Youth mark Women’s Day with call to action for gender equality

AMMAN — Jordanian youth on Saturday called for “real” solutions and implementations to laws and legislation to achieve equality and protection of women. 

The call came during the launch of the campaign “The generation of equality, innovation and change”, organised by Solidarity Is Global Institute (SIGI) to mark International Women’s Day.

The campaign will continue until June and will include several activities in Amman as part of the overall four-year project Women’s Economic Linkages and Employment Development (WE LEAD), which is being supported by the government of Canada as well as the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) and the Canadian Leaders in International Consulting (CLIC).

During the campaign launch at SIGI’s headquarters, SIGI Executive President Asma Khader said the “the time now should be dedicated to focus on what the youth want”.

“We need to celebrate success stories and demand equality to change the youth’s dreams and aspirations into a reality,” Khader said.

“The youth focus on practical matters such as excelling in knowledge and technological matters,” Khader said.

Youth have a “clear voice” and they want to see results, Khader said, adding that “this makes us feel more relaxed to know that the younger generation will continue our mission and vision in the best possible manner”.

WUSC Country Director Niveen Bataineh, who also addressed youth during the launching event, said that “we need to constantly check our priorities and challenges we have to tackle in the near future”.

Bataineh urged the youth to build on what has already been achieved, adding: “Your work and determination will hopefully inspire your peers to get more involved in work on equality and social justice.” 

Also speaking during the campaign was young novelist Joud Mubaidin, who described herself as a “proud Jordanian woman who is always aspiring to make a difference in her community”.

 “Our dream is to empower women in Jordan and change history… and maybe one day I would be the first female prime minister of Jordan,” Mubaidin said.

Young computer programmer Zeid Dissi, another youth who is part of the campaign, added that “our generation wants to make a real difference for equal rights in Jordan”.

“We want to come up with practical ideas and recommendations to make the necessary change and to realise ideas that will be implemented on the ground,” Dissi said.  

The WE LEAD project aims at increasing women’s empowerment for sustainable economic growth in Jordan.  The project is managed in consortium by WUSC, an international NGO based in Canada with global experience in programme management for education, employment and empowerment focused on women and youth, and CLIC, a Canadian based development consulting firm with established networks and programming in Jordan and the Middle East region.  

The WE LEAD project seeks to empower women in Jordan, focusing on east Amman, Salt and Irbid, by increasing women’s employment opportunities in the health sector through the provision of targeted market-relevant training while also addressing two key barriers to women’s participation in the workforce: Provision of affordable child care and safe transport.