Hebron tribes oppose UN pact, 'suspicious' feminists
Tribes in Hebron rejected the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and some threatened to shut down feminist organizations after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas set the minimum age for marriage at 18.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinian feminists are preparing to launch a broad national coalition in cooperation with human rights institutions and some political parties, in response to recent tribal threats against them.
Tribal leaders in the city of Hebron apparently were fired up after Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree last month banning child marriage. The decree raises the minimum age for marriage to 18 for both genders; previously, females had to be only 15 and males, 16.
Abbas' order falls in line with the PA's participation in the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Now, some clans are calling for a rejection of all things feminist and demanding that the PA withdraw from the treaty.
Palestine joined CEDAW in 2014, but Abbas’ decree heralded the PA's actual implementation of the agreement. Some Hebron clans issued a statement Dec. 21 rejecting both the decree and the treaty and threatening to shut down all feminist institutions. They warned media outlets against covering news related to feminists groups and warned judges against abiding by Abbas’ decree. They even called for the cancellation of any rental agreements with feminist groups, accusing complicit landlords of being partners in "crime."
