The program goal is to promote gender equality, strengthen the collective voice of women and their meaningful participation in all spheres of life, and the realization of their rights.
Gender Equality in the Political Process: Bedouin women and the realization of an inclusive and participatory democracy.
Sidreh believes that equality for Bedouin women in all spheres will only be realized once the inclusion of female leaders and gender mainstreaming in regional politics and decision-making bodies on all levels has taken root.
To realize this, we equip Bedouin women with the tools to participate in political and public life as leaders, community organizers, and gender rights advocates. We also tackle the significant barriers that Bedouin women face when searching for active and meaningful participation in public life.
By increasing gender representation by Bedouin women in local institutions and public life in the Negev, they can advocate for their human rights and those of other Bedouin women, by addressing access to and impact in the democratic process. So our goals to achieve this are:
- To give Bedouin women the tools to challenge the barriers to their democratic participation
- Making sure the voices and rights of Bedouin women are heard in public discourse at all levels
- Promoting policies that increase Bedouin women’s inclusion and their safety to act independently in public life
We are currently working with 250 Bedouin women from 8 unrecognized villages and 3 recognized towns to empower them to action with skills and tools to help them build and participate in a regional Assembly of Bedouin Women. This will build a strong, community-based institution, which will be part of the community it serves. The Assembly will create policy recommendations from the community, and build structured local female leadership and promote female participation in democratic actions.
Through our actions we aim to reach the following results:
- Secure spaces for Bedouin women, giving them a supportive platform to participate in public life;
- Increased capacities of Bedouin women to participate in local democratic actions;
- Diverse stakeholders – including Bedouin men, local government officials, and local and national politicians – promote gender equality and support Bedouin women to act as leaders;
- Bedouin women participate in public life and become candidates in local elections;
- Bedouin women’s groups hold regular dialogue with public bodies on policy issues;
- Bedouin women activists appear in the media to discuss their rights and needs;
- Bedouin women act in public with less fear of gender-based intimidation.
Building relations, building an inclusive society - Sidreh is actively seeking partners who can support us in implementing this work, and we welcome you to join us in building a democratic society inclusive of the women's voice in the Negev.