An-Najah Staff

Abstract: Political participation is one of the most important indicators and implications of development of any society. We cannot talk about development, in all its manifestations, without addressing the overall concept of political participation, on the one side, and the role of women in this development, on the other. Therefore, the degree of women's participation and their effectiveness are reflected in development policies. It should be emphasized that any attempt to understand and study social change cannot be isolated from the role of women as they represent more than half of the community all over the world. In the Palestinian society, which is characterized as a conservative and a male-dominated one, women are expected to redouble their efforts to be incorporated and integrated into the decision-making process as well as development. It is worth mentioning, in this regard, that political changes the Palestinian community has undergone allowed women, under many circumstances, a historic opportunity to improve their situation through taking part in the national struggle and mass activities. During the intifada (Uprising), for example, Palestinian women were able to impose themselves firmly on the collective consciousness of the Palestinians, both popularly and officially. They managed to lead, a few years later, a lot of NGOs and charities that have contributed, in one way or another, to establishing a civil society in the absence of the state institutions. This paper tries to look at the effectiveness of the political participation of Palestinian women, their ability to change the community through this participation and the causes that prevent them from achieving that.