Jordan Times
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Princess Basma commends achievements of women's organisations in Jordan
AMMAN (JT) — HRH Princess Basma on Tuesday
commended the achievements of women's organisations in the Kingdom and the
spirit of cooperation and partnership between governmental and nongovernmental
agencies working to realise the goals of the women's movement.
She also recognised the important contributions and the part played by Arab NGOs
as active and vibrant actors in civil society, and in particular the role of
local NGOs and women's movements in promoting women's participation in the
country's development process.
Paying tribute to the work of the Jordanian Women's Union, the General
Federation of Jordanian Women and the Jordanian National Forum for Women,
Princess Basma said: “The strong partnership formed between the Jordanian
National Commission for Women and the women's movement was a valuable asset in
addressing the needs of the Jordanian women's sector as a whole.”
Her remarks were made at a ceremony organised by the UN family in Jordan to mark
International Women's Day, under the theme, “Celebrating Women 10 years after
Beijing.”
The event coincides this year with worldwide preparations to commemorate the
10th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference of Women in Beijing, the largest
conference in the history of the United Nations, which sought to mobilise the
global women's movement into strategic alliances and collective power.
Commending Jordan's commitment to gender equity, the Princess referred to His
Majesty King Abdullah's efforts in bringing about new achievements for women. In
particular, she made reference to the “recent appointments to mid-level
management positions in the public sector, which reflect the vision of His
Majesty, which calls for total support for Jordanian women's advancement.”
Remarking on the heightened focus at different levels on the need for reform,
the Princess noted that “both nationally and internationally we are all
experiencing an exciting as well as challenging period of reform. Here in
Jordan, His Majesty King Abdullah is pushing for important changes creating new
opportunities for women. At the same time, the comprehensive reforms within the
UN called for by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, should also create a
favourable impact for women's empowerment worldwide.”
Underlining the increasing role of NGOs in the development process, the United
Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the United Nations Population Fund
(UNFPA) and the Centre for Arab Women Training and Research in Tunisia joined
forces in the production of the Arab regional report entitled:”10 Years after
Beijing: The Role and Contribution of the Arab NGOs.” UNIFEM officials made a
presentation on the report at Tuesday's ceremony.
In her address at the gathering, UN Resident Coordinator in Jordan Christine
McNab outlined the picture of women's situation in the past few years in the
Arab world, noting that Arab states have endorsed new perspectives in
developmental planning for women. Meanwhile, she said, Arab policy makers have
formulated and adopted development strategies that invite civil society to join
governments in assuming the responsibility for development initiatives.
She acknowledged the partnership that is developing between government and civil
society, working towards achieving a common agenda for improving the status of
women.
Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Beijing conference, the United Nations
General Assembly held its 49th session between Feb. 29 - March 11 this year to
review the progress achieved in implementing the Beijing Platform for Action as
reflected from the national reports submitted by various governments and NGOs.
The Jordan National Commission on Women gave a brief on the Commission on the
Status of Women's 49th Session, which was held in New York in February and
attended by Princess Basma. The presentation reviewed the major global
challenges and achievements in implementing the Beijing Platform for Action,
followed by strategic priorities for future work outlined in Annan's speech.