in cooperation with Jerusalem Center for Women
Introduction
-
Support for the Peace Process and Palestinian Election:
There
was, in general, a positive attitude towards the peace process, the elections,
and the influence of the individual within society. Those who stronglyfelt
that they had a civic responsibility to take part in the elections were
72.7% ad those who stated that they intended to vote were 78.1%.
-
Qualifications of Candidates: There was a large number
of people who felt that the most important criteria for a candidate was
their personal qualifications. 45.0% of those participating in the questionnaire
stated that personal qualification were a priortiy in comparison to 3.0%
who supported family loyalty, 19.9% who supported political affiliation
and 17.5% who said that religious affiliation was the most important criteria
in terms of choosing a candidate.
-
Equal particpation of women in public life: Palestinians,
in general, supported a quota for women 60.1% more than they supported
a quota for Christians 48.2%. Out of the 60.1% who did support a quota
for women, 71.6% were men. There was also a great deal of support, again
mostly from men, in terms of voting for a qualified woman candidate and
supporting equal opportunities for women in the public sphere. A very high
number of those questioned believed that they had an individual responsibility
towards society in all respects.
Overall, there was more support by men of women's
qualifications and participation in public life than by women themselves.
Women were perhaps reluctant or afraid of talking about any pressure that
they were subjected to during registration. For example, only 7.0% of women
stated that the reason why they did not register was because a male member
of the family did not allow it.
-
Personal status laws: There was a large percentage
of those participating in the survey who strongly disagreed to incorporate
personal status laws into the Palestinian constitution because of their
strong belief that the Shari'a laws must remain the alternative. Out of
29% who disagreed to incorporate these laws into the constitution, 81.7%
believe that Sahri'a laws are sufficient to govern matters of divorce,
marriage and inheritance.
-
Effectiveness of Women's Organizations: Most women
who were questioned were not satisfied with Palestinian women's organization.
A high percentage of women expressed a lack of opinion concerning the effectiveness
of women;s organizations which may be interpreted as a very low public
awareness among these women, a low rate of trust of women's organizations
and perhaps a lack of self confidence or trust in women themselves. Overall,
women judged women more harshly than men judged women.
-
Attitude of Men and Women: Overall, men had amore
positive attitude than women to most of the questions that were asked.
This may be a result of lack of sufficient access to public life, less
experience in organization. This may also be a result of a difference between
men and women's attitudes (i.e. ideology) and their actual behavior (practice).
Women sounded more pessimistic than men in the questionnaire
perhaps because they were mre truthful or sincere in answering the questions
and in general, women do not have such a large gap between attitude and
practice. Their responses perhaps reflect more the reality of the situation
rather than the ideal situation.
Methodology
A random sample of 1,250 Palestinians, over the age of
18 years, were interviewed throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip on 8
and 9 December 1995. The interviews were conducted in randomly selected
homes, and the subjects inside each home were also selected randomly according
to Kish tables. The interviews were conducted in 63 sampling points chosen
randomly according to population.
In the West Bank,855 people were surveyed from the following
areas: Bethlehem: Bethlehem, Beit Jala, Beit Sahour, Al-'Ibeidieh,
and Za'atara; Hebron: Hebron, Beit Ummar, Halhoul, Sa'ir, Shyoukh;
Jerusalem:
Jerusalem, al-'Izaria, Hizma, Shu'fat, Anata. Jenin, Jenin, Jenin
RC, 'Aqba, 'Araba, Maythaloun, Sanur. Nablus Area: Nablus, Askar
RC, Beita, Deir Sharaf, Sarra. Ramallah area: Ramallah, Al-Bireh,
Deir Dibwan, Shouqba, Sinjil. Tulkarem and Qalqilia area: Tulkarem,
Qalqilia, Beit Lied, Bidia, Jamain, Salfit. Jericho area: Jericho.
In the Gaza Strip, 395 people were surveyed from: Gaza
city, Deir al-Balah, Deir al-Balah RC, Nusseirat RC, Rafah, Jabalya, Jabalya
a-Nazala, Jabalya RC, Khan Younis, Khan Youns RC, Nusseriat RC, Rafah,
Shati RC, Burij RC, Maghazi RC, and 'Abasan.
The major of error is 3%, with a confidence level of 95%.
