"First
Effort of its Kind in the Arab World"
"First
Effort of its Kind in the Arab World"
Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Announces Completion of Kingdom Wide Women Empowerment Mapping
Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Suhair Al-Ali announced Tuesday the completion of the mapping of women's empowerment in Jordan, the first such effort in the Arab World. The study was conducted by the Department of Statistics and aims to shed light on Jordanian women's empowerment levels and variations in such empowerment between the different governorates as well as progress made from 2004-2007.
The announcement was made at a press conference held at the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, attended by female Senators, members of Parliament, Secretary Generals of the Jordan National Committee for Women and the National Council for Family Affairs, as well as representatives of civil society organizations and women's groups in Jordan.
The Department of Statistics used the Regional Gender Equality Index as reference. The index is used to measure levels of women's participation in all areas of life, as compared to men, and its development over the years using 17 categorized indicators that cover education, economic participation, public participation, gender balance, and average annual income.
Minister Al-Ali said that there is strong political will in Jordan towards increased women empowerment driven by the vision and support of their Majesties King Abdullah II and Queen Rania towards issues concerning women. She further highlighted during the press conference that the importance accorded to this study stems from the Government's determination to improve the social, political and economic conditions of women. "This will consequently improve human development in its entirety in Jordan given that women constitute approximately half of the population, and thus a women's role in advancing society becomes a national priority" she said.
Dr. Haidar Freihat, Director General of the Department of Statistics, elaborated that the priority given to women's empowerment in Jordan towards achieving tangible human development is what led to the incorporation into economic and social development plans of policies that ensure equal opportunities for both men and women in all facets of life.
Freihat also pointed to the fact that Jordan has pioneered efforts to improve the conditions of Arab women as part and parcel of comprehensive development, and it is towards this end that necessary mechanisms have been institutionalized, strategies put forward, and in depth studies conducted on the subject of incorporating women into the comprehensive development process and putting in place indicators for measuring progress made in this area.
Freihat explained that the results of the study, which is the first of its kind to be conducted in the Arab region, depended in its methodology on internationally recognized measurement tools. "It marks a new beginning in the field of measuring women's participation compared to men, and allows for the transfer of Jordanian expertise/knowledge in this field to other Arab countries" he added.
A national committee headed by the Department of Statistics and with membership from NGOs and experts will be building on this study in as far as possible inclusion of additional indicators.
