Jordan Times
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Princess Basma highlights importance of women's participation in politics
AMMAN (JT) — In celebration of International
Women's Day, HRH Princess Basma was guest of honour at a reception and gala
dinner hosted by Cherie Blair at the Gibson Hall in the City of London last
Thursday.
In her opening address, Blair, herself a leading human rights lawyer, spoke of
the urgent need to ensure that the rights accorded to women under international
conventions were respected in practice.
She noted the need to guarantee economic and social rights, especially for women
— who make up a disproportionately high percentage of the world's poor.
She also commented on the challenges faced by working women and working mothers
in both developed and less developed countries.
Blair spoke of the urgent need for women to be active in politics and the
legislative process, noting that for every one women parliamentarians in the
world, there are nine male.
The event, attended by lawyers, businesspeople and media personalities with an
interest in supporting human rights issues globally, was organised by Rights and
Humanity, a British-based NGO working for human rights across the world.
Led by Julia Hausermann, a lawyer and human rights campaigner, the NGO has been
active in Jordan for almost 20 years. During this period, they have worked with
the Jordanian National Commission for Women, the National Centre for Human
Rights and more recently, with the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human
Development (JOHUD).
In her keynote address, HRH Princess Basma commended Rights and Humanity for its
long-term commitment and praised them for their ability to create partnerships
of equality that were sensitive to local context.
The Princess illustrated the successful partnership between Rights and Humanity
and JOHUD through their joint research into rights, which led to the setting up
of JOHUD's flagship women's rights programme, Makana. “Through Makana women seek
to gain status in every aspect of their lives — social, economic, legal,
political, cultural and personal and to achieve it in both the public and
private spheres,” she explained.
The Princess also spoke of the importance of women's active engagement in
political life, stating that “through projects like Makana, women become an
empowered female electorate demanding transparency and accountability of all
elected leaders. They create a local form of democracy in action, grounded in
grassroots realities, and embedded in the local context.”
Princess Basma pointed out that through such programmes, Jordan is recognised as
a unique model for development — maintaining its commitment to peace in a region
of extreme political, social and economic upheaval.
“The strength of our nation is based on the ability of our citizens to live
together harmoniously through a code of respect for the rights of others,” she
said.
Princess Basma was accompanied by Farah Daghistani, executive director of JOHUD.