Palestinian Women Facing Climate Change in Marginalized Areas: A Spatial Analysis of Environmental Awareness
Palestinian Women Facing Climate Change in Marginalized Areas: A Spatial Analysis of Environmental Awareness
Palestinian Women Facing Climate Change in Marginalized Areas: A Spatial Analysis of Environmental Awareness
com
Women face significant challenges in a time of families in order to preserve natural resourc-
climate change, and they also play a key role es and confront the phenomenon of climate
in helping to navigate the overall situation that change, many social, economic and political
results from these issues. This is especially true factors impede them from doing so.
for Palestinian women, who suffer from special
This study will focus on an important question:
economic conditions and a political situation
What is the environmental awareness of Pales-
that creates climate impacts in the West Bank.
tinian women in marginalized areas, especially
Palestinian women often find themselves at the those who live in remote communities? It also
center of the fallout from climate crises. They will present an analysis of the capabilities of Pal-
play a central role in awareness of the problem, estinian women in administrative and societal
rationalization of consumption, environmental decision-making in the face of spatial change.
protection, and resource management within This analysis will measure Palestinian women’s
their society. Yet, just as women in the region capabilities in environmental management in
are expected to change the behavior of their a moment of increasing climate impacts, as
Education level
Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Illiterate 12 2.4 2.4 2.4
Education Level
250
221
200
Frequency
150
127
100
67
51
50
12 22
0
Illiterate Up to Up to High school BAs Postgraduate
6th grade 10th grade
Education Level
In addition, the percentage of Palestinian women in marginalized areas with knowledge of the issue
of climate change reached a total of 44%, while 56.2% of Palestinian women in marginalized areas
know nothing about the phenomenon.
Table 2: The extent to which women (study sample) know about climate
change.
Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Yes 219 43.8 43.8 43.8
Valid No 281 56.2 56.2 100.0
Total 500 100.0 100.0
No
Yes
281 219
Efforts to raise the awareness of women and girls’ rights should be intensified, including through
social media campaigns, and community and school-based campaigns. This is especially true since
the study sample showed that the percentage choosing social media as a source of knowledge in
the field of climate change is about 40% (Table 3).
University Education
Social media
190 200
Scientific research
TV
Internet articles
41 28
41
First Person Accounts of Environ- the Palestinian and Israeli side in the marginal-
mental Awareness ized areas, especially classified (C), are the main
reason for limiting the development of women’s
The interviews with Palestinian women con- environmental awareness in these areas. Global
ducted for this research offer a window into the peace and stability must spread among the
lives behind the statistics. peoples of the world in order for them to [exist].
Women are the main part in facing this danger
Mrs. Samia Al-Tal is a community activist and
[of climate change]”.
director of a women’s association in the south-
ern West Bank. She says that “Palestinian Regarding the decline in the role of home
women, despite the technological development environmental education for Palestinian wom-
in the world, have the capabilities to build a en, sociologist Manar Muhammad noted that
safe society and environmental education in the “The spread of unemployment and domestic
face of climate change. But as a woman, I still violence is one of the main reasons that af-
face the challenges of society and its customs, fect the strengthening of the role of women
and these factors still affect the role of women in environmental protection, and the lack of…
in protecting the environment—just as early home gardens is due to the concentration of
marriage greatly affects the role of women women in the field of education…. If we want
in protecting the environment from climate to achieve social justice for women in the field
change.” Bisan Samamreh, a civil engineer ob- of facing climate change, we must eliminate
serves that: “The political differences between the phenomenon of unemployment and political
Mrs. Bissan Samamra/ civil engineer/ Samamra Mr. Akram Hamza/ Mayor of Al-Dahria/ July
Foundation for Construction and Development/ 2023.
June 2023.
Endnotes
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