Sundus Halabi, a 27-year-old Palestinian woman from Beit Rima, enrolled in a training course at her local community center despite facing opposition from her brother. She has since gained independence and respect, and now works at a shoe shop started by the center. The Beit Rima Women and Youth Center and five other centers funded by the EU and local partners have provided training to empower over 6,000 women and young people in rural West Bank villages through courses, small businesses and gyms. The programs have helped women gain skills, salaries and new roles in their communities.

1. RAMALLAH- “Ihavegainedfreedomandrespectfromothers[…],”saysthe27-year-oldPalestinianwomanSundusHasanAli
Halabi.Initially,whenshetookthedecisiontoenrollinatrainingcoursesponsoredbythelocalcommunitycentreinherhome-
town of Beit Rima, she faced a lot of opposition at home, more from her brother than from her own husband.Today, she says,
"the situation has improved a lot, and I feel I’m a new person". "My brother said I should not spend even one single day in a
shop where men of all ages would pass by every day. He felt very uneasy with the idea. But today, he is a regular customer,"
adds Sundus.
Around 6,000 Palestinians live in the village of Beit Rima, some 30 kilometres northwest of Ramallah. Sun-
dus’s husband suffers from spinal problems that make it difficult for him to work regularly. She decided to
share the responsibility of making the money they need to feed
their six-year-old child.The Beit RimaWomen andYouth Centre of-
feredjustthekindofopportunitythatshewaslookingfor.Thecen-
tre had just started a series of training courses aimed at
empowering Palestinian women in rural areas. Sundus chose the
accountancy management course. A few months later, the centre
setupashoeshopwherelocalwomencouldwork.Atfirst,Sundus
signed up as a volunteer. In January 2012, she began to receive a
monthly salary of approximately one hundred euro per month.
They have been trained and empowered.
Today they run small business, they manage shoe shops,
they even teach aerobics at ladies’gyms. Palestinian women living in six villages
throughout the West Bank were given the chance to set off on a journey of self-ac-
complishment. Despite opposition, mainly from members of their own families, they
managed to do it. Our journalist has met some of those who decided to take up the
challenge and change their life.
Text by: Elias Zananiri
Photos by: EPA and COSPE © EU / NEIGHBOURHOOD INFO CENTRE
EU Neighbourhood Info Centre
Feature no. 68
This is a series of features on projects
funded by the EU’s Regional
Programme, prepared by journalists
and photographers on the ground or
the EU Neighbourhood Info Centre.
© 2012 EU Neighbourhood Info Centre
This publication does
not represent the
official view of the EC
or the EU institutions.
The EC accepts no
responsibility or
liability whatsoever
with regard to its
content.
GENDER > OCCUPIED PALESTINIANTERRITORIES
Women seeking
freedom
and respect

