Al-Tufula - Pedagogical & Multipurpose Women's Center

It is the mission of Al-Tufula to further and to encourage the development of a democratic and civil society. At the center, based in Nazareth, Al-Tufula has targeted its work to two major groups it believes are the most important in making social change: children and women. Its aims are two fold: (i) to improve the early childhood care and development and (ii) to support women and to provide them with opportunities to utilize their full capabilities, since to date they lack sufficient opportunities. In Israel's current patriarchal society, the role of 'motherhood' is considered to be the most important role for women. This has resulted in exclusion of many other opportunities for women, particularly in their development and participation in roles outside of motherhood. Therefore, it is quintessential for Al-Tufula to concentrate its work on providing women with opportunities to enable them to make choices and to support them in their choices whatever these may be. In addition, Al-Tufula's work includes making social change in order to achieve balanced roles between men and women particularly in parenting as well as encouraging a system of dual support for both men and women. Al-Tufula believes the two areas it concentrates on, early childhood and women, are inter-related. By providing better early childhood care and development, Al-Tufula hopes to foster improved development and education of these children. Al-Tufula expects to see impact at three levels:

• Immediately improve childhood experiences
• Alter expectations of the role of women in future society as these children grow into adults
• Provide current mothers with childhood care, as a means of providing opportunities for women for further development and to function outside of the motherhood role.