(International Family Day)

The celebration of the International Family Day came as a result of the decision made by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1993 which assigned the 15th of May as an International Family Day. The resolution urged all States and relevant formal and informal bodies to raise the level of the family and its members and raise their standard of living consistent with the development goals which will ensure that the family will take its role in the overall development.

 Family as a social system varies widely depending on the diversity of cultures, in Jordan and in other Arab countries - the nuclear family, consisting of father, mother and children is the dominant type. Jordanian society has seen an increase in the number of nuclear families and families consisting of single parents with children as a result of the loss of a parent because of divorce or widowhood. In contrast, the percentage of extended family - which consists of individuals in different age generations and consisting of parents and their children whether married or not, has retreated dramatically. But despite this, the families still maintain strong ties with relatives, and therefore kinship is still the main factor in social and economic life in Jordan. The family is considered as the basic social unit for the individual because it represents the source of protection, food, shelter, income, reputation and honor.

 The results of the 2003 Multi-purpose Household Survey indicate that families consisting of parents and their children less than 15 years of age constitute two thirds of the sample (64.4%), while 10.5% of the individuals are members of families consisting of parents and children aged 15 and older. In contrast, 8.4% of the individuals are members of families consisting of the father or the mother only. Apart from the socio-economic and cultural changes Jordan has witnessed, extended families still exist where members of these families form 14% of the total population sample.

 Percentage Distribution of Persons in the Sample by Type of Family, 2003

 As a result of low fertility levels in the last two decades of the last century and the dawn of the new millennium, the average size of private households has decreased to 5.4 persons in 2004 (or about 19%) than it was in 1979. However, the average is still high in certain geographical areas where there are still clear differences in family size between governorates, particularly between the capital governorate and other governorates. These differences reflect more clearly the effects of demographic factors, particularly fertility.

 With regard to the headship of the family, there has been a marked increase in the number of households headed by women between 1994 and 2004, where the proportion of families headed by women increased from 9.6% in 1994 to 10.5% in 2004.

                             Percentage of Household Heads by Governorate and Sex in 1994 and 2004 Censuses

 The reason for this increase could be marriage dissolution, widowhood or divorce or other reasons such as work outside the country or disability, illness and other causes. There is no doubt that the high percentage of households headed by women will lead to increased economic and social burdens on women, psychological, to meet the responsibilities towards her Family.

 The results of the Population and Housing Census 2004 also indicate that the highest proportion of families headed by women were in Tafeila Governorate, which amounted to 11.7%, an increase of 1.2 percentage points on the overall proportion of the Kingdom. In contrast, the lowest proportion of female heads of households seen in Aqaba Governorate (6.1%), which refers to the clear influence of the migration of men to the governorate.