The Speaker of the House, Eng. Atef Al-Tarawneh, affirmed that the parliament will continue its approach and conviction in empowering women, adding that this has been embodied in reality, not in words. This came during his patronage of launching a round table entitled “The Reality of the Economic Participation of Women, Challenges and Solutions”, which was held by the Coalition of Women MPs from Arab Countries to Combat Violence against Women in cooperation with Euro-Med Feminist Initiative under the slogan “Women Forward”.

In his speech, Al-Tarawneh pointed to the amendments approved by the parliament on many legislation that were aimed at this direction, including the exemption of the children of Jordanian women married to non-Jordanians and the people of Gaza Strip from obtaining work permits.

Al-Tarawneh also added that the House of representatives approved fundamental amendments to the Labor Law, indicating that the law guarantees equal pay for equal work saying: “This means that any discrimination on the basis of gender in the workplace will be criminalized under the law.” He continued: “Clear amendments were adopted aimed at empowering and motivating women by introducing the concept of flexible and partial work, in addition to the amendments in favor of women to the civil retirement and income tax laws. Under the latest laws, women are recognized as breadwinners and the law now gives them the right to obtain tax exemptions for the first time, as well as the right to bequeath their pension to the heirs.” Al-Tarawneh affirmed that the parliament will support any recommendations that would bring justice to women in Jordan, and and he assured that there is no discrimination in Jordan between the local and foreign workers.

He shed the light on Gaza Strip, as it still suffers from one of the biggest humanitarian disasters besides the suffering of various Palestinian cities. He also shed the light on Palestinian women who are still imprisoned and languishing in the detention centers of the Israeli occupation, where they see children and old people in the vicinity of these centers. He said: “This is an embodiment that the occupier is devoid of values.”

He said that the Palestinian women, throughout the years of their struggle to obtain the historical and legitimate rights for their people, were the target of the occupier, who continued  to use various methods of discrimination, oppression and violence against them.

“Aren’t Palestinian women more entitled than others to support, empowerment and equity? and is there a woman in the world who has suffered more than Palestinian women?” he wondered.

AL-Tarawneh pointed out that Jordan dealt with the refugee file in accordance with an integrated system and with ultimate humanity,”You know how Jordan bears a lot of burdens due to the multiple influx of refugees, the last of which was from our sister country Syria, where the Kingdom received about 1.3 million refugees. We shared with them everything we have, and we did not discriminate between them and the citizens, and our resources were at their disposal although they are scarce.” He said. “This is not out of favor but out of the brotherly duty and what our humanity, our principles and the message of our Jordanian state dictates to us.” He added.

He explained that the challenges have increased over Jordan, and said: “While the majority of the refugees lived among our citizens in the governorates, countries that exceeded Jordan’s resources, narrowed down receiving a few thousand refugees.” he added: “It is painful to witness the international community’s failure to support the countries hosting refugees to be able to cater for those refugees’ basic needs. We in Jordan have only received one third of those needs, and yet we have maintained our pledge at the expense of our budget and scarce resources.”

Al-Tarawneh continued: “Despite all of that, we did not force any refugee to leave our lands, but we still support the idea of ​​voluntary return of refugees, and we will not abandon our humanitarian role towards all those who have taken refuge in our land in search of security and reassurance.” He explained that these values are drawn ​​from the royal directives of King Abdullah II who always believes that Jordan is destined to be of assistance and support to its people, and that it will not fail its nation, and that the humanity and brotherhood that unites us are greater than all accounts of trade in blood and wars.

At the beginning of his speech, Al-Tarawneh congratulated Mrs. Maria Hadjithiodosio, on the occasion of her assumption a few days ago of her official duties as the Ambassador of the European Union to Jordan, saying: “we look forward to continuing our active partnership in all fields, especially in relation to developing parliamentary work and empowering women and youth.”

