Jordanian Activists Speak Out Against Gender Violence
January 24, 2006
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For the second consecutive
year, Freedom House has organized a coalition of Jordanian non-governmental
organizations and national institutions to raise awareness and call for the
prevention of violence against women and an end to family violence. Under
the patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Basma Bint Talal, the Jordanian
initiative linked the international campaign of "16 Days of Action against
Gender Violence", which takes place every year from November 25 - December 10,
with the Jordanian effort continuing through the end of February
2006.
The launch of the campaign took
place on November 28, 2005. Freedom House 16 Days grantees came together
with governmental, non-governmental, and international organizations to
recognize the various contributions made by each through an exhibition of
campaign materials advocating for womenﾴs rights and the prevention of family
violence in Jordan. Her Royal Highness Princess Basma Bint Talal took part
in the launch, toured the exhibition, and met 16 Days
grantees.
A panel discussion, moderated
by family rights activist Samar Haj Hassan, took place that included government,
non-government, and media representatives. The topic covered was the
current status of Jordanian efforts to prevent violence against women and focus
was on the role of media, the availability of services for victims of violence,
and a review of the legislative environment.
Student work groups in the
Princess
Rahma College in Allan (North-West of Amman)
discussing the different types of domestic violence and violence against women
and its effects on the family.
Since April 2004,
the Freedom House Jordan program aims to strengthen Jordanian efforts to prevent
family violence through advocacy grants, technical assistance, and research
support. The project has received a second year of funding from its donor,
the U.S. Department of State's Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI). Year
II aims to (a) broaden the impact of civil society organizations working on
women's rights and violence against women to other parts of Jordan; (b) promote
more collaborative efforts among civil society groups to advocate for women's
rights; (c) impact public attitudes through the mass media; and (d) work with
religious leaders and other opinion leaders to change public attitudes towards
family violence; all through technical assistance, training, research support
and small grants programs.
During this quarter,
Freedom House Jordan conducted an open competition for small grants for advocacy
and public awareness campaigns on the issue of prevention of violence against
women. Five grants have now been awarded with projects linked to the
global campaign of "16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence" and grantees
will work in a coalition together with other non-governmental organizations. In
addition, AmmanNet (http://www.ammannet.net/), the online and FM
radio station, received a grant to create a bi-monthly radio documentary series
on women's freedoms. The program will utilize the recent findings of the
Jordan Country Report of the Freedom House Survey of Women's Rights in the
Middle East and North Africa.
In addition, the "Women Rights
Advocacy Fellowship and Grants Program" was launched in a competition where 20
Fellows were selected from a pool of 66 applicants from throughout the
Kingdom. The overarching goal of the program is to help activists advance
the women's rights agenda in Jordan by gaining the skills necessary to work in
coalitions and advocate for change. A series of six workshops will be held
focusing on interpersonal conflict management, group facilitation,
coalition-building and networking, negotiation skills, and team
effectiveness.
The In-Country
Exchange Program transfers and exchanges experiences of more established NGOs
working on women's rights with smaller organizations outside of Amman, and
creates opportunities for networking and cooperation among these different
organizations. Two projects are currently running.
Mariam Memarsadeghi,
Senior Program Manager, Washington, DC; Frances Abouzeid, Project Director,
Jordan
U.S. Department of
State, Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) and other
private
funders