REFÎF ÎSLÎM

Gaza- Founded in Gaza, Maryam Cultural Center carries out cultural activities to educate and raise awareness of women. The center continues to serve many young women and girls with the support of experts in psychology, law, and literature. We spoke to Heba Skaik, director of the center, about their activities.

Stating that they hold online and face-to-face activities for women, Heba Skaik told us that they held a meeting to discuss the law prohibiting women from traveling without the permission of a male guardian like a father or husband. Heba Skaik thinks that society cannot progress unless cultural development is achieved, “It is important to ensure social justice by changing some unjust laws against women and making them compatible with international laws.”

Speaking about their activities, she said, “We organized a poetry night called “Poets of Jerusalem” for women with the participation of poets from Palestine and abroad in cooperation with the Palestinian Ministry of Culture.” Stating that they also follow the incidents of violence against women, Heba Skaik said, “We had many discussions with the Palestinian Legislative Council about violence against women. We have done a lot of research in the last five years to monitor gender-based violence and femicide.”

They are determined

Stating that they are currently working on organizing awareness-raising about women’s issues, Heba Skaik said, “We have already submitted a project to the Ministry of Education of the Gaza Strip to protect girls from sexual violence. We developed this project after a girl was raped in the city of Rafah. Although we have faced many difficulties, we are determined to carry out our activities. We face difficulties in finding financial support and trainers. The citizens of Gaza are suffering from financial problems, poverty, and unemployment due to the Israeli occupation. Domestic violence is on the rise due to the increasing unemployment rate.”