Jordan’s economy has been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which started over a year ago. Women have been disproportionately affected by the economic consequences of COVID-19, during which those who had been working before the onset of the pandemic lost a notable portion of their income and all had to face growing household responsibilities. This decrease in income and the additional expenses resulting from COVID-19 have complicated the situation for indebted women. where many women had to sell assets to pay their monthly payments.
This report explores the economic and social impact of COVID-19 on women in Jordan and provides reflections for action from a female grassroots perspective. It explores the impact of the crisis on different economic sectors, as well as some of the more hidden but equally important social consequences of the crisis.
The report consists of six sections, the first of which provides a background and summarizes the government’s response to the COVID-19 crisis, the role of the “JONAF” coalition in the report, and the study methodology. The second section deals with the impact of the pandemic on the sources of income of women working informally in domestic work projects, and women working formally, specifically in the education and agricultural sectors. While the third section reviews the consequences for women in debt during the pandemic, with an analysis of the impact of debt on married, single, widowed, and divorced women. The fourth section, provides an overview of the various social repercussions of the pandemic, with women resorting to negative coping mechanisms to compensate for the decline in income, and their exposure to the psychological pressures associated with increased burdens of unpaid care. The fifth section analyzes the scope of state and local economic assistance distributed to affected families. Finally, the sixth section makes recommendations to address the many obstacles outlined in the report. It targets three main categories of decision-makers: government, civil society, and donors.
This report comes within the framework of the project “Strengthening the Capacities of Women-led CSOs in Evidence-Based Advocacy and Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Agenda,” supported by UN Women with the generous funding of the Governments of Canada, Finland, Norway, Spain, and the United Kingdom. ARDD acknowledges the support of the women-led civil society partners involved in the project implementation and thanks the representatives of the organizations for their meaningful contribution.