The director of the Family Protection Unit, Lt. Col. Wafa’a Ayyad, urges Palestinian women to take part in the Police service because of their ability in understanding domestic cases. The Lt. Col. (the highest ranking Palestinian female officer) assured the Al-Quds newspaper that the Palestinian Police are working on developing the services provided to citizens and their families - because they are the main pillars in building a strong legal structure. She noted that the strength of Palestinian families is in their ability to argue and discuss problems and difficulties. In addition, she pointed out that Palestinian women throughout history have overcome many difficulties and struggles and this helps to make them suitable for entry to police service. Additionally, having a female component is something essential, just as in any other field.

The interview’s important highlights:

Q: What is meant by the Family Protection Unit?

A: It is a specialized police unit that was newly added by Maj. Gen. Hazem Attallah (Chief of Police) in 10.07.08 and it includes all governorates of the country.

This unit is a professional team of both men and women that deals with domestic violence cases that are committed by family members. In addition, the Unit handles all sexual assault cases whether the suspect is a family member or not. We work hand in hand with governmental and non-governmental partners.

Q: Do you think that the PCP has reached a high professional level to deal with such sensitive domestic issues especially during an unstable political situation with all the Israeli incursions and daily violations taking place?

A: The Palestinian Civil Police (PCP) intervenes in the sensitive cases that require their help and those that affect the security and public safety. It does so according to what is stated in legislation and the Palestinian Basic Law (protecting lives and property). This is part of the leadership’s vision of developing services to families which are the main pillar of the state, the law and human rights. This is being executed through implementing the Security Sector Reform Plan (SSRP) that is part of the 13th government’s strategy to reach an independent Palestinian State, with Jerusalem as its capital.

Q: Is there anything in common between your department, the Palestinian Family Protection Unit, and other Arab countries departments such as the Disciplinary Police in Egypt or the Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice in Saudi Arabia?

A: The decision to form a unit in the PCP that specialized in dealing with domestic cases came as a result of the major need to have a professional team that could deal with the sensitive cases of women and children in Palestine. And so we had to look at other country’s experiences in this field. A great example of this was the Jordanian Kingdom, where we have taken part in conferences about family-protection management and specialized courses.

We’ve started on the right track to reach an appropriate level of professionalism, taking in consideration the privacy of our Palestinian society, our cultural and religious heritage. While keeping these sensitivities in mind – we will apply the law.

Q: We often hear about suicide cases, what is your evaluation about the safety of Palestinian Families?

A: The safety issue is proportional and differs from one family to another.

Q: Are families able to go through the impediments they face or are they fragile?

A: A strong family is based on the relations between its members to face the hard times. Neither the economic nor the political situation helps them out. It has to do with how much the family members stick together and how much love and trust there is between its members. In addition, some institutions work with families on these issues and help them to develop their cooperation between each other.

For the suicide cases that you hear about, these are very normal, they happen in the modern civilized world, and 3rd world countries, and each case is different than the other. The way to deal with such cases is through social support between the civilian and governmental institutions. We activate the role of the media in making awareness campaigns and advertisements, and try to change the ways of parenting and perhaps mandate some domestic rules in order to go along with the evolution of time. This creates trust between the society and the governmental institutions which aims for cooperation between both sides.

Q: Can the Palestinian Woman prove herself in a sensitive, tough field such as police work?

A: Throughout the history of struggle - the Palestinian women have proved that they are strong and able to go into any profession in front of them. She has been the partner of the Palestinian man in facing the occupation and she is still holding that burden with all of the occupation acts from arrest, killing, house demolitions and blockades. Previously, she could not work in a men only profession. However, we notice today that she is able to serve her people just like a man in the police profession, for example, where women are essential for their understanding in domestic issues, as well as other fields such as medicine, education and others.

Q: Can you tell us about your personal experience with the Police? What reasons made you join the force? And what was your family’s reaction to it?

A: I first joined the third Police officer’s course in Jericho on the 1st of July 1996. I have a BA in Sociology from Bethlehem University (1995) and a Masters Degree in International Relations from Beir-Zeit University (2004). I am married and I have four children (2 boys and 2 girls) and currently live in Bethlehem.

I joined the Police force after the encouragement I got from my family and because I was convinced that I could help my people in any profession possible - especially the police profession. Despite the negative perception that many people have for females police officers, I managed to overcome that and raise it to a positive level that the Palestinian society has accepted.

My family did indeed support me, especially my husband, (Ramzy Ayyad). They were convinced of the importance and nobleness of this job as the director of the Family Protection Unit. Despite the pressures of the job, long hours of work and the responsibilities in dealing with such cases and despite my absence from home, they have been supportive.

The police force supports me in my responsibilities towards my family and they make sure that I do not neglect them or fail in my duties towards them. This helps me in keeping my responsibilities towards both my family and my job and makes me very proud of to be a Palestinian Police Officer.