Despite a clear increase, participation of Palestinian women in public life remains low

A statement issued on Thursday by the Palestinian Statistical Bureau said that despite making up half of the population, the percentage of Palestinian women contributing to the workforce was less than 17 per cent while the rate of divorce is only 1.5 per cent.

The statement, which was distributed to the press in the wake of International Woman’s Day, said that the percentage of female involvement in the Palestinian workforce had increased over the last ten years. The number of working women recorded in 2012 was 17.4 per cent compared with 10.3 per cent in 2011. However, despite this increase, the rate is still very low.

There are 2.14million women in Palestine compared with 2.21million men which means they make up almost half of the population at a ratio 49.2 per cent women to 50.8 per cent men.

According to the statement, six out of ten Palestinian women over the age of 16 are married while three out of ten remain single. 5.8 per cent are widows and the rate of divorced, which was described as very low, is 1.5 per cent.

While the rate of illiteracy in Palestine is very low, it is four times higher among women than among men. Illiteracy among men is 1.8 per cent compared to 6.4 per cent among women.

Regarding the holding of public positions, approximately 20 per cent of local councils are made up of women. However, this figure is very much lower in political and diplomatic posts as they make up only 4.3 per cent of Palestinian ambassadors compared to 95.7 per cent with men.