Al-Zahraa Arab Women's Organization members felt it was necessary to create an organization, as the needs of Palestinian Arab women inside Israel since the establishment of the state have been consistently neglected.

Palestinian Arab women and girls account for more than half a million of Israel's citizens. They are the most disadvantaged sector of the population, facing double discrimination both as Arabs within the Israeli state, and women within Palestinian (patriarchal) society. These combine to make Palestinian Arab women the poorest, least paid, least educated portion of the community. Their situation is made worse by their lack of access to decision making positions of power. As a consequence, their perspectives and needs are continually neglected.



Goals

1) To ameliorate the status of Arab women in their own society and on the national level (as members of a non-recognized minority in a Jewish state)

2) To raise awareness about women's issues among women themselves and in the Arab community

3) To support women's groups on a national level

4) To develop and maintain a network in Israel of Arab/Druze/Bedouin women's groups in order to enhance our work and by this to become a kind of umbrella organization for women's groups in the whole country

5) To encourage women to pursue higher education, and to empower them through all kinds of lectures, courses, and publications, etc.



We respond to the following issues in particular-

1) Low education among Palestinian Arab women

2) Unemployment among Palestinian Arab women

3) The issue of 'family honor'

4) Marriage at a young age

5) Lack of decision making positions

6) Awareness among women about their own position in Arab and Israeli society



Main Activities

1) Courses in empowerment for women and girls;

2) Courses promoting co-existence between Arab and Jewish women;

3) Courses promoting women in management and economic empowerment for women;

4) Building networks among women from Arab villages;

5) Organizing trips, seminars, and workshops to promote the status of Arab women;

6) Leadership courses for women;

7) Awareness raising and identity building leadership courses for young women;

8) Celebrating International Women's Day on the 8th of March;

9) Organizing the first conference for Palestinian women from inside Israel.