Women, supporters, march in pursuit of full rights

AMMAN — Hundreds of women, men and children marched in the streets of the capital on Thursday to demand more equality for women in all fields on the occasion of International Labour Day.

The march, called by the participants “Coalition Rights”, started from Jabal Luweibdeh and ended in front of the Parliament.

The participants, including MPs, women activists, schoolchildren and individuals from the private sector and various governorates held banners that demanded more equality in all laws regulating and affecting women’s economic participation and status in community.

Former minister and activist Asma Khader said: “We are here to raise the voices of female workers because there are many laws that still discriminate against women, which contribute to keeping them away from the labour market.”

“Women labourers should have all rights while at work, and there have to be laws that protect them in the workplace from all forms of violations,” Khader told The Jordan Times.

Energy Engineer Ali Nasrallah, 27, said he decided to join the march to support women’s representation in the labour market and other decision making positions.

“We should all unite to ensure that women are fairly represented in all walks of life in Jordan. I will always take part in any activity that is in favour of women’s rights,” Nasrallah told The Jordan Times.

Natalie Fakhoury, who is in the eighth grade at the Ahliyyah School for Girls, told The Jordan Times that she decided to take part in the event to push for her future rights.

“We, as students, can make the necessary difference when we take part in such events,” Fakhoury said.

Coming all the way from Irbid, activist Najah Natour said she was in Amman to take part in the rally to “stress our demands, which is a right for all Jordanians”.

“The government is required to do whatever it takes to increase the number of women in the labour market,” Natour told The Jordan Times.

The idea behind this march is to highlight the latest amendments that the women’s movement managed to introduce to the draft Labour Law and to lobby the MPs to endorse the suggestions, organisers said.

“We decided to take to the streets to demand more rights for women in the labour market and to amend all the laws that discriminate again them,” said Sadaqa executive board member Sahar Aloul, citing a statement prepared by the coalition.

Aloul called on the Labour Ministry and the relevant authorities to impose strict oversight measures to ensure that all laws that protect women in the workforce are observed and respected.

Meanwhile, Amman Third District MP Khalid Ramadan, who led the march, pledged to support all the demands by the coalition.

“I will not sign on any decision by the Labour Committee until I am sure that they are in favour of women,” Ramadan told the crowd.

The lawmaker praised the women’s movement for its persistence in pushing for “their rights from the legislative body.  Women’s causes are national causes”.

Comprised of nine women organisations, unions and labour entities, “Coalition Rights” was launched earlier this month with the aim of lobbying parliamentarians and the government to amend certain articles of the Labour Law.

The coalition aims to eliminate discrimination against women and boost their participation in the labour market, according to its representatives.

Jordan was ranked 142 out of 144 countries in women’s economic participation in the Gender Gap Index published by the World Economic Forum 2017. 

The index highlighted that most women in the Kingdom do not enter the job market or pull out after varied periods of time due to the barriers posed by the lack of daycare service and easy access to transportation and because of pay inequity.

In February, the Lower House’s labour committee amended provisions in the draft Labour Law that stipulated pay equity, the presence of daycare centres at workplaces and the introduction of paternity leave.