AMMAN -- A majority of the participants in yesterday's World March of Women (WMW) event in Amman voted to send a petition to the prime minister asking for a quota system for women in municipal councils.
Over 45 people, including female representatives of NGOs and municipal councils from all over the Kingdom, attended the event at the Mosawa (Equality) Centre, as part of the "24 Hours of Feminist Solidarity" taking place around the world on Oct. 17, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
The event is symbolic, said Leila Hamarneh, project director of the Arab Women's Organisation (AWO), because all over the world there were similar events at noon, highlighting feminist solidarity.
The WMW World Relay is an hour-by-hour event beginning in the Pacific Islands, and continuing in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the Americas. WMW is a movement to fight poverty and violence against women and to establish an alternative to globalisation. A total of 6,000 women's groups in 163 countries and territories support the endeavour.
The AWO marked the WMW event with interactive discussions about the municipal councils' quota and the role of women NGOs in the eradication of poverty.
The AWO is supporting the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of equality for all with the petition for a women's quota in the Kingdom's municipal councils, according to Hamarneh.
"In order to attain the MDG of promoting gender equality and empowering women in Jordan, we are sending a petition to the prime minister to ask for a quota of 20 per cent of [municipal council] seats to be given to women, in advance of the unveiling of the National Agenda," she said.
Enayat Khalil, chairwoman of the Jerash Ladies' Society, believes that a quota for women in municipal councils is "the natural first step."
"[It] would be the answer to old traditions and tribalism regarding the role of women that prevents them from getting elected in a free election. The quota is needed to ensure that women can have a chance to serve the community and to prove themselves," said Khalil.
In 2003, the Municipal Law was amended allowing the government to appoint half of the members in any city or village council while the other half is elected. On July 2003, around 58 per cent of the 803,000 eligible voters cast their ballots to elect council members to half the seats in the country's municipalities. Among the 46 women contenders, only five won seats. However, the government appointed a woman in each municipality where women candidates failed to win a seat.
Khawla Kayad, vice president of the Cultural Forum in Jerash, said that the quota system is not a threat to men who might be opposed to the idea.
"We know that men have influence over their wives and daughters. They might even encourage them to elect women because it doesn't threaten their position," said Kayad.
Women will make good politicians because they are more aware of the problems related to women, families, education, the environment, and are involved in the grassroots, she added.
"They are more in tune with the problem of poverty and its impact because women have to manage the day-to-day activities of the household such as preparing the food, looking after the children's education and health," said Khalil.
"They are the ones who understand the problem of poverty."
Motaz Taher, one of the male speakers at the event, spoke on the role of women NGOs in the eradication of poverty.
Part of the problem is cultural, he told The Jordan Times, adding that some people use the argument of religion as a way to exclude women.
"If you go back to Islam, it never discriminates against women. There are rights for all, including for women, in education and work," said Taher.
Discrimination against women is a distortion of Islam, including the practice of female circumcision, he added.
The issue of women's participation also involves the concept of citizenship for all people, according to Taher.
"Let's move to the future. Women are now in the municipal councils and in Parliament... Women have to leave an impact. They have to be effective."
Yesterday's event was sponsored by the Arab Women's Organisation in cooperation with the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation, a German-based NGO.
"Studies all over the world have revealed that development plans that aim at fighting poverty and unemployment and at increasing economic and social welfare will probably fail without the strong involvement of women, even if these women are illiterate," Gisela Van Mutius, a representative of the foundation, told the participants.
"In Jordan, which tops the list of best educated women in the region, it is a waste of talents, of knowledge and dedication to keep women out of political decision making," she added.
Monday's gathering was the continuation of the World March of Women event held last August in Amman when the WMW solidarity patchwork quilt was presented in the Kingdom. The quilt was constructed with a cloth square from each of the participating countries.
Meanwhile, the Women's Global Charter for Humanity was presented to the United Nations yesterday. The Charter has travelled to 50 focal points around the world sine March 8, 2005, when it was first adopted. It is a feminist critique of the UN MDGs and has been used to organise debates regarding the necessity to change women's lives and resistance to war, violence and exclusion.
By Sheila M. Dabu
© Jordan Times 2005
