Tafileh campaigns expose challenges, opportunities for women across governorate

AMMAN — The Information and Research Centre — King Hussein Foundation (IRCKHF), in partnership with UN Women and the Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW), organised a ceremony to present the outcomes of joint advocacy campaigns on women’s economic empowerment led by seven community-based organisations (CBOs) in Tafileh, according to a joint statement.

Implemented over the past six months with the support of the governments of Finland, France, Iceland and Italy as well as the Zonta International Foundation, the campaigns aimed at raising awareness on challenges and opportunities faced by women and girls in their communities, with a specific focus on access to livelihood services, the statement said.

During the ceremony, Governor of Tafileh Mohammad Rafaya said: “Women now have more important roles in all spheres of life. Their role is a fundamental requirement for a successful developmental process in all areas. The Jordanian woman has become like every other woman in the world; she is a key pillar of development...”, according to the statement.

In the campaigns, each CBO used multi-dimensional outreach channels to deliver their campaigns’ messages and achieve their goals. These included holding meetings with policymakers and stakeholders, conducting awareness raising sessions and participating in radio interviews, as well as using varied media, such as brochures and videos. 

During the event, members of the municipality and the local community, service providers and private sector representatives had the opportunity to engage in a dialogue with the seven CBOs on the key achievements and outcomes of the advocacy campaigns, highlighting the need to promote gender-mainstreaming into policy and local development planning, as well as the importance of raising awareness among local decision-makers on the positive impact of gender-responsive services for the community as a whole, the statement noted.

“The findings showed the need to improve the provided services, including medical clinics, the transport system and economic support. Advocacy campaigns contribute to promoting access to public services  and developing women’s lives and the lives of their families and other women in the communities in Tafileh,” Evan Qursha, institutional capacity development specialist at UN Women Jordan, was quoted in the statement as saying. 

The campaigns’ design was based on the findings of a baseline assessment conducted by the IRCKHF in Tafileh, which identified women’s economic empowerment as a priority area for joint advocacy efforts. 

Complementing joint advocacy efforts, the IRCKHF, in collaboration with the JNCW, built the capacity of the seven CBOs to effectively mobilise community members on women’s empowerment, while strengthening their capacity to advocate with decision-makers on the local level concerning the design of inclusive and gender-responsive services, the statement added. 

“We always prefer to start with research to ensure our advocacy is evidence-based. What makes this project unique is that it is only about Tafileh, and focuses on the identified gender development needs. These seven women’s advocacy campaigns via the seven CBOs here today each represent one of the seven districts of Tafileh, thus increasing the overall impact of the project within the governorate as a whole,” Aida Essaid, director of IRCKHF, said in the statement.