In turn, the Chairperson of the Coalition, Attorney Wafa Bani Mustafa, said: “Although Jordan is considered advanced in terms of human development, the participation of women in the economy, politics and social life has not reached its desired level so far, noting that the global statistics related to the economic participation of women are low in the world and in Jordan, which requires an intensive and effective synergy.

Bani Mustafa stressed that the economic independence of women makes them able to take decisions and participate effectively in their family and society. She indicated that empowering women economically reduces the burdens not only on the family but also on the state.
She said that society’s perception of women’s work must be changed first, plans and strategies must be developed to advance the economic status of women, and the legislation must be changed. She added that this will contribute to ensure women’s rights to equal opportunities, put Jordan at the forefront of countries in bridging the gender gap, and make women a major partner in the economy.

The Ambassador of the European Union in Amman, Maria Hadjithiodosio, affirmed that the Union is committed to supporting civil society organisations, and strengthening the relationship between the civil society and the House of Representatives. She also stressed that women should enjoy a friendly environment for them at home and work in their homelands. She called for the necessity of having nurseries in the workplace, pointing out that this would enhance women’s economic participation. She pointed to the importance of launching media campaigns to enhance women’s economic participation, praising the legislation approved by the House of Representatives on women’s rights.

Director of the Madad Project in Jordan at the Euromed Feminist Initiative, Insaf Daas, indicated that since the beginning of September 2018, the Euromed Feminist Initiative has been carrying out a project entitled “Enhancing access to protection, participation and services for refugee and displaced women and host communities in Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan” funded by the European Union and in response The Syrian crisis. Daas explained that the project in Jordan focuses on improving the social conditions of Syrian refugees and women in host societies, and contributes to removing social, legal and economic barriers to their employment, stressing the need to take effective policies and steps for women to enter and remain in the labor market.

The round table included a session titled “Developments, Achievements and Challenges”, which was facilitated by MP. Khaled Ramadan, and included the following speakers: The Project Leader and Partnerships in the Euro-Mediterranean Feminist Initiative, Ola Awad, and the Secretary General of the Higher Population Council, Dr. Abla Amawi, Executive Director of Tamkeen, Linda Kalash, the Deputy Director of the Business Development Center, Ghaleb Hijazi, and a representative of “Sadaqa” Reem Aslan .

In their inputs, they affirmed that achieving greater gender equality in Jordan represents a major challenge, despite the important gains that have been made in women’s education and equality in educational attainment. They indicated that the economic empowerment of women can be a pivotal factor in converting the opportunities resulting from economic growth into broader gender equality, as there is a growing awareness that the pattern of growth is as important as going at a rapid pace.They stressed the necessity of networking and participatory work between all relevant bodies for employing women, enhancing their acquired skills, and aligning education outcomes with the labor market, pointing out that empowering women only comes through social dialogue and partnership with the government and labor syndicate to change the work culture.

Another session on the  solutions and addressing the challenges related to the reality of the economic participation of women, was facilitated by the MP. Sabah Al-Shaar, and the speakers included : Senator Haifa Al-Najjar, Head of the Parliamentary Women and Family Affairs Committee Dr. Reem Abu Dalbouh, the legal adviser at the Jordanian National Committee for Women Affairs, lawyer Amal Haddadin, a representative of the Ministry of Labor, Dr. Iman Al-Akour, and a representative of the Ministry of Social Development, Mona Al-Rufouh.

They stressed the importance of an ongoing dialogue calling for women’s support to women and men’s support to women, which is integral, and they stressed the need in Jordan to interact and be more open  to civil society institutions ,and syndicates. They pointed to the legislation that have been amended in this regard and the need to monitor and apply them on the ground, pointing out that the eighteenth parliament has paid a lot of attention to the labor law regarding women’s work, nurseries and raising wages.

At the end of the round table, the participants agreed to reformulate all the comments and proposals that were put forward to coming up with clear recommendations that will be announced later, which include effective solutions that would advance the economic situation of women.