"We formed a coalition with the men, but they betrayed us; they were voted in due to our support, but they failed to reciprocate," Intissar al-Wasir said Tuesday after all the female candidates failed to gain a seat on Fatah's 21-member
Central Committee at the movement's landmark conference in Bethlehem.
The Women's Committee demanded that at least 30% of those elected to Fatah's governing bodies be women, but the demand was rejected.
| Central Committee |
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| Fatah: New leaders declare 'revolution' / AFP |
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Abbas' movement elects new generation of leaders in vote on Central Committee members, including Marwan Barghouti, Jibril Rajoub and Mohammed Dahlan. 'Today the Fatah emerges from this congress united and strengthened,' says Rajoub |
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Al-Wasir is the widow of Fatah founder Abu Jihad and the only female member of the outgoing Central Committee.
Women Fatah activists complained that "the primitive male Fatah members" had purposely prevented them from being elected.
"This is a backward male-dominated society," one prominent female activist said.
While the votes for Fatah's Revolutionary Council are still being tallied, it appears that female representation in the movement's second most important body will also be low. The female front-runner in the Revolutionary Council elections is Marwan Barghouti's wife,
Fadwa.
Some 600 candidates are vying for 80 open seats on the 120-member Revolutionary Council. Vote tallying is expected to be completed the early hours of Wednesday morning.
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