ISRAEL: A doll-making project in Jaffa aims to empower Arab-Israeli women by encouraging their creativity and giving them a source of income amid bleak employment prospects

Record ID: 397898

  • Title: ISRAEL: A doll-making project in Jaffa aims to empower Arab-Israeli women by encouraging their creativity and giving them a source of income amid bleak employment prospects
  • Date: 8th October 2013
  • Summary: JAFFA, ISRAEL (OCTOBER 2, 2013) (REUTERS) ELHAM KHUN AND SAMAR NABULSI WALKING TOWARDS BUILDING OF AROUS AL BAHAR SIGN READING (ARABIC AND HEBREW) 'AROUS AL BAHAR' COMMUNITY KHUN STUFFING DOLL AND NABULSI SEWING VARIOUS OF NABULSI SEWING DOLLS IN CONTAINER KHUN STUFFING DOLLS VARIOUS OF AROUS AL BAHAR FOUNDER SAFA YOUNES LOOKING AT DOLLS DOLLS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) AROUS
  • Embargoed: 23rd October 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Israel
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: Business,Employment
  • Reuters ID: LVAETBSGEUCWWNUUD2TFLFRR1UJ0
  • Story Text: Elham Khun and Samar Nabulsi are housewives living in the ancient port city of Jaffa, where job opportunities are scarce for Israeli Arab women.
    But it turns out their sewing skills need not be confined to their homes. A doll-making project has given them a chance to earn an income and also taps into their creativity.
    A non-governmental organisation, Arous Al Bahar (Bride of the Sea), started the JaffaDoll project five years ago with funding from the European Union, to provide women with a source of income.
    Khun and Nabulsi, both in their 50's, work with an Israeli designer to create the quirky wide-eyed dolls using bright fabrics assembled like patchwork.
    Safa Younes, founder and chief executive officer of Arous Al Bahar, said the organisation was formed to enjoin more women to the labour force and give them a chance to contribute to the local economy.

    "A lot of women didn't finish their education. Some will finish secondary school and others did not. They don't have the means to work, or they didn't learn something (skills) over the years. The other difficulty is the discrimination. Even if there is an educated women who wants to work or who wants to find a job, many times the discrimination in Israel is one of the difficulties that women face and limit their abilities," Younes said.
    The women earn between 300-700 shekels (84-197 US dollars) per month through the project, but making the dolls is more a hobby for them than a job, they say.

    "I do love them (dolls) a lot. And I feel like I am doing a useful thing for children to play with, something that will make them happy," Khun said.
    The handcrafted dolls retail for up to 130 shekels each (36 US dollars), and are sold in shops and museums around Israel.

    "There's something special about the doll, because each one is unique, one of a kind. So actually, what they're doing, they're bringing their vision from each doll. So everything is from their own mind, from their own soul, from what they're thinking. They're presenting themselves through the dolls," project coordinator Elinor Ivanir said.
    The project involves only Khun and Nabulsi for now, but Arous Al Bahar is looking into exporting the dolls to the U.S. and Europe so it could employ more women.
    The organisation also runs lectures, workshops and training programmes for dozens of Arab women in Jaffa to provide them with job skills.
    This initiative has helped women like Khun and Nabulsi to learn Hebrew, computer skills, and finance management, tools that have helped to improve their self-confidence.

    "Arous Albahar helped us a lot. It brought us of out of our homes and made us self-reliant and not only depend on our husbands, and made us responsible for ourselves," Nabulsi said.
    Nabulsi's husband, who runs a bakery, is still the bread winner for their household, but since working on the dolls, she said she has refrained from asking for additional assistance from her husband.
    Jaffa is home to a mixed Jewish-Arab population. Around 30 percent of residents are Palestinian Arabs with Israeli citizenship.
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