AMMAN —
Jordan celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8, which this year was
observed under the slogan “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow”.
اضافة اعلان
The day recognized the contribution of women around
the world who are leading the task of adapting, mitigating, and responding to
climate change, to build a more sustainable future for all under the hashtag
#BreaktheBias.
Secretary-General of the Higher Population Council
(HPC) Abla Amawi stressed that women are more vulnerable to the effects of
climate change than men, as they constitute the majority of the world’s poor
and are more dependent on natural resources, which are particularly threatened
by climate change.
Women in Jordan, who constitute 47 percent of the
total population, are no exception, she said. Adding that they are most
vulnerable to the negative impact of global climate change due to the absence
of gender justice in the use of resources and the exercise of rights, as well
as to the weak governance in making their voices heard in the development and
environmental decision-making process.
According to Amawi, in 2020, some 392,000
households, or 17.5 percent of all Jordanian households, were headed by women,
yet their participation in the economy remains low, at 14.2 percent, compared
to 53.6 percent for men.
At the same time, women’s unemployment rate stands
at 30.7 percent, compared to 21.2 percent for men, according to 2020 figures
issued by Jordan’s Department of Statistics.
According to the Population and Family Health Survey
of 2017–2018, the rate of cases of anemia among women aged 15–49 has risen to
43 percent.
Amawi said that HPC attaches particular importance
to this international event, with strategic objectives linked to its
sustainable development goals, in particular goal five, which calls for
“achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls”, as well as the
10th goal, which calls for “reducing inequality within and among countries”,
and giving special attention to the issue of women’s economic empowerment.
The head of the administrative body of the
Solidarity is Global Institute (SIGI) in Jordan, Anaam Al-Asha, said that
“women live in difficult working conditions in our societies, as they carry out
simple tasks and unorganized work without insurance or community protection”,
for low wages.
Asha added that women are capable and real
contributors to society, and there is need to protect the nearly 400,000
families headed by women, stressing that there is a change in the societal
culture, and that now it has become acceptable for women to work in certain
fields hitherto unaccepted, due to difficult economic conditions.
Human rights activist Nuha Al-Muhairiz said that
Jordanian families are currently facing great challenges as a result of
unemployment, poverty, low salaries, and the increase in basic needs “to
maintain a standard of living that guarantees human dignity”.
“In the case of a family headed by a woman, this
economic challenge increases. A divorced, widowed, abandoned woman, or the wife
of a non-Jordanian bears the economic burden to provide for her family’s needs
and faces societal challenges like prejudice and discrimination,” she added.
Director of Programs at the Arab Women’s Association
Laila Hamarneh said that figures are “a real translation of the conditions of
women in local communities”.
She stressed
that the figures about women heads of household came after a study conducted by
accredited entities and international bodies, and that the large number
includes women who lost husbands, are divorced or abandoned, and Syrian women
who brought their children to Jordan and are supported by various
organizations.
Hamarneh asked that these women be provided social
protection, and said that failure to provide such protection will lead to an
increase in poverty among them, to sending children into the labor market to
support their families and to marrying off girls at an early age.
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