PWIC Measures The Efficiency of Non-Governmental Women

 Organizations in the Gaza Strip

Hoda Hamooda's Speech:

I am pleased to present for you, with the most possible precision, the justifications of this research, its importance, its objectives, its complications, its methodology, its limits and its results; hoping to form a virtual increase to the literature of Palestinian NGOs' activity and hoping also to form a basic introduction to a wider range of discussion with opinion leaders in this field. At the same time I am all ears to listen carefully to your notes, critiques and proposals in an attempt to promote jointly the objectives of this research.

First: Research Objectives

1.        Estimating the efficiency of non governmental women organizations in the Gaza Strip, diagnosing its complications and determining its pros and cons.

2.      Comparing the pronounced declarations to the internal objectives, programs and their internal policies.  

3.      Ascertaining the compatibility of their internal constitutions, and their message and objectives.

4.      Participating in establishing an empirical, analytical and administrative approach to evaluate accurately the efficiency of NGOs.

5.      Handing recommendations and proposals that could be used to promote the efficiency rate of women activities.

Second: The Importance of the Research

The importance of this research emerges out, as we think, from the serious need of reconsidering means and devices used by NGOs and civil organizations in an attempt to promote and enhance such means to include all the developmental and national programs of these organizations.

This importance becomes clearer when we realize that the library of the Palestinian civil organizations lacks estimating researches on the effectuality of NGOs.

Third: Research Justifications

1.        There has been a rapid increase of civil organizations in Palestine during the last ten years and the increase of women civil organizations as a result, whether those which consider woman as a main beneficiary of their programs and objectives or those which concentrate on attracting woman as administrative and    non administrative majority.

2.      The dominance of women issues in most plans, programs and policies which are formulated by civil Palestinian organizations.

3.      The large number of specialized women activities in terms of workshops, meetings, vocational and rehabilitation programs has consumed great sums of      money from the donors.

4.      Increasing the complaints to civil women organizations due to their ineffectual   performance.

5.      Data and statistics verified can indicate a slow rate of women's participation, which has lately been risen, at utilizing from work and education opportunities, civil and communal rights.

Fourth: Research Complications

The main point of these complications is the absence of accurate data on the actual conditions of women civil organizations in Gaza. Most printing publications of women issues have tackled some of the following subjects as: women and job opportunities; women and elections, or violence against women; whereas we could not been able to recognize a research that could provide us with actual conditions of these organizations on the basis of empirical, administrative and analytical approach in a way that their effectiveness can be rightly evaluated.

But to be precise we have been acquainted with a very few researches that approached the estimation process in a relatively empirical way upon which we have based this research.

Fifth: The Methodology of the Research

The nature of this research has imposed the use of certain varieties of methodologies and has adopted different approaches to collect data and information. For example, we have preferred to use the historical and descriptive approaches at the chapters of civil community organizations. While we have adopted the historical and social methodologies at political, economical and social perspectives, we have based our research on the official documents of women organizations in determining their objectives, programs and their activities. Then we formulated a comprehensive questionnaire to survey these organizations which included some special questions of the constitutional system, decision making process, employment criteria and monitoring strategies. The questionnaire has incorporated also some questions on the activities and the programs of these organizations in relation with achievement level, the extent of centrality in making policies and decisions, and their commitment to elections as a mean to decide leadership.

At last this research has heavily rested on the statistical methodology in determining the level of satisfaction of the targeted groups through programming a questionnaire that targets random samples of women at camps, slums and shanty areas in Gaza Strip. And at the same time we benefited a lot from personal interviews with some women cadres of the civil organizations, which have positively contributed to our research.

Sixth: The Limits of the Research

This research is concerned with the effectiveness of women civil organizations in Gaza Strip in 1994 to 2004.

Seventh: The Results: The Constitutional System of Women Organizations

§         The questionnaire form has examined 39 women organizations and has concentrated pointedly on their internal structures in terms of the constitutional system, making process strategies, horizontal and vertical relations among other circles, employment criteria for basic posts or board of directors, monitoring system, their messages and objectives, determining funding parties, women civil organizations' relations with regional and international and Palestinian organizations, and the recent projects conducted  which had the following results:

§         This form has shown that the voluntary work is still dominant despite all the sayings that denied its prevalence. It has concluded that volunteers' rate (of both sexes) at these organizations has reached 90.12% while the payable workers' rate is just 6.7%.

§         74 % of these organizations have a constitutional structure.

§         48 % has explained the relation among circles as to have vertical shape.