Sample Distribution
-
68.4% of the respondents were from the West Bank (including
East Jerusalem)
-
31.6% from the Gaza Strip
-
43.1% said they live in villages
-
15.3% in refugee camps
-
41.6% in towns/cities
-
47.9% were male
-
52.1% were female
-
62.9% were married
-
30.6% were single
-
3.6% were widowed
-
1.4% were divorced
-
0.6% No answer
-
The average of age of the respondents was 33 years.
Results
Q.1 In general, what is the extent of your optimism towards
the Palestinian future. Would you say you are very optimistic, somewhat
optimistic, optimistic, or very pessimistic?
|
Total
|
West Bank
|
Gaza Strip
|
| Very optimistic |
45.0%
|
44.7%
|
45.8%
|
| Somewhat optimistic |
36.2%
|
36.3%
|
35.2%
|
| Pessimistic |
12.2%
|
12.4%
|
11.6%
|
| Very pessimistic |
4.4%
|
4.0%
|
5.3%
|
| No opinion |
2.2%
|
2.3%
|
2.1%
|
Q.2 To what extent can you say you are for or against
the Taba (Oslo 2) agreement between the Palestinian Authority and Israel
|
Total
|
West Bank
|
Gaza Strip |
| Strongly support |
39.8%
|
39.4%
|
40.5%
|
| Somewhat support |
27.3%
|
28.4%
|
24.8%
|
| Absolutely do not support |
14.5%
|
13.3%
|
17.0%
|
| Have not read the agreement |
13.7%
|
13.0%
|
15.2%
|
| No opinion |
4.7%
|
5.9%
|
2.5%
|
Q.3 In general, would you say that you support or oppose
the peace process?
|
Total
|
West Bank
|
Gaza Strip
|
| Support the peace process |
77.9%
|
76.6%
|
80.8%
|
| Oppose the peace process |
16.1%
|
16.1%
|
15.9%
|
| No opinion |
6.0%
|
7.3%
|
3.3%
|
Q.4 Do you believe that women will have an equal opportunity
in running for the elections?
|
Total
|
West Bank
|
Gaza Strip
|
| Yes they will |
55.6%
|
56.0%
|
54.7%
|
| No they will not |
31.8%
|
32.3%
|
30.6%
|
| No opinion |
12.6%
|
11.7%
|
14.7%
|
Q.5 Do you think it is important to incorporate personal
status laws (including those pertaining to divocre, inheritance and marriage)
into the Palestinian constitution?
|
Total
|
West Bank
|
Gaza Strip
|
| Yes |
52.4%
|
53.9%
|
49.4%
|
| No (Go to question #9-1) |
29.5%
|
29.9%
|
28.6%
|
| No opinion |
18.1%
|
16.2%
|
22.0%
|
Q. 5-1 If the answer ot the previous question is no, then
why not?
This question was asked only to those who said that
personal status laws should not be incorporated in the Palestinian Constitution.
n=399
|
Total
|
West Bank
|
Gaza Strip
|
| Shari'a Law is sufficient to govern these matters |
81.7%
|
83.7%
|
77.2%
|
| Such laws are not important enough to be included in
the constitution |
8.3%
|
6.9%
|
11.4%
|
| Other reasons |
3.0%
|
2.5%
|
4.1%
|
| No opinion |
7.0%
|
6.9%
|
7.3%
|
Please indicate whether you strongly support, somewhat
support or strongly oppose the following statements (Q.10 - Q.14).
Q.6 Women deserve a quota in the elected council.
|
Total
|
West Bank
|
Gaza Strip
|
| Strongly agree |
60.1%
|
59.9%
|
60.5%
|
| Agree somewhat |
17.1%
|
17.8%
|
15.7%
|
| Strongly disagree |
15.2%
|
15.4%
|
14.7%
|
| No opinion |
7.6%
|
6.9%
|
9.1%
|
Q.7 Christians deserve a quota in the elected council.
|
Total
|
West Bank
|
Gaza Strip
|
| Strongly agree |
48.2%
|
50.9%
|
42.5%
|
| Agree somewhat |
21.4%
|
21.9%
|
20.3%
|
| Strongly disagree |
19.2%
|
18.1%
|
21.5%
|
| No opinion |
11.2%
|
9.1%
|
15.7%
|
Q.8 Palestinian women's organizations provide women with
useful information in a timely manner.
|
Total
|
West Bank
|
Gaza Strip
|
| Strongly agree |
27.7%
|
28.9%
|
25.3%
|
| Agree somewhat |
20.6%
|
20.8%
|
20.3%
|
| Strongly disagree |
13.0%
|
13.8%
|
11.1%
|
| No opinion |
38.7%
|
36.5%
|
43.3%
|
Q.9 I believe I have a civic responsibility to take part
in the elections.
