AMMAN — Minister of Social
Development
Wafaa Bani Mustafa called for increasing women's participation in
political decision-making in Jordan, saying such a change would guarantee
sustainable development, democracy, and the achievement of national interests.
اضافة اعلان
The minister, speaking at the third annual
FemParl MENA conference on Tuesday, emphasized the importance of the event as a
platform for participants to network with regional and international peers and
share experiences and best practices in the field of women's political,
economic, and social empowerment.
The Canadian Embassy in Jordan organized
the conference, which brought together lawmakers and officials from Jordan,
Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine,
Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates.
‘Significant
strides’ in women’s empowermentDuring the conference,
Bani Mustafa addressed
women's empowerment in Jordan, noting that the Kingdom has made
“significant strides on multiple fronts” to ensure that women in Jordan are
able to fully participate in public life.
The Kingdom has made “significant strides on multiple fronts” to ensure that women in Jordan are able to fully participate in public life.
She went on to say that in 2022,
constitutional changes were made to the election and party laws in Jordan to
implement a Royal vision for a more inclusive political system that would
afford women and youth a greater voice in politics.
Addressing
violence against womenIn 2019, Jordan formed a national team of
17 experts on the issue of ending
violence against women in public settings. In
addition to the publication of a guide on violence against women in public
life, which details preventative measures on the national, parliamentary,
political party, civil society, media, and social networking levels, a hotline
was also established for the filing of complaints on violence against women in
the public sphere.
The minister also noted that while the
technological revolution has had many positive effects on people's lives, it
has also had some negative ones, and that people may be more vulnerable to
exploitation and privacy invasions in the online sphere. The minister urged
women in public office and decision-making positions to address cyber-violence
by blocking abusive followers and moderating online comments.
Disaster
responseOn Monday, speaking on the “Kalam Jad”
program, Bani Mustafa said that, amidst the severe cold front gripping the
Kingdom, the ministry opened an emergency room with full-time staff this week,
and has exerted extensive coordination efforts to provide assistance to
citizens via its 41 directorates and 42 National Aid Fund directorates.
The ministry is “fully prepared to respond to appeals for assistance”, and it has reinforced its directorates with food parcels and direct cash assistance
The ministry, Bani Mustafa said, “is
constantly renewing its emergency plans according to the nature of a given
situation”, Addustour daily reported.
Bani Mustafa indicated that the ministry
is “fully prepared to respond to appeals for assistance”, and it has reinforced
its directorates with food parcels and direct cash assistance, in addition to
heaters, blankets, and purchasing vouchers.
National
Aid FundOn the topic of the National Aid Fund, the
minister noted that conditions for granting national aid have been amended,
especially regarding the ownership of land for applicant families, where the
permitted value of property owned by citizens applying for the program has been
increased by about 20 percent. Furthermore, families who own a vehicle may also
apply, provided that the vehicle is no less than seven years old.
The National Aid Fund “does not make light
of the needs of any family”, Bani Mustafa said, however, its limited resources
force it to consider only the poorest families. The ministry has no plans to
increase financial allocations for the families covered by the fund, despite
raising this year’s budget allocation to JD245 million — a move that aims to
support the social safety net, she said.
The ministry is trying to bring the largest number of disadvantaged families possible under its umbrella in an attempt to assuage Jordan’s poverty gap
The current government has greatly
supported social protection in the Kingdom, she said, noting that the ministry
is trying to bring the largest number of disadvantaged families possible under
its umbrella in an attempt to assuage Jordan’s poverty gap.
With regard to charitable societies, Bani Mustafa confirmed that the ministry is currently working on adopting a platform
for registering beneficiaries of charitable societies in the Kingdom and
documenting their records. The platform aims to control the distribution of
aid, a prerogative of the government, she said.
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