§         30.8 % of these organizations have explained the relation among circles as to have horizontal shape.

§         7 % of these organizations had not answered.

§         48.7 % of these organizations has law consultant.

§         82.1 % of these organizations have a fiscal auditor.

§         87.2 % of these organizations have stated that they determine the duties and the responsibilities of organizations.

§         74.4 % of these organizations have stated that the director has the ultimate authority.

§         79.5 % of these organizations have said that they advertise for a job vacancy and the qualifications needed before employing the prospective employees.

§         94.8 % of these organizations have said that their employees are to take certain administrative skills trainings.

§         89.7 % of these organizations offer some incentives whether in fiscal or spiritual forms for women and men activists.

§         87.2 % of these organizations have an elected board of directors.

§         53.8 % of these organizations have no male members.

§         51.2 % of these organizations did not change the numbers of the members of its general assembly during the last ten years, or since establishment.

§         20.5 % of these organizations did not convoke any sessions for its general assembly.

All organizations could not determine the cost of the conducted projects or that being conducted during the last five years.

§         The objectives of these women organizations are featured with propaganda techniques and lack definite and measurable objectives. Duties and programs planned by civil organizations are sprung to meet the objectives that were sought before. But the questionnaire form has shown that the objectives of women organizations and are at odds with their policies, duties and programs.

§         This study has shown that women organizations lack verified documentations to their activities and their internal structures or accurate and reliable achieves a matter which would make the results inaccurate and unreliable.

§         It has shown that the internal systems for women civil organizations in Gaza Strip  has internal structures and constitutional systems, and has recently recognized some internally democratic bonds. But these conclusions are not completely verifiable due to the lack of accurate statistics and data that validate them. Also they lack transparency, documentations and internal constitutions.

§         The questionnaire form of the internal constitution of these organizations has shown a conflict of the credibility concerning the collected data; especially that concern with the number of sessions of the general assembly and the number of meetings which had conducted internal elections and the number of female members who had attended these meetings.

§         The results of the research show that funding problem represents the first main obstacle for women civil organizations in Gaza Strip while the obstacles caused by Israeli occupation represents the second main obstruction for such programs.  

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Women Organizations by Using Quantitative Indicators for Their Programs Which Were Registered as Follows:

Organizations Working at Child and Women Sectors:

The priorities of this sector were rated as follows: 18.9 % for women's rights issues, 17.08 % for child's rights, 17 % for communal participation, 15.82 % for family health, 12.66 % for employment, 9.49 % for anti violations organizations and 8.86 % discrimination.

These organizations have conducted 2817 courses to meet these priorities. The form shows that two out of 33 organizations which are working at the same objectives have completed 49.7 % of all the conducted courses, a fact that can prove the ineffectuality of the other organizations.

The number of the beneficiaries of these courses is 11425 families (48125 women and 29590 children). The average of the workshops conducted by these organizations is 87.09 workshops, which is considered a low average during the last ten years.

The questionnaire form has recognized a considerable ineffectiveness of these organizations: 8 organizations did not coordinate any kind of workshops and 15 organizations (of women and child orientations) had not issued any publications too.

It had indicated also that five organizations out of 33, which work at the same field, do publish periodical brochures whereas six organizations did not pay any field visits to the targeted groups.

Women Organizations Working at Democracy and Human Rights:

Women Organizations' percentage working at this sectors has reached 41.02% out of the total organizations studied, and has showed a significant weakness of their performance in general; especially in the number of workshops and meetings as the number of sessions held in the last ten years has reached 7887 workshops but 63.4 % of that number is channeled to one organization. The same is applicable to the vocational courses; the form has indicated that 3 organizations had performed 92 % of these courses. There are 68.25% of these organizations did not publish any kind of periodical publications.

Women Organizations Working at Environmental Sector:

Women organizations working at environmental sector have reached five organizations out of 39.

By the use of qualitative indicators of workshops, meetings and vocational trainings, we can conclude that there is a general weakness of these organizations, because all activities are concentrated in one organization with 90% whereas 10% is left to be distributed into the other organizations.

These five organizations do not publish any environmental publications and rest heavily on direct communications instead. These organizations had not participated in meetings for legislating environmental regulations--except two limited activities of two organizations--, a matter that can prove the general ineffectuality of these organizations.

Women Organizations Working at Educational and Vocational Sectors:

Women organizations working at vocational and educational sectors have reached 26 organizations out of 39 ones of those that were studied.

The questionnaire form has indicated a considerable weakness of most organizations at this sector as all the vocational and educational courses are performed by three organizations, which have conducted 87% of the total courses, a percentage that can be applicable to other quantitative indicators at this sector.

