Jordan Times
Monday, May 24, 1999
Princess Basma opens Sisterhood is Global Institute
'Many societies are not working to meet women's needs'
By Rana Husseini
AMMAN — HRH Princess Basma said on Sunday that although it is a well-known fact that women's rights are inextricable from human rights, this is not translated into reality.
“Dealing with this reality is still not clear, and many societies are still not convinced of it and are not working to meet women's needs for advancement and obtaining their full rights,” the Princess said.
Princess Basma, who was speaking during the official inauguration of the U.S.-based Sisterhood is Global Institute (SIGI) Amman branch in Jabal Weibdeh, added, “This is attributed to the fact that decision-makers are still not used to this fact and are not fully involved in it.
“This is what the women's sector needs to focus on by formulating plans based on overcoming [this misunderstanding] because it is ... an obstacle to women in accomplishing their future ambitions in a realistic and efficient manner,” the Princess told the gathering.
Mahnaz Afkhami, president of SIGI main headquarters who is on a three-day visit to the Kingdom, said the institute's main focus is on women in Muslim societies and the development of curricula and training manuals that meet the nature of each society in this region.
SIGI developed a number of teaching manuals designed to train women on learning their rights and address the issue of violence against women, she said.
“Jordan has put the issue of violence against women on the map of the world and it has become a challenge and an important issue of discussion in this part of the world,” she said.
A third training project includes a programme focusing on information technology by bringing the culture of the information age into the community in countries of the region.
As for future plans for Jordan, Afkhami said SIGI aims to build a second centre in Jordan similar to the one in Jabal Weibdeh, whereby women can walk to it and have the necessary training.
“The whole idea is to remain small and accessible to all women and to be responsible in attending to the needs of all communities,” she added.
The institute's Coordinator Asma Khader praised Princess Basma's role in promoting efforts to improve women's status and their social empowerment by implementing national and international strategies to eliminate violence against them.
In reviewing the centre's services, Khader said the centre was established to train and empower women and supply them with knowledge and skills. It will, she said, encourage women's unity through human rights and violence against women programmes and by training women in Internet use and general library skills.
“In all our programmes emphasise our vision [of the] women's cause as a human one because it relates to both men and women alike and we insist that women's voice should be heard wherever it is.”
Khader added that: “We have our own heritage, religion and cultural values that stress on granting women their full rights. “We have exerted utmost efforts over the years to gain many of these rights that at one point in time were taken away from us,” she stated.
The opening ceremony was attended by Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament Abdul Hadi Majali, representatives of governmental and non-governmental organisations and women and human rights activists.
The SIGI headquarters in Maryland was established in 1984, as a non-profit organisation to improve women's rights at the local, national, regional and global levels. SIGI has members from 70 countries, maintains a network of over 1,300 individuals and organisations worldwide, and carries out projects in several regions.
Its main activities include research and distribution of information on human rights abuses committed against women; informing women of the basic rights stipulate in international human rights conventions and documents; women's empowerment through human rights education and leadership training programmes; and expanding women's human rights networks at the local, regional, and global levels.
The Jordan branch of SIGI was established in 1998 as a non-profit organisation to train and empower women.