Within the framework of the annual international campaign to combat violence against women and girls (16-Day Campaign), and within the theme of the women, peace, and security agenda, the Jordanian National Commission for Women and the Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD), with the support of UN Women, held on Tuesday, 26 November 2024, a panel discussion entitled: "The role of Jordanian efforts in supporting the resilience of women in armed conflicts and wars".
Introducing the session, the Secretary General of the Committee, Eng. Maha Ali, said that this year's campaign is held under the slogan: "Together to prevent violence against women and girls in peace and war", and that it addresses various forms of violence, including domestic, economic, political and digital violence, in addition to violence in wars and conflicts.
Eng. Maha also indicated that this session, in which participate several deputies and representatives of official, military, and security institutions, as well as civil society organizations that are members of the National Plan Coalition to activate Security Council Resolution 1324 on women, peace, and security, was dedicated to highlighting the great Jordanian efforts in supporting our Palestinian brothers and sisters through providing and letting in humanitarian and medical aid, and the role of Jordanian women in supporting national efforts by providing medical and mental health aid, given the double suffering of women in Gaza under the ongoing genocide and humanitarian catastrophe.
In turn, the representative of UN Women in Jordan, Nicholas Burniat, pointed out that Jordan has become the focal point for the response in providing humanitarian and medical aid and bringing it into Gaza, especially given the significant restrictions on the entry of aid to the Strip, indicating that the world is approaching the 25th anniversary of the UN Security Council Resolution on Women, Security, and Peace 1325 next year, which indicates that women are affected by conflicts and wars differently, but at the same time they must have an important role in decision-making processes by avoiding conflicts, establishing peace, and rebuilding.
To shed light on the role of women in combating violence against women in armed conflicts, through the provision of medical and psychological support services, the panel discussion was attended by the President of the Arab Women Doctors' Associations, Dr. Maysam Akroush, Obstetrics and Gynecology Consultant, Dr. Aseel Al-Jallad, and the Chairperson of the Administrative Board of the Association for Victims of Domestic Violence, Dalia Al-Faruqi, while the session was moderated by the coordinator of networks at ARDD, Iman Abu Qaoud.
Dr. Akroush spoke about the founding of the Arab Women Medical Association as one of the initiatives that support the women's medical sector, which in turn established a joint work system to support women in conditions of war and crises, especially with regard to reproductive and preventive health within the framework of effective community awareness, indicating that the Association launched a specialized digital medical platform to support women's mental and physical health, and for families in the Gaza Strip, as well as coordinating with the Hashemite Charity Organization, the Ministry of Health in Gaza, and UNRWA, to get medicine and medical needs into the Strip, especially insulin.
Akroush indicated that the platform includes 30 doctors and 9 psychiatrists, pointing out that the platform is being developed to provide a medical educational program for medical students who have lost access to education in the Gaza Strip, in coordination with the University of Jordan.
Regarding her volunteering journey and supervising the treatment of hundreds of Gazan women and hundreds of childbirths in the Gaza Strip, Dr. Al-Jallad, who volunteered in the Gaza Strip as the first female doctor from the Jordanian private sector, pointed out that Gazan women are displaced with their families at a rate of 3-4 times and up to 10 times, indicating in the same regard that Gazan women suffer from complex health conditions and deprivation of health care, and that many females have had to assume the role of mothers due to the loss of their families and having to care for other family members.
Dr. Al-Jallad explained that about one million Gazan women suffer from the lack of health services and lack of privacy, stressing the importance of providing the Gaza Strip with gynecologists to alleviate the suffering of women in Gaza, at a time when women often receive medical care from male doctors who do not consider women’s needs and "psychological conditions" as female doctors do.
As for the Association for Victims of Domestic Violence, Al-Faruqi pointed out that the association was established in 1998, and works in the fields of raising awareness about issues of violence against women and supporting women who are mentally and socially abused, citing the association's work in supporting the families of victims of the terrorist bombings in Amman in 2005, which resulted in forming a specialized support team from official and voluntary bodies and civil society. Al-Faruqi also noted that the association has a special program that targets women survivors of violence, who have undergone administrative detention, within a specialized aftercare program.
Finally, participants in the session recommended providing psychological support to women and girls in societies witnessing conflicts and wars, with a focus on the role of civil society institutions in addressing violence against women and supporting their resilience. They also called on the international community to exert efforts to end wars and conflicts and ensure the continuation of peacebuilding efforts to prevent them, in addition to prioritizing the protection and empowerment of women and girls, ensuring that their voices are heard, and supporting their rights.
