For Immediate Release
February 28, 2005

Palestinian Women Elected to Public Office
Fact of the Day

Palestinian women are becoming more involved in public life. In the December 2004 municipal elections, 139 women were among the 887 candidates vying for 306 seats. Under a quota system, 52 women were elected to local councils, and at least five women received enough votes to be awarded a seat regardless of that quota. Of the women elected, eight - including the first female mayor elected in the West Bank - took part in training programs run by a Palestinian NGO called the Association of Women's Committees for Social Work, with funding from the U.S.-sponsored Middle East Partnership Initiative.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of State. For more information, please visit: http://mepi.state.gov