Women are increasingly becoming breadwinners in Jordan — activists

AMMAN — On the International Day of Rural Women, Jordanian women talk about breadwinning, motherhood and activism in their rural communities.

Observed annually on October 15, International Day of Rural Women is focused on empowering women in their societies and recognising their contributions and efforts.

“Women account for a substantial proportion of the agricultural labour force, including informal work, and perform the bulk of unpaid care and domestic work within families and households in rural areas.” according to the UN website.

Speaking with The Jordan Times, Abla Hajaya, a Jordanian woman activist who lives in the Hasa district of Tafileh, said: “Being an activist from a small village has enabled me to revive hope in the lives of many women in my community.” Being given an opportunity has let her engage with people from other backgrounds and has increased her employment chances.

She said that most of the cases where women become the primary breadwinners are due to non-marriage, widowhood, or divorce, adding that the majority of these women are employed in the informal labour market which does not guarantee their labour rights.

“It is a challenge to be a female activist or a leader in your community, because this puts you in the spotlight most of the time,” she concluded.

Additionally, talking with Samah Kharabshah, a mother of two, based in Ajloun, she said that “the challenges are far more than the opportunities mothers have in rural areas… and their contributions are far too often invisible or unappreciated”.

Kharabshah said that it is still considered taboo in her town to financially help her husband; however, more and more women are being educated and this part has helped her in teaching her children.

As for Um Shadi, 60, since the COVID pandemic and until this day she has been the only breadwinner in her house. 

“My husband’s health weakened during the pandemic and for a couple of years. Now I am teaching the Koran in private centres to have a steady income,” she told The Jordan Times.

In Jordan, women are increasingly becoming breadwinners and in many cases the primary breadwinners. However, there remains a huge pay gap between men and women and this is now impacting significant numbers of families and not just women themselves, she added.

The percentage of women whose spouses are unemployed stand at around 25 per cent, according to the Department of Statistics (DoS). This shows that women are heads of their households.

“Gender pay gap and underrepresentation of women is increasingly dangerous, particularly for women who do not live in the capital, as their access to adequate public transport services and appropriate working conditions becomes less,” Tamkeen for Legal Aid and Human Rights Organisation said in a statement sent to The Jordan Times.

Further a 2022 survey by Jo Womenomics through the Feminist Integral Centre for Research and Innovation, showed that 49.6 per cent of its retired female respondents are the primary breadwinners in their family. It added that 94.6 per cent of the women are breadwinners with their husbands.