The questionnaire has indicated that most organizations working at vocational and educational sectors have confined most of their courses to crafts and household activities, which would perpetuate passive principle towards civilizations. The form has recognized a wide gab between the declared policies and their virtual manifestations in terms of the conducted vocational trainings and qualitative programs, which had been confined in a way that obstructed the incorporation of woman in development programs. This weakness is represented at the low percentage of job opportunities procurement that was provided by these organizations.

Most of these organizations have depended upon female cadres in the vocational teams, a good indicator for their efficiency.

Women Organizations Working at Agriculture Field:

Women organizations working at agriculture have amounted to five organizations out 39 of which that were enclosed under this study. It has pointed out that there is an evident weakness of performance of agricultural based organizations, which was recognized as a result of the techniques adopted to reach the sought objectives. Although 50% of these organizations consider instructions and directives as top priorities to be adopted, they did not publish any kind of instructive brochures during the last ten years. Their ineffectiveness can be explained by the unequal distribution of activities; two main activist organizations do most of activities while the others are relatively passive. And what is more is that that there are three organizations had not been able to define the number of the direct beneficiaries of their loans.

Civil Women Organizations Working at Cultural Sector:

There are 18 women organizations out of 39, of those which were included in this research, have been working in cultural sector. The questionnaire form has showed that one organization has coordinated half of the workshops which were carried out in the last three years (2001-2000). This is also can be applicable to the other activities as the number of cultural meetings, the number of beneficiaries or the numbers of job vacancies. It has pointed out that ineffectiveness has extended to the cultural sector due to the scarcity of periodical or non periodical publications specializing in cultural respects except a very limited number of brochures and publications.

Women Organizations Working at Sport Sector:

Six women organizations out of 39, which were incorporated in our study, have been working in sport sector. It indicated an exhaustive weakness of their performance. It indicates that the benefited males' percentage from these   organizations is 76.7% while females' percentage does not exceed 23.2%, an unsatisfying statistics that would question the actual objectives behind their declared principles adopted before.

The form also represents the ineffectiveness of sport organizations as no one of their members has got any international or regional medals.

Women Organizations Working at Research Sector:

Women organizations who are working at research fields have reached 8 organizations out of the total women organizations which had amounted up to 39. Those 8 organizations, which are concerned with empirical orientations, have defined their priorities in the form of conducting communal, economical, political, literary, mental and educational researches that concern the Palestinian woman. This field has also reflected an observable weakness, because four women based organizations did not publish any kind of researches or any periodicals during the last ten years or since their establishments. This weakness is also seen in the concentrations of organizations' activities at the hands of two of them which had coordinated 71% of all workshops of the organizations working at research sector.

Women Organizations Working at Health Sector:

Women organizations that are working at health sector have reached 43.6% (17 organizations) out of the total examined organizations. The questionnaire form has indicated that the priorities of these organizations are concerned with children, public health and reproductive health. But the form has referred to three effective women organizations in public health whereas the other 13 organizations are considered ineffective. Three organizations have conducted 78% of all the vocational health courses during the last ten years or since their establishment, a matter that is applicable to all the beneficiaries of these courses.

The weakness of performance of these organizations is reflected in the inconsiderable meetings held on health issues of which women's share is very .Women's Department of Health Committees Union has just rated 39.4% of all meetings, followed by Women's Union of Combative Committees has rated 15.7% and then followed by the General Union of Palestinian Women with 11.8% rate; whereas all the other meetings are distributed into 14 organizations with insignificant rates. While there are three organizations did not hold any enlightening session (health session) during the last ten years or since its establishment.

Inefficiency of these organizations is seen by the absence of any kind of publications—periodical or non periodical--,and by the very limited number of job opportunities provided during that period ;especially, 9 of these organizations had not offered any kind of such opportunities since its establishment.

Women Organizations Working at Development Sector:

The questionnaire form shows that there are 16 women organizations, out of 39 which are working at development sector, have determined their priorities and objectives at development sector which will take the form of enlightening and training the proper cadres and preparing national development programs.

As in the other sectors, the form has recognized a considerable effectuality for just three organizations that are working at this field while the other ones are distinguished by a distinct weakness and ineffectuality. Many of these organizations did not convoke for any sessions or workshops and 11 of them did not publish periodical publications. And 8 of them had not published any development reports during the last ten years of since establishment.

