Women’s Rights Policy
Policy Statement
Based on the principle of equality affirmed by the first article of the fourth section of the rights and public freedoms contained in the amended Palestinian Basic Law of 2003. We believe that An-Najah National University is an inseparable part of the social construction of the Palestinian state and the Palestinian people. Therefore, university stresses that women are half of society and are partners in building the institutions of this political, economic, social and cultural society.
In recognition of the role and status of women in all societies and the Palestinian society in particular, in which a number of women are prominent and distinguished in all spheres of life, the university has had to formulate a general policy on women's rights, ensuring that women live in an environment of equality and justice which empowers women and helps them reach decision-making positions alongside Palestinian men.
Purpose
This policy aims at drawing up a general framework for a set of basic principles related to women's rights that may not be properly implemented on the ground. This may be due to several reasons, the most important of which is the cultural and social background of the Palestinian society, which suffers from the dominance of masculine thought in dealing with women's rights. Due to those reasons, women may suffer from barriers and obstacles that may adversely affect their ability to exercise their rights in a healthy social environment dominated by the values of freedom, justice and equality.
Therefore, this policy has set forth a set of rules and provisions that guarantee respect for women's rights and to confront any form of violence or racial discrimination against them. With a focus on the rights of women to equality and non-discrimination in all areas of life, especially in the areas of education and work, the university has decided to prepare this policy to be the compass in directing all sections and departments of the university regarding women's rights and ensure respect for these rights, which in turn will be reflected positively on Palestinian women and the Palestinian society as a whole. Considering that the university is the largest university in the country in terms of the number of students and in terms of the number of scientific and humanitarian disciplines.
Scope
This policy is designed to be a formal source of women’s right within the scope of An-Najah National University, in another words, it will be the main source to regulate women’s right in the local community of university among its employees, student and other dealers.
This policy is applicable at the university wide level including all the administrative and academic departments.
Responsibilities
The implementation of this policy is a collective responsibility for all people who are part of the An-Najah National University community, particularly, faculties through insuring the effective implementation of this policy among its employees and students which could be achieved by enhancing the awareness of the importance of respecting this policy provisions among its employees, students and other dealing parties.
Students also play a great role in insuring the right implementation of this policy, this could be achieved by creating several student groups with different titles which in total aim to enhance the implementation of this policy among other students.
Principles
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Ensure gender equality in all fields at An-Najah National University;
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Ensure equality of opportunities between the two sexes on the basis of objective criteria based on qualifications and competences;
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Ensure the participation of females in cultural and scientific life and ensure their right to enroll in university education;
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Ensure that non-discriminatory policies are acceptable to students at An-Najah National University with respect to student’s admission regardless of their gender, religion, age or other racial discrimination;
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Ensure that women are not discriminated against at the university because of their gender, whether they are female students or employees;
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Ensure equal pay for women and men of the same category at the university;
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Ensure that women working at the university enjoy all the rights resulting from motherhood like maternity leave, daily breastfeeding hour, and so on;
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Ensure that the management and decision-making centers at the university are not monopolized by males and that women are empowered to access these centers as long as they have the necessary competence and expertise;
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Ensure that women are not subjected to any form of harassment and sexual violence in all their forms and impose deterrent penalties on violators;
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Ensure equality between working women and men in all deferred labor rights, especially with regard to the pension and social security systems in force at the university.
Effective Date: October 12, 2016
Review Date: Jun 15, 2023