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Zakher (ZAKHER)

Gaza Palestine
February 2011
$5,000
http://www.zakher.org

Grant Description

In January 2011 UAF received a request from previous grantee ZAKHER after their website was hacked. ZAKHER is a women’s rights organization that works to improve the lives of women in Gaza. Recently ZAKHER’s website was hacked, indicating that their website is vulnerable to targeted attacks. ZAKHER believes the attack was targeted because of the climate of increased attacks on women’s organizations in Gaza by its Islamist government. ZAKHER relies on the website as a critical tool for communicating with other women’s organizations and raising awareness of the situation for women in Gaza; in addition, because of the sensitivity of much of the information stored on the site, it is very important that it is secure. ZAKHER requested UAF funds to build a new, more secure website; buy their own computer to oversee the website; and purchase space on a server.

Impact Report

With UAF funds, ZAKHER built a new, more secure website and purchase its own computer and server space. ZAKHER now feels more at ease when placing articles and sensitive content online, and explained that many other groups are contacting them to place articles on the secure website. ZAKHER has also begun to take more security measures aimed at technology. Its members noted that: “…we have seen all the importance of technology, especially social networking sites in the work of the revolutions in the Arab world… we will take advantage of our new website to promote more broadly women’s rights in the Arab world in general.