By Balu Iyer, director general of International Co-operative Alliance for Asia and Pacific
There was muted excitement in the group as we set out to visit women co-operatives in the West Bank of Palestine. The previous day at the workshop on Enhancing Role of Women in Co-operative Business organised by the International Co-operative Alliance for Asia and Pacific (ICA-AP), We Effect and the Economic and Social Development Center of Palestine (ESDC), we were given statistics on women that were not wholly optimistic. While women comprised 49.2% of total population in Palestine, their number in the labour force was just 19.4%. The unemployment among women was 38.9% and that among women with 13 years of education or more was 48.7%. Moreover, the socio-economic impact study of co-operatives in the West Bank had concluded that women’s share in co-operatives general assemblies is merely 15% and only 16% of co-operatives are women co-operatives.
The workshop focused on Enhancing the Role of Women in Co-operative business to bring in the spotlight women run co-operatives in Palestine. It gathered together the ministers, international development agencies and co-operatives from Palestine and outside together to discuss the issues and share experiences.
The actual visit to women run co-operatives proved the numbers otherwise. Morhaffa from Bezaria Cooperative, Khetam Suleiman from Beita Cooperative and Fatima Awatlah from the Al Noemeh Cooperative showed the difference co-operatives were making in providing not only income and employment opportunities, but also addressing social needs and providing leadership. The Supermarket run by Bezaria Cooperative earned a profit of $133,030 last year, employed 22 women and benefited 427 families. While they started as an unorganised group in 2005, through support from the government and ESDC, they organised their business, merged shops and grew the enterprise. The co-operative has now 110 members, a paid-up capital of USD $62,900 and equity of $192,000. It has been paying regular dividend to members and offers various benefits to the users.
According to Morhaffa, the chairperson of the co-operative, who is also a board member of ESDC, “the co-operative provides women their own space outside of their homes. This is much needed given the situation in which we are. We hope our own building in the near future will expand not only our business, but also the psychosocial services, care for people with disabilities and rent the space for community activities.” Women from the neighbouring towns visit Bezaria to learn and start their own co-operatives. A reflection of co-operation among co-operatives!
The entrepreneurial spirit of the women of Beita co-operative was evident as we entered their office. The members were busy packing olive oil soaps and proudly putting stickers with their brand name Palastinia.
When it started off in 2007, the co-op was focused on agriculture and food processing. It ventured into poultry and a consumer shop before finally settling on soap making. According to Khetam Suleiman, “making soap was a less risky proposition. It is a traditional product, the soap making process is familiar and it gives more work opportunity for women.” The other women in the group added, “We realised that in order to grow we needed to be more skilled, experiment with ingredients, focus on quality and make the packaging attractive. Brand Palastina was thus born.” In addition to direct selling, the co-op also makes soaps for private sellers.
The first thing one notices as one enters the Al Noemeh Cooperative for Rural Development is the rows of computers lined against the wall. The co-operative provides training to women to become computer literate. This co-operative, which started in 2000, also had a learning process, investing in many activities before settling in on the co-operative shop. A unique service the co-operative provides its members the opportunity to pay and top up their electricity cards. Over 400 families benefit from this service and the co-operative estimates it has saved $31,405 in terms of money and 3,744 hours in terms of time! According to the Fatima, the chair, they are the only co-operative that provides this service to its members and community.
In their report, Building Ties: Towards Integrated Strategic & Policies for Empowering Palestinian Women, UN Women recommends strengthening co-operatives and women run collective ventures. These recommendations also resonate with those in the ICA-ILO report, Advancing gender equality: The co-operative way.
The first line, muted excitement was not totally correct! For the group consisting of co-operators from India, Kenya, Philippines and the U.S., this was the first visit to Palestine. The excitement was palpable and interaction with the women co-operatives did not disappoint!
Photo: women members of Al Noemeh Cooperative
