On 27 and 28 November 2024, the Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD) and UNICEF held a workshop to highlight gender issues and the common understanding about them, as well as their direct link to youth, women, persons with disabilities and vulnerable groups, which included representatives of governmental and non-governmental organizations, civil society, and organizations related to persons with disabilities.
The workshop focused on the importance of equality between men and women, as well as women-led organizations working on gender and inclusion issues, and providing these organizations with data and formulating concepts and strategies in this context, in addition to strengthening partnership and advocacy towards these issues (including the needs of adolescents and youth, protection, and health), and explaining UNICEF's approach on how to integrate the concepts of gender, inclusion, and empowerment through evidence-based advocacy.
The workshop provided an opportunity to provide updates on strategies and plans related to child protection, gender-based violence, and domestic violence issues in Jordan. It also provided updates on Jordan's National Social Protection Strategy (2019-2025), women's workforce connections and the welfare agenda, as well as multiple strategies to increase women's participation in the female workforce through the lens of the Jordanian economy.
Workshop participants, including the Gender Directorate at the Ministry of Social Development, NGOs, and community-based organizations, provided their updates in this context. In the Ministry of Social Development, there are 42 manuals that include a special unit on women’s empowerment and their integration in all sectors, horizontally and vertically, in the areas of protection, care, economic empowerment, and development.
The participants also presented current perceptions of the “Gender Equality Seal" initiative in the private and public sectors, which was launched by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to contribute to the development of partnerships and unite efforts between the public and private sectors to promote gender-responsive business policies.
They also discussed the expected amendment to the labor law that may raise Jordan's ranking in the field of women, business activities, wage index, and entrepreneurship, as these legal and policy reforms related to women's employment contribute to creating a stimulating environment. Among the key achievements of the partners are women's business incubators in Karak, Azraq, Ajloun, Jerash, Zarqa, Ramtha, Irbid, and Ain al-Basha.
Participants also addressed challenges related to adolescent health and well-being, stressing the need for better policies, programs, and monitoring to close the gaps in promoting female menstrual health, as the Ministry of Health, the School Health Department, and the Jordanian government must implement a school health promotion strategy between 2025 and 2030 to ensure adolescent health and safety.
A community-based organization in Tafila shared its successful experience in building women's capacity and protection policies through self-learning through desk research.
Regarding the role of youth in societal change, activist Sundus Saleh, a person with disability representing youth, shared her ideas on how to make the voices of young people heard, as well as using best practices regarding skills development and job opportunities for young women.
In conclusion, the participants expressed their shared enthusiasm to keep up efforts and move forward to ensure the integration of gender issues, youth inclusion, and child protection in their programs, as they stressed the need to actively participate in the implementation of current national plans, as well as those that will be published soon, as various actors play a supporting role in the implementation of specific plans on gender-based violence and the national strategy for social protection, underscoring in this regard the importance of monitoring the implementation of these plans to bridge the gap between theoretical frameworks and practical impact on the ground, while emphasizing the importance of research and studies on these issues.
