Jordan Times
Friday, February 20, 2004
An empowered woman is the best mother and a good example for her children — Queen
AMMAN (JT) — Her Majesty Queen Rania said on Thursday that success stories in the field of women empowerment encourage others to follow suit and enhance efforts aimed at achieving positive changes in society.
The Queen's remarks were made as Her Majesty paid a visit to the Families Development Association (FDA) in the Hashemi Shamali quarter of Amman, where local women are being trained on microfinance management.
In cooperation with the FDA and the British Department for International Development (DFID), the one-week course seeks to qualify participants on microfinance management techniques, feasibility studies and local market studies. Graduates are expected to train other local women on the three skills during similar courses in the future.
After the Queen listened to remarks and comments by a number of participants, she said such skills build on the potential participants have, adding that well empowered women are more capable of standing side by side with men. ”An empowered woman is the best mother and a good example for her children,” she said. Her Majesty commended the participating women's “self-confidence” and urged them to convey such confidence to their future trainees.
The training centre run by the FDA in Hashemi houses a model preschool nursery for children aged 3-6 years, whose education is based on the recently introduced kindergarten syllabus designed by the Education Ministry, in collaboration with National Council for Family Affairs.
The FDA is a women's nongovernmental organisation that seeks to secure women with societal services, and ensure they use them effectively to improve their living standards.
Meanwhile, Queen Rania will sponsor the First Arab Regional Conference of the International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) that will be held on Feb. 23 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.
The event is organised by the National Council for Family Affairs (NCFA) in cooperation with the Jordan River Foundation, the Jordanian Society for Protecting Victims of Violence, the Family Protection Unit at the Public Security Department, UNICEF and the World Health Organisation, among others.
The three-day conference, under the theme “Violence against children, breaking the silence... strengthening responses,” will examine patterns of child abuse and neglect in the Arab world as well as cultural implications for child protection. The conference will also explore the various aspects of the problem and ways to manage and prevent such action against children.
The main declaration of the conference will be the establishment of “The Arab Professionals Network for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect.”
In a press conference, to be held on Sunday, Minister of State and Government Spokesperson Asma Khader will announce the activities of the conference that will form the launch base of Arab efforts towards the enhancement of human rights.