THE first woman mayor of the Palestinian city of Ramallah, will address an International Women's Festival at Oxford Town Hall tonight.

Janet Mikhail, a former headteacher who for 20 years worked at the girls' school in Ramallah, last year survived an attack by gunmen who opened fire at her car while it was parked outside her office.

Mrs Mikhail, a Catholic, was chosen as mayor in December 2005 by the newly elected 15-member city council.

She will also meet the Lord Mayor of Oxford, Jim Campbell, who invited her to visit, and will speak at St Antony's College.

Ms Mikhail said: "I always think that it is a great idea to have links between Oxford and Ramallah and I support this exchange of social and cultural ideas between the two cities."

The Palestinian mayor will speak of the extreme difficulties faced by people in Ramallah who have faced years of violence and seen five refugee camps created in the city.

She said: "My special message to the women and people of Oxford is that we have now new democratic process going which allows women to be fairly represented in such tough conditions and we need your help and support in implementing this democratic process."

She will be speaking at a public meeting in Oxford Town Hall at 7.30pm.