PMA Organizes Workshop on Women and Banking Transactions

In cooperation with the Women’s Center for Legal aid and Counselling (WLAC) and the Association of Businesswomen in the Media, the PMA organized a workshop on women and banking transactions. The workshop was attended by PMA’s Director of the Legal Counsel Office and PMA’s Legal Counsel, bank legal counsels and a group of women representing various institutions. The workshop aimed at elaborating PMA instructions on the ability of women to open a junior’s bank account. 

The workshop was opened by Deputy Governor of the PMA, Dr. Shehadeh Hussein; Director of WLAC, Mrs. Randa Seniora, and Representative of the Association of Businesswomen in the Media, Mrs Amal Daraghmeh Al-Masri, opened the workshop. Dr. Hussein welcomed the attendees and commended WLAC and the Association of Businesswomen in the Media for their achievements in awareness-raising and the progress they made in order to build a democratic Palestinian society on the basis of equality of rights between men and women.

Dr. Shehadeh alluded to PMA achievements with respect to Palestinian economic development. He highlighted the aspects of PMA work focusing on women’s empowerment, particularly the Credit Bureau, which provides credit records for women in order to help them borrow from banks. He also touched on PMA cooperation with national institutions to create the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion in Palestine aimed at spreading financial and banking awareness. 

In her speech, Mrs. Seniora thanked the PMA, commending it for the significant role it plays and its limitless cooperation with respect to various issues raised by WLAC, in particular relating to the complaints it filed on behalf of several women who could not open accounts with Palestinian banks for their underage children. The results of a field study were presented on the status of the Palestinian women with respect to banking transactions. The study offered recommendations including: alignment of regulations and instructions to observe international human rights norms, raising awareness of bank employees and issuance of clear bank instructions relating on opening of bank accounts. 

Mrs. Al-Masri thanked the PMA for allowing the opportunity of meeting expert personnel on the subject to discuss, in good detail, the basic question: does a woman have the right to open a bank account for her children?

Pursuant to instruction issued by PMA Governor, Dr Jihad Al-Wazir, and based on PMA keenness to promote financial inclusion in Palestine and make banking services available across all targeted segments, particularly women, several workshops have been held with the participation of legal consultants and operations managers in banks to deliberate on procedures to open accounts adopted by banks.