Under the patronage of his Excellency the Minister of Political and Parliamentary Affairs eng. Musa Maaytah Al Akram, the Arab Network for Civic Education - ANHRE held a round table entitled "Gender-based planning in development programs and local policies". The meeting is part of the "Empowerment of Women for Leadership" project, implemented by ANHRE network in partnership with the HIVOS organization and supported by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in nine governorates in the Kingdom: Ma'an, Tafila and Karak in the south, Zarqa, Madaba and Balqa in the centre, Irbid, Jerash and Ajloun in the north.
The meeting was held on Wednesday, 28th of November, 2018, at Geneva Hotel in Amman with the active participation of his Excellency the Minister of Political and Parliamentary Affairs Musa Al-Maaytah Al Akram, the Prime Minister's Coordinator of Human Rights, Bassel Al Tarawneh, the Deputy Secretary General of the Jordanian National Committee for Women, In the presence of women leaders of partner institutions in the project in the targeted governorates and representatives of civil society institutions at the local and national levels and the media. The session aimed at discussing the ways and mechanisms of involving the local community and women in the local decision-making process and identifying the needs of society in a gender sensitive manner. This session was held in conjunction with a 16-day campaign against violence against women.
During his speech, the Minister praised the role played by the ANHRE Network in the field of empowering Jordanian women for national participation in various political, economic and social sectors. He pointed out that Jordan has made remarkable progress in the political participation of women. A representation not previously enjoyed, where there are 6 women ministers, in addition to 20 women in the House of Representatives and 9 women in the Senate. Women also had a good presence in municipal councils, local councils and provincial councils. Women's participation in trade unions was about 34% compared with 66% for men, which is still below the level of ambition.
Bassel Al Tarawneh highlighted the importance of the role of the government including human rights and women's rights in national and development plans, the importance of partnership with civil society organizations, highlighting the importance of using the UPR as a mechanism to review the status of women in Jordan. Which was approved by the Jordanian government as part of its mission to Geneva last month.
Ms. Fattouh Younis, the Executive Director of ANHRE, said that this session was meant to emphasize on the role of women in the process of change and decision-making at the local and national levels and that "Empowering Women for Leadership" aims to empower women in nine governorates in the Kingdom to involve them In decision-making and adopting gender-sensitive attitudes to influence political and societal decisions, as well as empowering them to influence public opinion that would achieve gender equality.
The representative of HIVOS in Jordan, Ms. Samar Jubran said "these initiatives are part of a 16-day campaign to combat gender-based violence that focuses on the difficulties women face in our societies just because they are women, ". Whether political or economic. She stressed that women's issues are not separate or isolated, but are an essential component of other social issues. It should be emphasized that gender mainstreaming must be in all sectors and levels, not only to create a space for women and to consider them as a basic component of all aspects of life. They must be involved in any development process at the national level.
Hanadi Qutaish from "Madaba in the eyes of her youth" - one of the local institutions involved in the project in Madaba governorate - spoke about the parallel youth council in Madaba and his plan to include gender in the Council's interventions through the initiative they are implementing through the project. The council worked to hold initial dialogue sessions with 100 women from the local community in the area of Lab and Melih to see the most important needs that meet their requirements.
HIVOS is an international organization which seeks for new solutions to ongoing global issues. It works to combat discrimination, inequality, abuse of power and the unsustainable use of our planet's resources by implementing smart projects in the right places. However, the budget alone is not enough. The main objective is to achieve a change in infrastructure, which is why it cooperates with innovative companies, citizens and their organizations. They share their dream of sustainable economies and inclusive societies.
ANHRE Network was selected for the five-year "Empowerment of Women for Leadership" project in partnership with a number of national organizations in Jordan, including ANHRE network. The partnership with ANHRE network aims to achieve a number of goals identified the project as a whole is to unify the efforts of women's civil society organizations and feminist leaders aspiring to influence development and political and social views; to raise public awareness in targeted areas about the importance of women in leadership positions and their support for this role; In leadership positions.
Finally, the Arab Network for Civic Education - a regional network working in the Arab region to disseminate and promote the values of citizenship, human rights culture, and include the principle of gender equality and the rights of persons with disabilities and the rights of groups most vulnerable to discrimination and exclusion through coordination of efforts and capacity building.
to see photos press here