Kayan

Activities

• Kayan aims to “Develop[] and Institutionaliz[e] the Grassroots Movement of Arab Women in Israel” and allow them to consider lifestyle choices different from the “traditional role in the domestic sphere.”
• Kayan provides “legal consultations and representation in individual cases,” most of which deal with family law for low-income women. Kayan also works to “foster employment” among Arab women by providing information and encouragement on benefits and rights.
• In a project called “Women Demand Mobility,” in partnership with the Ministry of Transportation and supported by the Hadassah Foundation, Kayan campaigned to bring public transportation to Arab towns and villages in Israel.
• Kayan also provides information on the Ecclesiastical courts that preside over the Christian community in Israel and advocates for their “transparen[cy] and equal jurisdiction.”
• In 2005, Kayan submitted a joint report with Ittijah to United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. The report blamed underemployment of Palestinian women on Israeli actions which constitute “violation of international human rights law.”
• Kayan co-authored a report with Physicians for Human Rights-Israel which characterized Israel’s Nationality Law as “racist.”
• Coalition of Women for Peace (CWP) originally included Kayan as a signatory on a letter to the Norwegian Government Pension Fund calling “upon the Norwegian people to join us in our efforts and to stop investing in the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory.” According to Kayan Development Coordinator Dr. Bettina Suleiman, “We had no memory of having signed the petition, nor does this petition fall within our mission or usual scope of activities…our name had been added by mistake.”

2012-2013 Grants Received