Reviewing the numerical indicators presented by the questionnaire form in terms of the activities conducted; the programs of vocational women organizations; publications, reports does not harmonize with the objectives and policies they had been declared before. We can find a distinctive difference between their objectives and the conducted programs as many of the current organizations are prolonging the traditional women activities and programs that do not promote any real or practical objectives.

On research survey level apropos to the needs of the targeted groups, statistics shows that these organizations did not perform any actual studies and researches on the nature of women community and its virtual needs.

The study of the nature of the activities of women organizations indicates a huge number of headlines for workshops apropos to women development but actually they have not achieved any quantitative enhancements of the services and programs offered to women because most of these headlines are of nominal presence and have just been interpolated to attract donors and to meet donors' criteria.

We think that the success of civil communal organizations hinges on the coordination between apropos organizations and transparency, a need that requires from these organizations to rely on documentation and computerized statistical achieving--, a condition which was absent upon answering the questionnaire. There are many exaggerations and fallacies at the results concluded at by research questionnaire forms. We can recognize a contradiction between the amplified statistics of their publications activities for example and actual absence of periodical and non periodical publications.

Evaluating the Efficiency of Women Organizations from the Targeted Groups' Perspective:

A sample of 2563 women distributed all over Gaza localities had been polled on to show the level of women's participation at women organizations and to show their satisfaction level of the activities and programs conducted by these organizations.

 The results are as follows:

§         558 persons of the sample, which is rated 21.8%, have answered that they have a membership relation with at least one of these organizations.

§         2005 of the persons of this sample, which is rated 78.2%, have stated that they are not members of these organizations and this percentage indicates the ineffectiveness of these organizations because their popular capacity does not exceed one fifth of the example. The weakness of performance of women organizations in incorporating women's efforts can be seen in the replies of 43% of the sample. They are oscillating in tracing back the reasons behind this separation as sometimes they attribute it to ''illogicality'' and sometimes they justify that that they have never been offered the chance to be members.

§         The poll of the targeted groups shows that most women do not know sufficient information on the plans and the programs espoused women organizations.

§         The affiliated group to these organizations, which forms 21.8% of the total sample members (558 women), has shown that there is no permanent relation with their organizations, a matter which can be manifested by the following:

§         17.2% of the people affiliated to these organizations in the sample have said that they have a daily contact with these organizations.

§         31.7% has a permanent contact with the organization.

§         35.5% has an intermittent contact with the organization.

§         14.5% has a rare contact.

§         6% did not answer the poll.

§         61.6% of the sample has participated in previous general assembly meetings.

§         35.8% of the so called affiliated members had not participated in general assembly meetings.

§         57.3% has said that they have participated in candidacy or voting.

§         40.3% of the members have not participated in candidacy or voting.

By analyzing these numerical indicators, we can recognize that there is a weakness in terms of the registered members. 48.9% of this sample has described its relation with the organization as of periodical and permanent nature whereas 50% the same sample explained their relation as of rare and intermittent relation. And what proves the weakness of this relation is that 36% of organization members have not participated at any meetings and 40% did not participate at any election campaign.

§         40% of the sample, those who has membership relation, has said that their relation with these organization is momentary, a fact which proves the weakness of these organizations too as a result of loosening the relation between the members and their organizations, and as a result of the absence of actual plans and permanent programs that could incorporate women's efforts in an interrupted way. This is proved by the fact that 18.8% of this sample does not know even the names of the board of directors of their organizations.

§         The questionnaire form shows that the group, which has described its relations in terms of membership, has shown satisfactory feelings towards vocational programs conducted and the other activities performed by these organizations, a matter which would indicate effectual training programs. Thus, 69.4% of this sample has answered that they had joined a vocational programs before.

§         51.6% of this sample has described the programs and activities of these organizations as very useful.

§         40.5% has considered them as of little usability.

If we include to what has been cited before that 66.5% of this sample the fact that their points of view are positively considered inside such organizations, we can conclude that there is an accepted satisfaction among the targeted groups about the schemes and activities inside women organizations which would reflect a good efficiency at these respects.

Evaluating the Efficiency of Women Organizations from the non-members' Perspective:

§         31.4 of the sample have said that they had had a contact with women organizations in a way or another.

§         68.6% has said that they had never dealt with any of women organizations.

§         22.6% has said that they had noticed some kind of women organizations' visits to their areas.

§         62.7% of the sample which had a contact with women organizations (31.4%) has said that they have participated at a training programs prepared by women organization.

§         70.5% has said that they had been awarded an official certificate for completing training programs.

§         74.9% has answered they such certificates did not help them in getting a job.

