Jordan Times
Friday, January 28, 2005
Means to safeguard
women's rights debated
Action to be taken to survey measures intended to ensure no discrimination takes
place against any female citizen
By Rana Husseini
AMMAN — Means to implement government pledges to improve women's rights in the
public and private sectors were the focus of two meetings organised Wednesday
and Thursday by the Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW).
The meetings, which tackled among other issues the labour and civil service
laws, gathered representatives of unions, government departments, the JNCW-affiliated
Government Network and the commission's secretariat.
Participants agreed on the need to safeguard legislative gains achieved in
favour of women and voiced concern over "some official statements" critical of
these gains, such as a working woman's right to maternity leaves.
The participants said a senior official was quoted recently by the press as
saying that maternity leaves were harmful to private sector organisations and
were hindering foreign investments in the Kingdom.
"As it is, women participation in the labour force in Jordan is very low and has
been acknowledged as a problem by officials. Changing rules pertaining to
maternity leaves might discourage women from joining the labour force," a
participant, who preferred anonymity, said.
Official figures estimate that women constitute only 15 per cent of the labour
force.
On Wednesday, the Government Network and the JNCW's secretariat discussed
mechanisms to implement directives by Prime Minister Faisal Fayez concerning
women working in government departments.
Fayez pledged on Aug. 1 to adopt and implement several measures to strengthen
women's political, social and economic participation in various decision-making
operations and at the same time make the necessary amendments to eliminate
discrimination against women.
One of these measures, according to the premier, was applying gender-sensitive
standards for civil servants employment in supervisory and leadership positions.
Another pledge by the prime minister was to implement disciplinary measures
against any government official who discriminates against women as colleagues,
supervised staff or beneficiary from the services of the organisation at which
the official works.
The premier also pledged to provide gender-desegregated data by sex, and gender
mainstreaming in the public institutions and the national and sector planning.
At the JNCW meetings, the participants decided to survey measures intended to
ensure that no discrimination takes place against any female citizen, JNCW
Secretary General Amal Sabbagh said.
Sabbagh said the gathering also discussed the issue of abandoned wives whose
spouses have taken or held documents that would entitle them to government
assistance.
"We were informed on Wednesday that there is a family record document that is
issued to abandoned women in order to ease their government transactions,"
Sabbagh explained.
"But it is obvious that neither the public nor government employees are aware of
the existence of such a document and its possible use in lieu of the family book
to facilitate access to public services," she added.
The JNCW would in collaboration with the concerned parties publicise the
existence of such documents that would make the lives of abandoned women easier.