The Governmental Planning for Developing and Activating the Woman’s Political Participation

The research focuses on the formal planning towards enhancing the Palestinian women's political participation in the way for good governance and eventually towards sustainable development. The research shed the light on the women's struggle, that ensured their right for political participation, on which both objective and subjective conditions took place. The research has also observed the most significant political-participation of the Palestinian women through the variable stages of struggle that proved consistency, as women fight against occupation, and also for wider participation within a discriminative, long inherited culture. The research tries to answer the questions related to the low representation of the Palestinian women, and the lack of their existence in the decision-making position between 1996-2006, inspire of their effective roles in liberation and constructing processes. The actions of the PA, are being observed to enhance women's participation and analyzed, and it proved to be on two levels: the formal development-planning, including the national initiatives, and the legal structure. The PA, since initiated, has tried to enhance national-development plans, in spite of the harsh conditions taking place, while those plans lacked donation, and also were gender blind, in addition to the internal corruption that hindered any progress. On the legal constructive level: in spite of the obstacles taking place, the PA has succeeded to draft laws, and to amend others, while executing it was hindered, due to the paralyzed executive forces, and the absence of detailed lists backing the laws. Some successes were accomplished - in terms of the laws – thanks to the women's movement struggle, and those believers of the issues of equality. The women's movement is still fighting to comprehend several laws proposed to the legislative council. The research clarifies the fact that the formal efforts armed, are quite humble and not adequate – in spite of the few accomplished successes – a clear political vision would be required that believes of women's participation through holistic development planning and drafting laws based on principles of equality, and policies consider positive discrimination for females, the national development-planning and the improvement of the legal construction, are the basic tools towards enhancing the women's political participation, within a traditional society, that does not consider women as equal partners. The research has concluded that activating women and their political participation is an accumulative resistance process conditioned the whole rehabilitation of the political system, strong women movement, raising gender awareness, and the systematic awareness process conserving the importance of the women's political participation in the society as a whole, and among women in particular.