Ruseifa woman turning ‘the untouchable, into the possible’

RUSEIFA, Zarqa – Violet Mustafa Hosheh’s 45 years of life have led her on an often-arduous and painful journey, but from hardship she has forged a will to survive, clinging to a positive outlook on life. 

Sunlight struggles to illuminate the steep, narrow streets of her neighbourhood in Ruseifa, 12km east of Amman. Crowds of young people stand around outside the crammed, unpainted buildings, which sprang up largely as a result of the influx of Palestinian refugees in 1967. 

At her home, Hosheh reflects on the poverty which has shaped her life. 

She recalls some of the challenges she has faced: being unable to provide for her basic needs as a woman; constant fights between her and her husband, and the effect this had on their children; and the difficulty of her husband being the only bread-winner, and struggling to make ends meet. 

Life’s pain has carved its story upon Hosheh’s face, and she knows it.

“I look older than the last time we met,” the mother of four says, laughing. 

“It’s OK though,” she continues, smiling. “I don’t mind, since my perspective on life has now taken a more positive turn.”

Hosheh’s life took a “dramatic turn”, she says, when she began to participate in workshops and courses organised by Care International in Jordan, and was provided with financial assistance through Idikhar’s Savings and Loans Programme (SLP). 

“This SLP was like light at the end of the tunnel for me,” she says. 

“My outlook on life is different now. I don’t limit myself and my abilities to the things that I know or am comfortable doing. I challenge myself and my skills with new hobbies every now and then,” continues Hosheh, whose husband Zakaria holds a diploma in military aerospace electronics.

She is not content with only recycling clothes or designing and knitting, and she explains that now she remodels furniture, adding special touches to her designs of traditional, sewed fabrics.

“I just love this new challenge,” Hosheh says.

She describes how every other day, she goes window shopping, checking out modern furniture and fashions. 

“What I find too expensive to buy — which is almost everything — I make with my own hands,” she says. 

Hosheh affirms that she has benefited from the loan programme and the courses she has taken, noting that these have helped her gain financial independence.

“Being financially independent has given me confidence and boosted my self-esteem,” she says.

Her “controlling” husband, she adds, is now more accepting of the time she spends out of the house, because he knows that her work financially supports the family.

“My improved self-esteem has enabled me to more deeply discover myself; I know that I can turn mere ideas, the untouchable, into the possible,” she adds. 

“This is exactly what I talk about when I meet friends, neighbours or other women during the courses.”

Some women support others financially, and some psychologically, but Hosheh says she supports women by giving them a different perspective on life and broadening their horizons.

The most important thing for Hosheh is her family, she says, especially her two daughters. 

She says that mothers should prepare their daughters to overcome any difficulties they may face in the future by teaching them useful skills.

“If every woman is treated with respect and dignity, this will give her hope for a better future, and hope will develop into a vision.”