§         16.3% has answered that these programs had helped them in establishing a mini project.

§         46.7% of the sample has answered that projects' incomes are sufficient to household needs.

§         78.8% of the sample has said that they have participated in workshops or meetings coordinated by women organizations.

§         49.3 % of the sample has answered that they have received a contribution from one of women organizations.

§         25.7% has said that the contribution was sufficient.

§         31.3% has said that they have received a health contribution from one of women organizations.

§         50% has said that the health contribution was sufficient.

§         31.7% of the sample has said that they have received technical contributions from one of women organizations.

§         61.2% has said that the technical contribution was sufficient.

§         17.1 have considered that women organizations' performance excellent.

§         29.8% has considered that women organizations' performance very good.

§         34.7% has considered that women organizations' performance good.

Indicators of those who had a contact with civil women organizations above can reflect a good level of effectiveness of these organizations; they can indicate a satisfaction of the targeted groups, which rated 31.4% of the sample, of the beneficiaries of vocational programs, cultural activities, and health technical contributions performed by these organizations. The general evaluation of these organizations can show a good efficiency for the interest of women civil organizations that work in Gaza Strip.

Recommendations:

1.        Despite the importance of indicators concluded at of women's organizations efficiency in Gaza Strip, it lacks a virtual monitoring administration that would adopt records and documentations concerning their internal structures, programs, activities and their fundraising. Henceforth we would rather prefer the presence of monitoring department—determined by the law of civil organizations—whose responsibility is to incorporate civil women's organizations efforts in terms of their internal structures, and in terms of assigning their employees and their programs, a strategy that is considered as sole mean to enhance the principles of accountability and democracy.

2.      Asking for a permanently fiscal contribution from the National Palestinian Budget for Women Civil Organizations that have recently been established to empower its potentialities.

3.      Seeking a fair distribution of the contributions from the donors and working together to establish a committee of civil communal organizations that is to be assigned the evaluation process upon initiation.

4.      Enhancing cooperation among women civil organizations in Gaza Strip; especially in distributing the activities to organizations that are working at sectors that need qualifications and specializations.

5.      Enhancing cooperation with Palestinian National Organizations and coordinating this in offering services to avert any kind of unnecessary repetition.

6.      Publishing the papers that are presented at women organization' meetings and workshops, and making following ups to the recommendations included to get rid of the transparent culture which ceases any developmental dimension.

7.      Linking activities and programs with organizations' objectives as we must not consider any kind of activities as important if that contradicts with organization's objectives.

8.      Asserting the incorporation of vocational programs to women in an attempt to enhance effective participation in development process and not spending money on traditional programs that perpetuate women backwardness and marginalize her role in community. The objectives of these organizations must come in a harmony with donors' agenda.

9.      Reducing the expenditures of women organizations, managing without some luxurious and reception parties; and channeling them into a more urgent fields.

10.    Looking for establishing bonds of relations with Arab and International women organizations for exchanging experiences, experiments and financial contributions. This demands from any women delegation attending any Arab or International conferences, make serious overtures to gain support in general. This is to be in an attempt to gain a wide range of support for the benefit of all women organizations and not to be limited to their specializations or the organization that they represent.

11.      Distributing the roles, programs and activities among women civil organizations working at the same field in order to level the effectiveness among all organizations, a responsibility that is to be assigned to the effective organizations.

12.    Rectifying the imbalance of relation between the targeted groups (women) and women organizations through conducing direct meetings to determine the virtual needs; and programming the plans and schemes in collaboration with them.

13.    Stressing a much more interest to research studies and polls which can enable the organizations to    depend on data and accurate statistics to promote a better civil policy planning and programs.

14.    Women organizations must accurately define their objectives in a way that can harmonize equally with the conceptions of democracy, development and liberation. According to some Arab women examples, who had participated in liberating movements during liberation period of their countries, had been eliminated from benefiting the newly acquired freedoms as a results of religious retrogressive movements in their countries, which are currently seen.

15.    Because the Palestinian people is still suffering under the Israeli occupation, women civil organizations should enhance coordination among worldwide women organizations to emphasize the right of struggle against Israeli occupation and implement all the decisions that can secure the Palestinians the right of return, the right of Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital and the right of releasing all Palestinian prisoners.

It is not possible to accurately define the level of influence of these programs on the targeted groups implemented by women organizations since the last ten years or since establishment. We are not sure of the level of the cultural and communal changes incurred due to the implemented programs! Therefore we would rather prefer to enhance another research studies to evaluate the communal changes among women