AMMAN — Women in Jordan must be involved in crisis
management, a role which retreated during the COVID-19 pandemic, lawmakers and
women activists said.
اضافة اعلان
“Looking back at
COVID-19, we see that those who managed the entire scene were men,” said
lawmaker Zainab Al-Bdoul.
“Sensitive
matters are often managed by men,” she sighed.
“The society
still does not believe in the role of women, especially with regard to managing
crises and sensitive matters,” the lawmaker added.
Women account
for 49.3 percent of Jordan’s population, according to UNESCO, which maintained
that girls between the ages of 15 to 24 boast a 99.11 percent literacy rate.
“Exclusion or limited use of such high potential of human resources carries
huge implications for Jordan,” UNESCO said.
Women participation in public life in Jordan is
among the top countries in the Arab world. There are women judges, Air Force
and commercial pilots, doctors, engineers, Cabinet members, and lawmakers.
But Bdoul said
that was not enough. “The government must give women enough space to highlight
their role and enhance their participation in various aspects of life, the most
important of which is crisis management,” she insisted.
“Society also
should believe in the importance of women, especially as they have proven their
competence and ability in many areas”, she maintained.
Minister of
State for Legal Affairs Wafa Bani Mustafa said that women have proved a
distinguished presence in all the positions they held, at local or
international levels, and in various political, economic, and social fields,
according to Al-Rai Daily.
This came during
Bani Mustafa’s auspices, on behalf of Prime Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh, of
the “Women on the Front Lines” conference in its fifth edition for the Middle
East and North Africa — Jordan, organized by the May Chidiac Foundation.
Bani Mustafa said: “The reality of Jordanian women
is appreciated, in view of the successes we have achieved, and in the presence
of a real political will that expresses our absolute belief in the importance
of the role of women in our society.”
“Jordanian women
constitute a main pillar in our legislative, executive, and judicial
authorities, as well as in civil society, and we have witnessed during the past
years the largest percentage of representation of women in the history of the
Kingdom, whether at the level of the Parliament, local councils, the
government, or the judiciary,” she added.
Deputy Dina
Al-Bashir, told
Jordan News that Jordanian women have proved their
competence in leadership positions, not only in Jordan, but also abroad.”
She said there
must be a cultural change to change the public perception towards women.
“Jordanian women can be leaders and have an important role to play in the
society, besides being housewives and mothers.”
Women activist Nuha Al-Muhairiz said that “during
the pandemic, we noticed that the concerned authorities began to set immediate
plans to confront crises, and women were excluded from those plans.”
“There was a
significant role for civil society women to play, but it was limited to
initiatives made by women on their own, without governmental or institutional
support,” she said.
“There is a long
way to go”, she contended. She explained that integrating women and involving
them in crisis management requires the support of all institutions of society,
“especially since patriarchal thinking is still dominant to this day”.
The activist
said encouraging women’s participation in crisis management is in line with Security
Council Resolution 1325 on women’s peace and security, which Jordan
endorsed. She maintained that the
resolution envisions women’s participation in “peacekeeping missions in order
to enhance their role in society”.
In this context,
she stressed the importance of the role of civil society institutions in
activating that decision and raising awareness in society about the importance
of the role of women.
Samar Muhareb,
CEO of Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development, also known as ARDD, said
there were several success stories for Jordanian women in leadership positions.
“They were pioneers in their fields”, she said.
“At a time when
women in civil society institutions had a strong and important presence,
especially in crises and sensitive situations, they did not have a major role
in state institutions,” she said.
She said Jordan
was one of the first countries to adopt Security Council resolutions on women
by implementing the Jordanian national plan during the past four years. She
suggested that the plans belong-term and achieve equality for women by
strengthening their role in the service of their community.
“We need a real
political will to include women in leadership positions in state institutions
and to have them manage crises,” she said.
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