Safe motherhood committees women take command

Tens of ladies from Beit Iksa, Beit Sourik, Biddou, Qattanna and Beit Inan meet regularly at the Safe Motherhood Committee’s Fitness Center in Biddou where they talk, exchange experiences and manage all the Center’s activities. These ladies meet outside their homes to engage in the development of their community and to discuss key issues relating to it. Their efforts are encouraged by PRCS which created Safe Motherhood Committees (SMCs) several years ago.

SMC activities include awareness-raising and educational courses on the prevention of communicable diseases, fitness classes as well as managerial activities.
Hanan Mansour, Social Worker in charge of five SMCs in villages located to the North West of Jerusalem said: “The first SMC in the area was established in Qattanna following a training course held there in 2003. It was the first such committee targeting women in this closed patriarchal society. Things were very hard at the beginning. I had to go and talk to husbands and convince them to allow their wives to participate. Soon after, women went out of their homes and took matters into their own hands. They are great entrepreneurs. Soon, the Qattanna SMC comprised 40 ladies, while 105 ladies have joined the other 4 SMCs in the area. Committees developed very quickly. You have to understand that for a woman to hold a microphone and to give a speech is a great achievement in these villages”.

SMCs had a great impact on these women which in turn positively affected their families. Imm Abboud Badwan (43), says: “We apply what we learn at home, and my relationship with my children changed. I am now more aware of diverse health, social and educational issues”.

Commenting on difficulties encountered, Imm Ahmad, another SMC member, said: “I joined the SMC two years ago. I had trouble convincing my husband to let me join at the beginning, but when he noticed the positive impact the SMC had on me, he encouraged me to participate more”. Her colleague Affaf Amjad (31) added: “My husband would not have allowed me to remain a member of the SMC had he not seen its positive impact on me. We receive help and we in turn help people know more about many things. Women started feeling they have a role to play in society”.

SMC projects in that area of Jerusalem include the Fitness Center in Biddou and a kindergarten in Qattana. Suzanne Al Faqih (40) commented on this in the following words: “We had courses and then we started visiting homes and raising awareness there. We worked to open this kindergarten and now we run it from A to Z”.
Many difficulties were encountered in Beit Iksa where pioneering activities were implemented to the benefit of the local community. “We faced many reservations, but we managed to bring about change. That is why people were very supportive”.

University Student Inas Mazra’awi from Beit Sourik spoke about interaction between generations within SMCs as follows: “We learn from each other’s mistakes and from the experiences of older members”.
Fatima Skeik, Coordinator of the Community-based Development Program implemented in cooperation with the EU, the German and the Finnish Red Cross Societies, added: “Women are in charge of planning for small projects, and they are the one who run those projects and who supervise them. Women run around 45 projects in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with support from PRCS branches. They do not receive any remuneration, except for small sums to cover operational costs”.
It is to be noted that 75 SMCs operate in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with a total of 1200 members.