2. Women seeking freedom and respect p.2
EU Neighbourhood Info Centre – Feature no. 68
Today, Sundus is no longer the housebound woman
she once was. She looks different and she feels better.
"Thesalaryisnotmuch,"shesays."Butwearejustatthe
beginning.Andfromapersonalandsocialperspective,
I feel I have accomplished something,”she adds.
Six centres set up throughout theWest Bank
WithfundsfromtheEuropeanUnionandinpartnership
with the Florence-based Italian Cooperation for Devel-
opment of Emerging Countries (Cooperazione per lo
Sviluppo dei Paesi Emergenti, COSPE) and the Palestin-
ianYouth Union in the occupied PalestinianTerritories,
six community centres have been set up throughout
the West Bank. Their goal is to train young people and
womentorunincome-generatingprojectsthatcanbe-
comesustainablewithout donorfunds.ThecentresarelocatedintheruraltownsofBeitRima,
Mazare' Alnobani, Silwad, Deir Istya, Kobar and Aboud, all close to the West Bank separation
barrier or surrounded by settlements.The shoe
shop is one of the established activities, to-
gether with two women-only gyms, where
young people from the community centres
were trained to become instructors. Now girls
are free to go there to exercise or to attend aer-
obic courses. For the moment the revenue gen-
eratedpaysforthecostsofrunningtheactivities
and the trainers’salaries but, in the near future,
the centres hope to generate further income to
support other activities.
COSPE representative in Palestine Chiara
Carmignani spends most of her time shuttling
betweenthesixcentres.Shemeetsbeneficiaries
andcoordinateswithcentreadministrators.“Yes,
wefacealotofchallenges,wehavetoovercome
difficulties of all sorts, but I feel the impact of what we do, I see change coming true. And that
is incredibly satisfying”. COSPE has been working in close cooperation with the Palestinian
YouthUnion(PYU),whichwasfoundedearlyinthe1990s.RawanAmria,inchargeofthePYU's
Ramallah office, says that the Union was set up to address the needs of young Palestinian at
a time when society as a whole was in the midst of the first Palestinian uprising. Rawan, who
holds an MA degree in Applied Anthropology in Community andYouth Work from London,
is happy with what she does. “It is not a matter of how much you earn for a living as much as
what you achieve for others,”she says.
English, computer and management courses
In cooperation with the PYU, COSPE carried out
anumberofneedsassessmentstudiestoidentify
what is useful for the local community. As a re-
sult, the Mazare’Alnobani Centre has organized
a 30-hour conversation course in English for
youths who were trained in how to communi-
cate with English-speaking foreign donors who
supportvariousprojectsinruralareas.Ithasalso
organized computer skills and project manage-
ment courses and has set up a special pro-
“I enjoy every
moment at
the centre. I
feel I serve
my people in
general and
the women of
my town in
particular”
“It is not a matter
of how much you
earn for a living as
much as what you
achieve for others”
n Palestinianwomen
doingAerobicsat
Al-AmalWomanFitness
GymCentreintheWest
BankvillageofKaubar,
northofRamallah
n Onlywomencan
attendtheactivitiesheld
inthisCentre
“Yes, we face a lot
of challenges, we
have to overcome
difficulties of all
sorts, but I feel the
impact of what we
do, I see change
coming true. And
that is incredibly
satisfying”.
n The Community Centre
in Beit Rima has set up a
shoe shop, where women
can work

3. grammetoempowerhighschoolstudentsastheysitfortheirmatriculationexams.Finally,thecentrehassetupakarate
course and a one-day entertainment programme for children.
TheBeitRimaCommunityCentrehasoptedtosetupanumberofworkshopsonprojectmanagement,children'snutrition
and public health.This has also worked well, partly because, although there are many centres in the village of Beit Rima
thatprovideservicesinthefieldsofagricultureandpublicservices,therearenonethatfocusonwomenorchildren.Muna
Rimawi is the coordinator of the local community centre, which is fully furnished, has a library and six computers. Muna,
who holds a BA degree in political science, has worked as a volunteer at the centre since 2006. She is a consultant in a
nearby girls’school for extracurricular activities. She is full of energy and
in a hurry to finish the interview because she has to rush to another ap-
pointment. But she has enough time to convey her key message.“I enjoy
every moment at the centre. I feel I serve my people in general and the
women of my town in particular,”she says.“I gain pleasure when women
finishtheircoursesandstartanewjoborbusiness.Forme,itisamoment
ofdeepgratification.Forthem,itisamomentoftriumph,”sheconcludes.
YouthandwomenempowermentintheWestBankandtherural
areas through Community Centres
To strengthen social cohesion and democracy processes in the oPt through enhancing women and youth role as
agents of social change
Women seeking freedom and respect p.3
EU Neighbourhood Info Centre – Feature no. 68
Participating countries
Occupied PalestinianTerritories
Timeframe:
2010 - 2012
Budget:
317, 107.88 EUR
Objective:
To encourage the self promotion of women and youth and contribute to build a more equitable and democratic
society through the strengthening of 6 community centres in 6 rural villages inWest Bank
Findoutmore:
Gender Equality:West Bank, Gaza & the EU
http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/westbank/documents/news/20110304_investinginpeople_en.pdf
Civil Society and Local authorities: ENPIThematic portal
http://www.enpi-info.eu/thememed.php?subject=14
ENPI Photo Gallery
http://www.enpi-info.eu/list_images_med.php?id=661&iden=661
The EU Neighbourhood Info Centre is an EU-funded Regional Information and
Communication project highlighting the partnership between the EU and
Neighbouring countries. The project is managed by Action Global Communications.
www.enpi-info.eu
n The Beit Rima
Community Centre
started training
courses for Palestin-
ian women
EU Neighbourhood Info Centre
An ENPI project