AMMAN -- A regional programme was launched on Monday to promote women's leadership and boost their participation in decision-making circles for a wider involvement in setting public policies.
The three-year programme (hiya) aims to increase women's participation in public life in the Middle East and North Africa. In Jordan it will provide direct training for around 720 women and benefit over 3,600 individuals indirectly.
The project also covers Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Tunisia and Yemen.
In addition to boosting women's capacities in governance and decision making, the programme seeks to engage NGOs in empowering women's participation, according to organisers.
In his address at the launch, Minister of Political and Parliamentary Affairs Khaled Kalaldeh noted that women were an integral part of the recent revolutions in the region but did not get adequate political representation.
"In Jordan women proved that they are capable of competing with men without the quota system, since three women won seats in Parliament without the quota," he said, urging women to believe in themselves.
Kalaldeh added that women promote concepts of freedom, equality and democracy directly, as mothers pass them to their children, and indirectly by participating in public life and decision-making processes.
The training programme will be implemented through workshops, round-table discussions, meetings, field visits and the creation of a specialised training centre.
Funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), hiya, or "she", is the result of collaboration between the Motivators Foundation and the Academy for International Development-Middle East, in addition to five local associations.
Hassan Hussein, regional programme manager at SIDA, said women's participation in elected councils is still "very low", noting that it stands at 21 per cent globally.
"In the Arab world the percentage is as low as 15.9 per cent, but in a country like Yemen women's participation in elected councils is only 0.3 per cent."
Ahmad Abdul Hameed, representative of the Academy for International Development, said many women in the region are in office because they belong to rich and prominent families.
"This programme seeks to reach poor and less fortunate women, because they might have solid and effective solutions to public issues," he said, adding that women's participation should not be exclusive to domestic issues.
© Jordan Times 2014
