Jordan Times
Thursday, March 25, 2004
Women academics and professionals discuss Jordan's national strategy for women
AMMAN (JT) — HRH Princess Basma, chairperson of
the Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW), on Wednesday received a
number of local women academics and professionals as part of a series of
meetings to discuss the Jordanian National Strategy for Women.
The meetings aim at designing a strategy to cater and adapt to the changes and
developments in Jordan.
In remarks at the meeting, Princess Basma underlined the importance of academic
and professional women's participation in the dialogue, which, she said, will
put the finishing touches to the strategy, reflecting women's thinking and
views.
At the outset of the meeting, JNCW Secretary General Amal Sabbagh reviewed the
commission's activities and programmes as well as steps taken to modernise the
country's women-related legislation.
Ibtisam Attiyat, from the JNCW secretariat, presented a briefing on the
different articles of the new draft strategy focusing mainly on women's
participation in public life, involving women in decision making and means of
promoting women's skills and the level of their awareness in social life.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday Sabbagh voiced the JNCW's appreciation of Prime Minister
Faisal Fayez's consent to chair a national women's conference on political
development due to be held in May.
She said the prime minister's acceptance to act as patron of the conference
opens the door for Jordanian women to play a basic role in the country's
political development and will place women face to face with their
responsibilities and pave the ground for their participation in serving the
nation and their own communities.
According to Sabbagh, all social and political organisations and groups as well
as representatives of civil society institutions will take part in preparations
for the upcoming conference and the working papers that will be submitted for
discussion.
The commission is in the process of creating a committee to take part in the
preparatory meetings for the May conference.