Palestinian women launch website

By María Teresa Aguirre, Programme Manager for Partnerships and Projects/Communication Rights (WACC)

After several months of preparatory work, widespread consultation and many messages of support and encouragement, the Palestinian group Women Media and Development (TAMor Tanmiyet wa Aâlam al Mar’ah) has launched a Palestinian women’s website that brings together the creative work of a myriad women from all over the West Bank and Gaza strip.

The new website (www.women –space.org ) supported by WACCunder its Communication Rights Programme showcases the work of Palestinianwomen writers, singers, sculptresses, photographers, poets, painters, peacemakers activists, citizen journalists, craftwomen.

TAM took a participatory approach to building the website and engaged in a process of contacting and seeking the opinion of many Palestinian women, including well known figures such as the poet Nathalie Handal, singer Reem Banna, film maker Buthaina Khoury, writer, cultural criticand poet Faiha Abhul Hadi, and many others which gave their support to the initiative.

Encouragement came from all quarters and with the support of institutions such as Ramallah’s International Academy for Arts, Bethlehem University, Media Center Hebron, Qattan Foundation, Palestinian Art Court-Al Hoash, and others the website is now up and running.It invites Palestinian women to send it their work and contributions and the number of visits to the website continues to grow.

The interactive website will also provide a space for discussions among women who are dispersed over the Palestinian territories and who many times face great difficulties in being able to meet and come together.

Established in 2004 inBethlehem, Palestine TAM (Tanmiyet wa Aâlam al Mar’ah) is a non governmental organization created with the aim of providingethical and technical training, producing programmes with a gender perspective and seeking the creation of a network of media professionals aware of gender issues within Palestinian media.

TAM was one of the participants in the Advocacy Workshop organised by WACC with the support of Ammanentof Jordan as part of the follow up to WACC ‘s 2005 Global Media MonitoringProject (GMMP http://www.whomakesthenews.org/ ) for the Middle East.

By María Teresa Aguirre
Programme Manager for Partnerships and Projects/Communication Rights
For more information contact the group directly:
www.tam-media.org (Arabic and English)
www.women-space.org (Arabic)
http://www.whomakesthenews.org/events/workshop_reports (Jordan Report Arabic)

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