Terms of Reference

Individual Consulting Services: To Develop a Report on the Impact of the occupation on Rural Women’s Economic Rights in Palestine 

Project: Strengthening a Gender-Responsive Environment in Rural Development and Cooperative Sector

Project Duration: 2019 - 2022

About PWWSD

Established in 1981, The Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development (PWWSD) is a non-governmental women’s, mass, developmental, and learning human rights organization that contributes to developing feminist struggle within national, social, and developmental dimensions. The organization believes that liberating women is connected directly with ending the occupation and establishing a full Palestinian democratic sovereign civil state. PWWSD is active all over West Bank including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip and is an active member in several local, regional, and global networks and coalitions. 

The Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development (PWWSD) aims for a free and democratic Palestinian society based on gender equality, respect for human rights and social justice. The organization promotes women empowerment, women’s participation in the national struggle against the occupation, women’s contribution to the development processes, the entitlement of woman to political, economic and civic rights, women’s access to justice and their right to a life free of violence.

About the Project

In October 2019, the Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development (PWWSD) was selected by We Effect to serve as the Feminist Expert Organization to support strengthening gender mainstreaming approaches in policies, strategies and programmes within its programme titled “Equality First”. The latter aims to strengthen civil society actors in rural development and gender equality in Palestine..

The project “Strengthening a Gender-Responsive Environment in Rural Development and Cooperative Sector” is implemented in close partnership with the Economic and Social Development Centre of Palestine (ESDC), The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem (ARIJ), the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), the Land Research Centre (LRC), and the Palestinian Agricultural Cooperative Union (PACU).  The overall objective of the project is to contribute to strengthening a gender equal environment for women’s access to land and productive resources through improving their livelihood conditions and active opportunities in development processes. Our aim is to create an advanced gender mainstreaming system within partner organizations that reflect different models, mind-sets, values and purpose in rural and cooperatives development.  

General Description and Purpose of the Report

PWWSD is soliciting an external individual consultant to develop an analytical report on the impact of the Israeli occupation on rural women’s economic rights, with a main focus on women in agricultural sector and women in cooperatives. 

Objective and Scope of the Study:

While exploiting the world’s preoccupation with the pandemic, the recent decision by the Israeli military occupation to annex parts of the West Bank is only the latest in a series of Israeli policies and decisions that directly contradict United Nations resolutions and violate international humanitarian law, which enshrines the rights of Palestinians. This move reveals a lack of respect for and intention to comply with the UN Secretary-General’s 2020 call for a global ceasefire so that resources can instead be directed towards combatting COVID-19. The lack of accountability of the Israeli military government contributes to the continuation of violence and aggression against Palestinian men, women and children, and to the degradation of Palestinian land and natural resources. It has particularly devastating effects on Palestinian rural women and girls who, in addition to settler-colonial military violence and relevant economic violence, must also contend with discrimination and gender-based violence within a patriarchal Palestinian society.

The main objective of this assignment is to generate information on the impact of the practices of military occupation on rural women’s economic rights; key barriers, needs, constraints and opportunities (or thereof lost opportunities).  The report comprise evidence-based data, thorough analysis, and a set of recommendations to inform advocacy interventions for the project partners, civil society organizations, feminists, and human-rights defenders. A significant goal of the report is to increase visibility of rural women rights and needs in rural communities, more specifically in the agricultural and cooperatives sectors, threats to their lives and livelihoods, and the coping mechanisms they have developed.

Duties and Responsibilities

The consultant will undertake the following tasks:

• Conduct a desk review.
• In close consultation with We Effect’s partners, define the report areas, main rights-holders, problem statement, objectives, importance, reference framework, time frame and methodology (report plan).
• Collect data using qualitative methods (i.e. key informant interviews; focus group discussions.. etc).
• Perform analysis and conclude findings.
• Develop conclusions and recommendations.
• Present the draft report to PWWSD and project partners, and amend the draft, as needed.
• Write and submit the final report in Arabic incorporating feedback from PWWSD and project partners.
• Submit the report in high quality Arabic and English Languages. The final report will be designed with an eye to aesthetics, including graphics, images and materials that promote a lively reading experience.

Key Deliverables:

• The report plan including:

1. A report outline (by 15 August);
2. Indication of the report areas and groups;
3. Problem statement, objectives, justification and reference framework; 
4. Methodology and proposed tools.

• The report semi-final draft (by 10 September). 
• The final report in high quality Arabic and English Languages with integrated comments and inputs provided by PWWSD and Project Partners, providing comprehensive description of challenges faced, and recommendations for any future similar interventions (by 20 September). 

The Individual Consultant is required to:

• Maintain an open and frequent communication with PWWSD on progress.
• Submit the key deliverables including the report and the raw material in a timely manner under the terms of the contract.
• Submit the report in high quality Arabic and English Languages
• Present the report in a workshop organized by PWWSD, the date to be agreed upon after the development of the report. 
• The report must not exceed 30 pages. 
• The maximum duration for the consultancy services is 2 months from signing date of the consultancy contract.
• Include visuals that reflect the findings of the report.

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Required Qualifications

• At least 10 years of proven professional experience in women’s empowerment, gender equality and academic reports. 
• Proven experience in applying human rights-based-approach (HRBA) in researches (samples will be requested).
• Very strong understanding of national and international policy and legal frameworks on gender equality, women's rights, and women’s access to economic and productive resources, including understanding of social, cultural, economic and political context of Palestine.
• Very strong knowledge of the impacts of the occupation on the Palestinians, with at least 5 years’ experience researching women and girls rights in rural areas, including area C.
• Fluency in written and spoken Arabic and English are required. 

Interested consultants are required to prepare and submit the following:

• A Technical proposal including context (brief), approach, methodology, and work plan including the proposed timeframe. 
• CV/s of the consultant/s.  
• Financial offer: budget breakdown of the proposed costs in ILS including VAT. 

Interested Individual Consultants are requested to send the above package in a sealed envelope to the office of the Palestinian Working Woman Society for Development in Ramallah – Alanbia St., Real Estate Company Building, Palestine. Tel: +972022986761 or +972022981977 with the subject line: “Report on impact of the occupation on rural women’s economic rights”

Deadline for Submission

Interested consulting firms are requested to submit their offers by 20 August 2020

Evaluation Criteria