Assiwar

Assiwar (Arabic: السوار, "The Bracelet") is an independent Palestinian Arab feminist movement and registered civil-society association based in Haifa, in the Palestinian community inside Israel. Founded in 1997, it describes itself as a feminist movement struggling against all forms of oppression and their manifestations at the patriarchal, economic, national and ethnic levels. It holds that liberating society — especially its marginalized and disempowered groups — requires confronting these forms of exploitation both together and individually. From this standpoint, Assiwar treats sexual assault as a social phenomenon whose victims are women and children because of their social disempowerment. It defines feminism as a revolutionary political-social movement seeking to change the prevailing relations of power and domination in society, and uses feminist analysis to expose forms of exploitation and to understand the complex intersections among them across all areas of social life. Assiwar is a registered nonprofit association that has provided services since its founding in 1997 to the Palestinian Arab public in the country. Its work is run by the Assiwar staff together with a group of Palestinian women volunteers who have been trained within the organization after completing a comprehensive course serving this purpose. Assiwar volunteers are integrated into the various programs and projects the association runs. Its best-known service is a hotline and correspondence service that receives approaches from women exposed to any kind of sexual violence, offering them support and a suitable atmosphere to talk about their crisis and helping them mobilize their own capacities to confront it. Approaches are received by a volunteer who has completed a training course given by Assiwar. To ease the caller's burden, she may identify herself by name or use a pseudonym if she prefers, and she may choose to continue by telephone with the accompanying volunteer or to come to the association's premises and continue face-to-face. Beyond psychological support, volunteers accompany the woman when needed to medical examinations and treatments, and to the police and courts if she decides to file a complaint against the attacker. Assiwar also runs an educational project, feminist circles, and advocacy and media work, and it engages with issues affecting Palestinian women in their social and political context, such as personal-status matters, opposition to polygamy and early marriage, and topics such as the politics of everyday life for Palestinian women and the situation of Palestinian women prisoners in Israeli prisons. Its public campaigns have included the annual international 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, for which in 2019 it published "16 Days, 16 Testimonies" on sexual harassment.

Assiwar was founded in 1997 as the Arab Feminist Movement in Support of Victims of Sexual Assault, and is based in Haifa in the Palestinian community inside Israel. From its founding it has provided services to the Palestinian Arab public in the country, operating as a registered civil-society association. Its work is carried out by the Assiwar staff together with a group of Palestinian women volunteers who are trained within the organization through a comprehensive course and then integrated into its various programs and projects. Over the years Assiwar developed a model combining direct support with education and advocacy. Its central service is a hotline and correspondence service for women exposed to sexual violence, staffed by trained volunteers. Callers may identify themselves by name or use a pseudonym, and may continue by telephone or come to the association's premises for face-to-face conversations. Beyond psychological support, volunteers accompany women to medical examinations and treatments and, if the woman decides to file a complaint, to the police and courts. Assiwar also runs an educational project and feminist circles, and engages in media work and campaigns. It addresses issues in the social and political context of Palestinian women, including personal-status matters, opposition to polygamy and early marriage, and topics such as "the politics of resilience: the politicization of the daily life of Palestinian women" and "the reality of Palestinian women prisoners in Israeli occupation prisons." Leadership has developed largely from within the organization. Layla Jaroushi-Hassan volunteered at Assiwar between 1995 and 1997, was a board member between 2003 and 2005, coordinated the emergency hotline project between 2006 and 2012, and served as general director until 2016. Lamia Nahmneh-Simanuka joined in 2007 as coordinator of the educational project and has served as director of the association since 2016. Baraa Asla joined as a guide and coordinates the educational project. In 2019 Assiwar launched the campaign "16 Days, 16 Testimonies" on sexual harassment, part of the international 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence that runs annually from 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10 December. The campaign published sixteen testimonies of women and a young man who had experienced sexual assault, most of them Palestinians from inside Israel or from other countries who had come to volunteer or work. Some stories were published with the witness's name and some anonymously. The campaign generated wide resonance and media controversy because it exposed some of the attackers, who were known figures in the social and political context inside Israel.

• 2019

  Assiwar launches the "16 Days, 16 Testimonies" campaign on sexual harassment as part of the international 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.

• 2016

  Lamia Nahmneh-Simanuka becomes director of the association; Layla Jaroushi-Hassan had served as general director until this year.

• 2007

  Lamia Nahmneh-Simanuka joins Assiwar as coordinator of the educational project.

• 1997

  Assiwar is founded as the Arab Feminist Movement in Support of Victims of Sexual Assault, based in Haifa, and begins providing services to the Palestinian Arab public in the country.

An independent Palestinian Arab feminist movement and registered nonprofit in Haifa, positioning itself as a revolutionary political-social force against patriarchal, economic, national and ethnic oppression, with a focus on sexual violence and marginalized women.

• Emergency hotline and correspondence service

  A hotline and correspondence service receiving approaches from women exposed to any kind of sexual violence, offering support and a suitable atmosphere to talk about their crisis and helping them mobilize their capacities to confront it. Approaches are received by a volunteer trained by Assiwar; callers may use their name or a pseudonym and may continue by phone or in person at the association's premises.

• Accompaniment services

  Volunteers accompany women when needed to medical examinations and treatments, and to the police and courts if the woman decides to file a complaint against the attacker.

• Educational project

  An educational project run by Assiwar, including awareness work in schools and with professionals and the general public.

• Feminist circles

  Feminist circles run by Assiwar as part of its programs.

• Media and advocacy campaigns

  Media work and campaigns addressing sexual violence and issues affecting Palestinian women, including the annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.

1. 1الرئيسية - السّوار - Assiwarassiwar.org
2. 2من نحن - السّوار - Assiwarassiwar.org
3. 3Assiwarwikidata.org
4. 4السوار (حركة نسوية فلسطينية)ar.wikipedia.org