We are educating Palestinian girls about their bodies and their rights! We have teamed up with one of our favourite Palestinian Health NGOs, PMRS. The Palestinian Medical Relief Society has been helping Palestinian women since its inception in 1979. 

What we love about PMRS is that it is a grassroots organisation that focuses on working with and empowering local individuals and communities. Women’s empowerment has been at their core since they began and they continue to lead the way with their work on advocating a rights-based approach to health care. In November they will be working with UN WOMEN on the 16 Days of Activism campaign. They will be running a series of programs for young girls, educating them on their rights. Rights to do with their body, including sexual and reproductive health rights. 

In areas of conflict and in times of instability, often it is women and children that suffer the most. Palestinian women are forced to contend with Gender-Based Violence from Occupying forces and often from members of their own communities and families. We believe this education is CRITICAL for young girls and to break the pattern of violence against women and the continual denial of basic rights. 

We commissioned a young Arab -Female artist to do the design, as we believe in empowering individuals at every opportunity we can. The design is inspired by traditional Palestinian embroidery- Tatreez- which has become a symbol of Palestinian female resistance AND is something we at Ballare are very proud of. It reads in Arabic Calligraphy “Education Is A Right” and we believe this right and this education to be essential for our girls. 

All profits will go towards this important campaign. We will be operating on a pre-order basis as we are a small start-up and we don’t believe in our unused products becoming landfill. Orders will close at the end of October so that the T-Shirts can be dispatched in time for the UN WOMEN campaign on the 25th of November. Watch our blog space for updates and regular info. 

Remember- this is not just a T-Shirt- it is the beginning of a young girl learning to use her voice for her rights.