Gaza — Sandra Bali, 24, from Halhul city in Hebron, in the southern West Bank, has had a desire to help the sick and injured as long as she can remember, which she believes is a national duty. This has prompted her to defy all odds and become the first female ambulance driver in Palestine.

Bali, who has been working as a nurse in Ahli Hospital in Hebron for two years, had been wanting to break the male monopoly of this profession for years. So she decided to get her ambulance driver's license this year.

According to statistics published in March by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, women’s participation in the Palestinian labor force reached 17% in 2021, compared to 16% in 2020; while men's participation in the labor force reached 69% in 2021, compared to 65% in 2020.

However, the unemployment rate among women in the Palestinian territories reached 43%, compared to 22% among men in 2021. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate reached 53% among the youth (ages 19-29) holding an intermediate diploma or higher for the same year, of whom 66% were females and 39% were males.