PA daily article: PA has taken steps to protect women from “honor killings,” but more needed
Headliine: “Dhiab: There is a desire and a commitment among the politicians to protect women from violence.”
“Minister of Women’s Affairs Rabiha Dhiab said: ‘The politicians very much want to combat violence against women, both the President and the government.’ …
Nonetheless, feminist activist and head of the Palestinian Working Women Society for Development Amal Khreishe said that even though a number of presidential directives and government decisions indicate the politicians’ will, the desired results have not yet been achieved.
In addition, she said: ‘A simple check of the workings of the courts and their decisions in cases dealing with violence toward women, called ‘honor killings’, proves that in practice things have not changed. This is so because the authority of a judge’s [personal] evaluation still helps the criminal avoid punishment, and a sentence can be lessened because of a number of considerations, like introducing unofficial rulings, or personal beliefs of the judge.’”
“Minister of Women’s Affairs Rabiha Dhiab said: ‘The politicians very much want to combat violence against women, both the President and the government.’ …
Nonetheless, feminist activist and head of the Palestinian Working Women Society for Development Amal Khreishe said that even though a number of presidential directives and government decisions indicate the politicians’ will, the desired results have not yet been achieved.
In addition, she said: ‘A simple check of the workings of the courts and their decisions in cases dealing with violence toward women, called ‘honor killings’, proves that in practice things have not changed. This is so because the authority of a judge’s [personal] evaluation still helps the criminal avoid punishment, and a sentence can be lessened because of a number of considerations, like introducing unofficial rulings, or personal beliefs of the judge.’”