|
Total
|
West Bank
|
Gaza Strip
|
| Strongly agree |
72.7%
|
73.3%
|
71.4%
|
| Agree somewhat |
9.0%
|
8.8%
|
9.6%
|
| Strongly disagree |
7.5%
|
8.0%
|
6.6%
|
| No opinion |
10.8%
|
9.9%
|
12.4%
|
Q.10 If a woman candidate met my standards of proper qualifications,
I would vote for her.
|
Total
|
West Bank
|
Gaza Strip
|
| Strongly agree |
67.4%
|
68.3%
|
65.3%
|
| Agree somewhat |
12.2%
|
12.5%
|
11.6%
|
| Strongly disagree |
13.2%
|
12.7%
|
14.2%
|
| No opinion |
7.2%
|
6.5%
|
8.9%
|
Q.11 Do you support or oppose the need for qualified women
to be entitled for equal opportunities to participate actively in public
responsibilities in society?
|
Total
|
West Bank
|
Gaza Strip
|
| Support |
75.4%
|
75.4%
|
75.2%
|
| Oppose (go to question #15-1) |
17.3%
|
16.7%
|
18.5%
|
| No opinion |
7.3%
|
7.9%
|
6.3%
|
Q.11-1 If you disagree, then why?
This question is asked only to those who said disagree
in Q.15
|
Total
|
West Bank
|
Gaza Strip
|
| I believe women should only take care of family and homes |
25.6%
|
23.7%
|
29.6%
|
| Because of religion |
17.4%
|
20.3%
|
11.3%
|
| Women should not have social contact with outside of
their immediate family |
6.4%
|
6.8%
|
5.6%
|
| Women are not as capable as men to handle those kinds
of tasks |
42.5%
|
42.6%
|
42.3%
|
| Other reasons |
3.7%
|
2.0%
|
7.0%
|
| No opinion |
4.4%
|
4.6%
|
4.2%
|
Q.12 Do you intend to vote in the upcoming elections?
|
Total
|
West Bank
|
Gaza Strip
|
| Yes |
78.1%
|
78.8%
|
76.5%
|
| No (go to question # 16-1) |
12.2%
|
11.6%
|
13.4%
|
| I have not decided yet |
7.4%
|
6.8%
|
8.6%
|
| No opinion |
2.3%
|
2.8%
|
1.5%
|
Q.12-1 If you do not intend to vote, the reason is:
This question was asked to those who said that they
will not vote in the elections. n=193
|
Total
|
West Bank
|
Gaza Strip
|
| I don't have proper ID |
5.7%
|
5.2%
|
5.0%
|
| I plan to boycott the elections because of ideological
reasons |
13.0%
|
12.7%
|
14.0%
|
| I don't believe in the peace process |
33.7%
|
32.9%
|
36.0%
|
| I don't believe in democracy |
4.2%
|
3.0%
|
7.0%
|
| I didn't register to vote |
5.2%
|
7.5%
|
7.0%
|
| I won't vote untill all the prisoners are released |
4.7%
|
3.7%
|
2.0%
|
| (Women only) My husband, brother, father won't allow
me |
16.1%
|
19.4%
|
8.0%
|
| Others |
11.4%
|
9.7%
|
15.0%
|
| No opinion |
6.0%
|
5.9%
|
6.0%
|
Q.13 In your opinion, the most important criterion for
a candidate is:
|
Total
|
West Bank
|
Gaza Strip
|
| Family loyalty |
3.0%
|
3.4%
|
2.3%
|
| Religious affiliation |
17.5%
|
17.8%
|
17.0%
|
| Political affiliation |
19.9%
|
20.0%
|
19.7%
|
| Personal qualifications of candidate |
45.0%
|
43.4%
|
48.6%
|
| Others |
7.6%
|
7.8%
|
6.8%
|
| No opinion |
7.0%
|
7.6%
|
5.6%
|
Q.14 Do you believe your vote will make a difference in
the final outcome of the elections?
|
Total
|
West Bank
|
Gaza Strip
|
| Yes |
73.6%
|
76.0%
|
68.4%
|
| No |
14.7%
|
13.2%
|
18.0%
|
| No opinion |
11.7%
|
10.8%
|
13.6%
|
