Women and Recovery in Palestine

Teacher's Notes

Click on the following links for further information about this case study:

Overview

The Skills Training and Income Generation for Palestinian Women Project, managed by CARE Australia and funded by AusAID, aims to empower women and girls in the Jenin district in Palestine through the provision of community education and skills training. It also aims to establish community-based savings and loan funds to support income generating activities. The project stands as an excellent example of Australian aid successfully meeting the needs of women and helping to re-build a region devastated by years of war and conflict.

Level

Middle secondary

Objectives

Students:

• research the causes and consequences of decades of war and conflict in the region of Palestine
• identify the historical, social, economic and political factors which have influenced the lives of women in the region of Palestine, especially in the Jenin district
• develop empathy with women in the Jenin district, and therefore develop empathy with women who share similar circumstances in other locations worldwide
• investigate and evaluate the aims, components and delivery of the Skills Training and Income Generation for Palestinian Women Project
• appreciate how a well-planned and well-coordinated project can have multiple positive outcomes for those involved

Links with nationally-developed statements and profiles

Studies of society and environment

• Time, Continuity and Change - Understanding the past, Time and change
• Culture - Personal, group and cultural identity
• Resources - People and work, Management and enterprise
• Investigation, Communication and Participation

Preparation

• copies of case study (one per student)
• poster paper for futures wheels or flow charts
• copies of the Focus articles listed under resources (optional)

Procedure

Before reading the case study, students discuss in small groups, then as a class, the five situations below. (Check first, possibly through the year level coordinator, that no student has actually experienced the two final scenarios, or if so, consider whether he or she will be comfortable in contributing to the activity.) Use students' responses as a stimulus to further questions to help build strong mental pictures of life in a war-torn region such as Palestine.

Questions: How would your daily lives and those of your families be different if you:

• could not read or write well?
• only had access to electricity several hours a day?
• regularly experienced water shortages or problems of water quality?
• planned to travel to work, to school, to shop, or to visit friends and family, and were prevented from doing so, without notice, by violence or road blocks in the area?
• had grown up only ever knowing a strong military presence and the signs of war, such as many disabled and psychologically scarred people in the community, ruined buildings and a devastated natural environment?

Following discussion, students read the case study and complete all or some of the activities. They investigate the Skills Training and Income Generation for Palestinian Women Project in the light of research into the Middle East's recent past. They predict possible futures for women in Jenin who either have, or have not, been part of the project, and they develop empathy with those women in a range of situations. They evaluate different aspects of the project, and nominate which activities they believe would lead to the most preferred outcomes for the women. In so doing, they learn that particular decisions, events or activities can have far-reaching and enduring consequences, and they consider issues relevant to the well-being of women in all countries.

Resources:

Contact: AusAID
Almost all AusAID publications are available on the internet or can be obtained from Canberra Mailing: Phone: (02) 6269 1230
Fax: (02) 6269 1229
Email: books@ausaid.gov.au Mail: PO Box 650
Fyshwick ACT 2609

CARE Australia
GPO Box 2014
Canberra ACT 2601
Ph. 02 6257 4022
Fax. 02 6257 1938

Please note:

The opinions expressed in the linked WWW sites below, including documents, images, videos or sounds are those of the individuals and organisations involved and do not necessarily represent the views of AusAID or the Australian Government. Concerns or questions should be directed to the authors of the WWW sites in question NOT AusAID.

Palestinian National Authority. Provides links to a number of government bodies. Contains a variety of interesting statistics, press releases, policy information, reports and general information. http://www.pna.org/

CIA World Factbook. See West Bank and Gaza Strip. Provides a range of statistical information, including map. http://www.odci.gov

The Levant, Palestine page. Provides links to a variety of other sites with information about Palestine, including the Palestine Legislative Council, newspapers, economic information, the Oslo agreements, cultural information, media and university links and many others. http://almashriq.hiof.no/base/palestine.html

http://www.un.org/unrwa/
The official web site for UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East)

* Further information and resources can be obtained from the
Professional Development Providers.

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