Jordan Times
Sunday, January 16, 2005
Women's quota can be changed
or removed altogether — Khader
By Sahar Aloul
AMMAN — The parliamentary quota for women is a bylaw enacted for a year by the
government and can be removed or altered accordingly, Minister of Culture and
Government Spokesperson Asma Khader said on Saturday.
“The women's quota was enacted through a regulation set by the Cabinet and
expired after a year of its implementation,” Khader told participants at a
seminar on women's participation in national development.
“This point is often overlooked by women's groups who need to understand that
the quota system can be changed or removed altogether,” the minister explained,
adding that any change in the current elections law could take up to one year to
pass through the legislative channels.
Former Prime Minister Ali Abul Ragheb's government set aside six Parliament
seats for women in the 2003 general elections. Many women's groups, however,
protested the mechanism by which the quota was calculated and the “low and
unfair” representation of women in the Lower House.
Khader, who presented a paper on women and political development at the one-day
seminar organised by Abdel Hamid Shoman Cultural Forum, also highlighted the
hurdles women need to overcome to enhance their political participation.
“Capable women should become more active and move from slogans to action and
participation in political development,” Khader pointed out.
She also referred to the present government's efforts in promoting women's role
in political life by appointing 30 women in diplomatic posts, six as deputies,
seven in the Upper House and four as ministers.
Jordan National Commission for Women (JNCW) Secretary General Amal Sabbagh also
took the podium and detailed several areas of discrimination against women in
society.
She questioned the “unexplained issue” of a historically dominant lower female
population and called for a deeper examination of the phenomenon.
“Censuses over the years show that women continue to constitute around 48 per
cent of the population... whereas in societies where discrimination against
women is low, the ratio of females is higher than males,” Sabbagh said.
“Can this mean that health services for women are not competent, or is it due to
a failure to register females in official records, or does new medical
technology showing the sex of the foetus allow for its possible abortion,” the
JNCW official wondered.
Several solutions for ending discrimination against women were suggested by
participants who took the floor during the discussions.
Academic Ali Mahaftha suggested converting all elementary schools into
co-educational institutions.
“By making all elementary schooling co-educational we could help change the
discriminatory way men view their women counterparts,” the former university
president said.
He also called for women teachers for grades 1-6 to help end gender
discrimination, an issue overlooked by NGOs and neglected in upbringing,
according to another participant.
Women's role in economic development was explored by National Federation of
Business and Professional Women/Jordan (NFBPW) President Hind Abdel Jaber.
“Although the percentage of women in the workforce remains at a relatively low
level of 15 per cent, there has been a considerable increase in the number of
economically active women from 3.3 per cent in 1979 to 7.7 per cent in 2002,”
Abdel Jaber said.
She attributed the increase to the growing numbers of educated women.
However, working women still face more obstacles than their male counterparts
including weak representation in professional associations and chambers,
discriminatory legislation as well as multiple responsibilities at home and the
workplace, the NFBPW president said.
Participants concluded that women's empowerment would require a complete revamp
of social establishments that support society's patriarchy.
“Our main problem is with those who believe that any change in the patriarchal
structure threatens our traditions, religion and family fabric,” Sabbagh
concluded.
“Until we differentiate between our values and patriarchal culture any women
empowerment will remain only a cosmetic change,” she added.