Public, private stakeholders laud Jordanian women’s achievements

AMMAN — In celebration of International Women's Day, Women As Partners in Progress Network (WPP) held a dinner party in Amman on Sunday for a group of men and women advocates who are supporters of Jordan’s feminist movement.

During the event, participants reviewed progress in developing laws related to women in the Kingdom, specifically labour laws, according to a WPP statement.

Director of the WPP Network Mayyada Abu Jaber gave the welcoming statement, reviewing efforts exerted by the network over the past two years concerning women’s economic empowerment and Articles 69 and 29 of the Jordanian Labour Law. 

Abu Jaber thanked Labour Minister Nidal Bataineh for his “continued and sincere support” for Jordanian women, as demonstrated by his opening of the Labour Law articles under the dome of Parliament for voting, according to the statement.  

Bataineh also delivered a speech, underlining the importance of women’s empowerment and stressing that women are “half of society if not more”.

Jordanian women, he said, have proven themselves in the government and legislation despite facing challenges.

During the event, MP Wafa Bani Mustafa noted that the Labour Law is a “pivotal” law for women, highlighting the “success” of opening articles 69 and 29 under the dome.

MP Khaled Abu Hassan confirmed the importance of having an “attractive labour law that creates a safe and appropriate working environment for women”.

“It is undeniable that harassment exists in society, and through the definition which has been laid down in the law recently, we have addressed the deformation that existed earlier in the law, as the new definition covers sexual harassment at the workplace,” Abu Hassan was quoted in the statement as saying.

“Women are a cause of the homeland, and we must all bow down to Jordanian women’s struggles throughout the years,” said MP Khaled Ramadan. 

He also underlined that, without real economic empowerment of Jordanian women, “we cannot reduce the budget deficit or raise economic growth”. 

MP Qais Ziyadiyin added: “We will not allow one group to impose a moral guardianship on society, and we will continue the struggle to empower Jordanian women”.

The event concluded with an open discussion among participants from the private sector, civil society organisations and other sectors, according to the statement.