Four in five Arab women fulfill a traditional role in the domestic sphere. They do not participate in the workforce; they spend their days in the house, raise children and manage the household. The fundamental needs of a woman living the traditional model are met by the traditional environment. However, once women aim to break out of the traditional model, to seek opportunities for self-realization and self-determination, they encounter an environment that is not prepared to support such a step.

Various needs that arise from a woman`s choice for a different lifestyle, such as adequate transportation, work-places, and opportunities for exchange with other women in similar situations, remain unfulfilled. Yet, local leadership positions, and therefore resources, are still almost exclusively in the hands of men who are unaware of these needs. Community organizing is an important instrument of Kayan`s work to overcome this imbalance. We support grassroots women`s initiatives, tending to the most pressing needs of women in their villages that improve women`s lives in tangible and specific ways.

We train leaders of women`s initiatives from all parts of Israel. A community organizing course provides the prospective leaders with the know-how and also with the confidence that they - "ordinary" women from the grassroots - can be leaders and bring about change in their community. Afterwards, the women establish and lead a local initiative. We provide mentoring and opportunities for exchange between these leaders, and supply the guidance and resources necessary for them to succeed.

For example, we have been working with an initiative of ten single mothers for three years in Zalafeh, a village in central Israel. Single Arab women in many rural areas live under constant social pressure and supervision from their families, with whom they normally live, and from the whole community. They and their children can not leave the village unless Accompanied by a family member; they can not visit certain places inside of the village, such as cafes, and they can not leave the house alone at night.

These single mothers from Zalafeh decided to change their situation by turning the community library into a "woman` s library" for a few hours per week. This protected meeting and recreational space in Zalafeh will not only enable single women and their children to go out freely, meet in a secure place, discuss their problems, read and explore, it will also serve as a resource for future activities. These activities will hopefully continue to turn women`s creativity and ideas into projects to improve their lives.
Recent graduates of Kayan`s leadership course started the following initiatives:

• Aziza Quwaiqis-Muadi: Is leading an environmental project in the village of Maghar.
• Enaya Odeh: Raises gender-awareness among women from Kababir, an Arab neighborhood of Haifa, through meetings organized by the local religious authority.
• Friyal Matar: Organizes discussions and activities for women from Wadi Nisnas, a disadvantaged Arab neighborhood of Haifa