International Women’s Day Campaign : “Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow”

Gender inequality is a human rights violation and is a form of violence that women have been suffering from in many societies around the world, though with different severity and levels of frequency. In the conflict-ridden context of the Gaza Strip, the insecurity women experience restrict their lives in myriad ways, hampering their physical and psychological health, as well as their civil, political, economic and social rights.  

On the occasion of the International Women Day, Gaza Community Mental Health Programme has designed its #BreakTheBias campaign under the international theme for this year: ‘Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow’  to provide a platform to help forge positive change for women and encourage creating a social context that is free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination.

The campaign comprises a number of activities and visibility work to mark this occasion and to keep women issues on the surface in the society and maintain the social momentum for supporting women.

These activities include a workshop which puts a special focus on the status of women with mental health disorders, their accessibility to MHPSS services and the role of CBOs in promoting awareness on social misconceptions and negative cultural heritages that affect this category and the service delivery to them.  

The campaign also includes publishing awareness posts on social media, broadcasting a radio programme entitled: “Women and Stigma” on Gaza FM Radio, implementing a television Programme on “The Importance of Enhancing Women’s Access to MH Services” on Palestine Today Channel, as well as implementing an interactive discussion session entitled, “Women Psychological Immunity that’s Gained From Difficult Experiences”, in addition to sending 10,000 awareness text messages... and other activities.

This campaign comes as part of GCMHP’s consistent and perseverant work to support women through providing mental health care and psychosocial support as well as enhancing awareness of women’s issues, reducing the impacts of the current sociopolitical conditions on their mental health. In addition, it aims at introducing the mental health services provided by Gaza Community Mental Health Programme.