The American Corner Nablus in collaboration with the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences hosted the Women’s Health Workshops on Wednesday, April 9^th in the Palestinian Korean IT Institute of Excellence.  The event was kicked off with an opening ceremony which included opening remarks by the Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Sami Jaber, and the Vice Dean of Higher Education in Medicine, Dr. Samar Musmar.  The first workshop, “The Palestinian Woman In Society, From Text To Reality,” included several presentations followed by a Q & A session.  

 Ms. Enas Abu Safha, a graduate student of the nursing community mental health masters program, discussed her research on female suicide in Palestine and noted that domestic violence is the single most common cause. 

Representing the Faculty of Sharia Law, Dr. Ayman Dabbagh presented on women’s rights in the context of Islam.  He noted that women have full and equal rights in Islam.  Dr. Ayman also explained how society misinterprets Islam and that social problems are not due to religion and that in fact Islam can solve many society issues if applied appropriately.  Dr. Ayman also made the point that domestic violence is not a Palestinian or Middle Eastern problem, but a global issue. 

The last panelist of the first workshop, Dr. Alia Assali of the Educational Sciences Faculty, analyzed the standardized Palestinian school course Civil Education taught from 1^st through 6^th grade, specifically the gender roles men and women are assigned in textbooks.  Citing several textbook images as examples, Dr. Alia discussed the inaccuracies of these roles compared to reality and its impact on school children

The second session, entitled “Are Women Really Covered?  Women’s Health Coverage at An Najah National University” was opened by Dr. Jawad Bitar of the Ministry of Health.  Dr. Jawad delivered a thorough presentation on the current status of women’s health in the West Bank and Gaza based on the 2013 annual report.  Dr. Jawad outlined many percentages and statistics including the fact that 37.6% of females in the West Bank are under 15 years of age, 35.5% of females marry before the age of 18, and breast cancer is one of the leading diseases to cause the death of women. 

Dr. Basil Mansour, representing the University’s Employees’ Union, engaged in an honest and reflective discussion with the workshop participants about the university health coverage for employees and whether it needs to be reassessed.

The closing session focused on physical health and consisted of a short powerpoint presentation by the head of the department of Nursing, Dr. Aidah Alkaissi, followed by Zumba instruction for female participants by Ms. Ameera Abu Hasira.

Notes:

Poster presentations on nutrition and health created by students of the IFMSA were displayed outside of the auditorium.  The University cafeteria offered healthy and balances snacks and meals in recognition of the event.