From where I stand: “I learned to stand on my own feet and everything changed for the better”
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Lubna Masalha* from Gaza is a survivor of violence and one of the five trainees selected to work at the UN Women-supported Hayat Business Incubator designed to empower survivors of violence through sustainable income-generating opportunities. Funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), the Incubator aims to support the economic empowerment and reintegration of survivors of violence by providing necessary skills for sustainable income generation such as marketable food production, finance, marketing, customer management, problem-solving, and teamwork. According to recent UN Women research on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) services in Gaza (2017), greater emphasis needs to be put on income generation support for GBV survivors. The Food Incubator has been providing GBV survivors with economic opportunities, enabling them to find pathways out of abuse.
I never knew I could be so optimistic with life. Things have changed drastically since last September when I joined the Food Incubator run by the Hayat Centre. Hayat trained us to make marketable food products and taught us how to advertise our products via social media and attract and maintain customers. I am amazed to see that people actually like and purchase the food that we make. We get a lot of positive feedback and the number of customers grows daily. It really motivates us and now I can’t wait to wake up every morning to come to work.
People are often surprised that I began to smile again. In fact, I always used to stay home depressed and quiet. I was divorced twice from the same husband and the relationship with my mother-in-law was broken. I did not have any freedom to buy what I wanted or what my children wanted. There were times I was beaten harshly by my husband because I did not agree with him. Although I am back with my husband, the power relations have changed completely as now I bring regular income to the household. I am not the same woman I was, and I know how to stand up for my rights. My husband is nicer to me now. It goes the same for my mother-in-law. Our relationship improved a lot once I learned to stand on my own feet. And I know I finally found happiness in life.
Sometimes my oldest daughter comes to the Food Incubator to help us. I am glad that she is beginning to notice my change. I hope she will be a strong woman, like her mom, who believes that everything is possible. I want to open my own business in the future based on the skills and experience I have obtained from the Food Incubator. Although the situation in Gaza is very unstable and you cannot predict tomorrow, it is good to be optimistic, isn’t it?”
*Note: Name has been changed to protect the privacy of the survivor.
The work of the Food Incubator contributes to SDG 5, which aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls as well as SDG 8, which promotes sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.