal and group identities
- Relationships and power dynamics
- Understanding the context and experiences that shape perceptions, beliefs and behaviour in times of conflict
- The roles women play in conflict resolution
- Training in facilitation and story-telling
Additional training includes group visits to sites of historical and current conflict in Israel and Palestine, and research projects on conflict resolution topics the participants choose themselves. Trainings are led by conflict resolution specialists.
Bereaved Israeli and Palestinian women co-lead and co-facilitate dialogue meetings, describing their own loss and their choice of reconciliation and non-violence. Attendees then take part in a facilitated discussion:
- Personal narrative
- Questions and answers
- Open discussion, where participants raise their expectations, their fears and their views on peace and reconciliation
- Feedback and evaluation of the program
Professional translation is provided, so the discussion can be fluent and mean something to everyone in the room.
The program aims to:
- Strengthen the relationships and the joint work of bereaved Palestinian and Israeli women, by creating a space for discourse and strategies for handling disagreement and charged issues.
- Build their capacity for public outreach through a knowledge-based and emotional process of reconciliation and leadership.
- Provide the tools and skills needed for facilitation.
- Secure the personal buy-in of each member to the ideas of reconciliation and peace.
An evaluation of a 2017 Women’s Group program found that among participants:
- 85% felt confident taking leading roles in Parents Circle peacebuilding initiatives.
- 76% joined the existing cadre of Parents Circle facilitators.
- 78% felt more hopeful about the possibility of peace.
- 82% increased their empathy and knowledge of the other’s point of view.
- 72% wanted to take part in ending the conflict through reconciliation activities.
The group
Women’s Group photographs
Put more women in the room.
Your gift pays for the workshops, the travel and the translation that let bereaved Israeli and Palestinian women lead this work.
More ways to give
Every gift is tax-deductible and goes to the families running this work.
EIN 95-4869142
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Payable to American Friends of the Parents Circle – Families Forum, with the campaign name on the memo line.
2248 Broadway #1531, New York, NY 10024
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