SDG 5 (Gender Equality) Progress
In 2025, Al-Quds University continues to… All, equal, and professionally, for… advocating for women in positions… leadership and advocating for leadership… all women, especially in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields as women’s participation continues to increase.
Al-Quds provides gender-sensitive teaching documents and other methods for teaching that focus on challenging and changing inequitable systems and structures.
Active reconfiguration of support systems and structures for research and teaching positions in lower and upper departments prepares Al-Quds staff to advocate socially and educate people on various forms and issues of integrating justice.
In the research work, Al-Quds University participates in and develops work surrounding gender-based violence, the inequitable distribution of women’s resources between work, and the inequitable distribution of resources within and outside the education system and inequitable health and education systems structures and within the system and socially.
Women’s leadership and representation as decision makers within systems of structures and systems continue to increase and focus on the integration of women in all organizations within the faculty, administrative leadership, and student organizations.
Al-Quds University is engaged in advocacy and policy development within gender equality. The university is approached through advocacy and policy development within gender equality. The university is involved in awareness-raising programs on gender rights and issues, challenges to discriminatory norms, and encourages women and girls to become empowered advocates for change in their communities.
The university is assured in the value of providing and maintaining a safe, inclusive, and respectful campus environment. The university issued policies and established mechanisms to prevent and respond to gender-based violence and harassment on campus, protecting the safety and well-being of all students and staff alike.
Evidence of this achievement is the fact that female students comprise about 65% of the total student population, a clear indicator of the university’s success in the empowerment of women through higher education. The university continues to advocacy the employment of women in all departments and centers, and their advocacy active in senior leadership within academics and administration. This focus on outreach to women in marginalized communities is vital in the pursuit of higher education and in achieving professional goals.
Not recognizing women’s rights fully means hurting 50% of the population. It should be recognized that the social, political, and economic rights of women need to recognized fully, that is the Goal 5 of the United Nations. It is to be ensured that discrimination and all forms of violence against women and girls everywhere is to be eradicated, and women’s participation and opportunities should be guaranteed at all levels of political, economic, and public decision-making.
Gender equity and empowering women and girls is a top priority of Al-Quds University’s academic advocacy and institutional policies, which is also reflected in the university’s research initiatives. Al-Quds University contributes to SDG 5 in the following ways.
Every student, irrespective of her or his gender, is guaranteed and provided equal educational opportunities. The university encourages the admission of women in the ‘male territories’ of the disciplines of the sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics and even provides additional services targeted to the academic and professional success of these women.
Gender-sensitive Curriculum and Pedagogy: The university practices and teaches a gender-sensitive curriculum and pedagogy that aims to dismantle gender stereotypes and encourage critical consciousness. This empowers students to actively engage with, and redress, gender inequalities in their local communities and in wider society. This approach fosters a more inclusive and supportive environment for all students.
Research on Gender Issues: Al-Quds University encourages research in the areas of and related to gender and specifically, gender-based violence, the economic empowerment of women, and inequities in health and education. Such research tackles the fundamental aspects of gender inequity and provides key evidence which guides the formulation of strategic interventions to redress inequities.
Women’s Leadership and Representation: The university strengthens women’s leadership and their participation in decision-making processes, in the University and the wider community. Al-Quds University helps increase the number of women in leadership positions, in the faculty, administration, and students, and offers mentorship and training to support them in their leadership roles.
Advocacy for Gender Equality and Policy Development: Al-Quds University advocates for gender equity and advocates and formulates policies for gender equity at the local, national, and international levels.
Awareness-raising and Capacity-building: The university conducts awareness-raising and capacity-building activities for primary and secondary education for issues of gender equity and justice, focusing on violence and harmful gender norms and stereotypes. The university conducts gender-related workshops, provides seminars, and holds public events as part of training initiatives that empower women and girls to be change agents in their communities.
Along with safety and support services, Al-Quds University believes and advocates that everyone has a right to a safe and supportive environment, therefore, the university initiates prevention and step taken in the implementation of policies and activities planned for the prevention of deal with gender-based violence and harassment.
The university has taken initiatives toward the achievement of Goal 5 that includes:
• In the 2022 academic year, female students made up 65% of the total students enrolled in university studies, therefore enabling female students to be offered university education.
• In organized programs and continuous effort put by the university to support female students and university education, 66% of the new students were female and the university also attempts to promote female students to pursue education in disciplines that uplift their community status.
• The university conducts awareness workshops, especially in marginalized areas, to promote school students to pursue university studies.
• All departments and centers of the university have jobs available for women, and the university has adopted several policies, such as women’s rights to fair work, to affirmative actions for gender equity.
• Women make up about 35% of the university’s total staff, including teaching and administrative positions.
• Women staff have senior positions.
• The university circulates multiple surveys regularly to assess and gauze the level of female satisfaction and the challenges and hurdles they encounter.
To summarize, Al-Quds University works comprehensively toward fulfilling SDG 5 by providing equitable educational opportunities, a gender-sensitive teaching curriculum, and instruction, research on, and advocacy for issues affecting women, and the leadership and representation of women, fostering campus advocacy for, and policy formulation on, gender equity, and building awareness through advocacy and activism, as well as providing safe and supportive campus facilities. The university advances women and girls and, in doing so, gender equity promotes global, social, economic, and environmental sustainability and contributes to a more equitable and just society.