To be up to a daunting task

Queen Rania has called on the National Council for Family Affairs to come up with holistic solutions to the multidimensional societal challenges facing the country.

Chairing the annual meeting of the council’s board of trustees, Her Majesty stressed the importance of drawing up plans to deal with challenges, as well as of showing adaptability to changes, most recently the influx of refugees.

“Dealing with these challenges requires proper organisation and that is what the council does in order to come up with holistic plans,” advised the Queen.

Changes in society — brought about by myriad factors, among which times, education, outside influences, changes in standards of living — could be unsettling.

In order to keep pace, a country’s citizens need to be prepared, flexible, accepting and convinced of the need for change.

Only well-prepared plans that take into consideration all contingencies can ensure that any change happens smoothly.

But before plans are drawn, there is need to identify changes and the challenges they may pose. Once that happens, they can be faced, dealt with and made to work to the advantage of society.

Jordan, the council, in particular, has experience and scored achievements in the field of family issues. 

As vice chairman of the board of the council Rajai Muahser said, “the council, over the years, has developed great experience in its field of work, especially in issues pertaining to early childhood”.

But challenges are many — not least of which are poverty, unemployment, education, the so-called honour crimes — and to confront them, the council, and with it the entire society, has to be keep abreast of changes and be prepared.

One must not lose sight either of early and child marriages, domestic violence and the high rate of divorce.

It is unjustifiable that the justice system still absolves a rapist of criminal responsibility if he marries his victim.

And the fact that Jordanian mothers married to foreigners still cannot pass their citizenship on to their children is a grave violation of all international norms that Jordan signed and ratified.

The council, established in 2001, has a lot on its plate.

Challenges are all interlinked and facing them is a daunting challenge.

But as the Queen said, it is easier to find solutions to problems when adopting a holistic approach that seeks the contribution of all pertinent official entities and, most important, of the citizens themselves.