The Commissioner for Gender Equality in Cyprus, Josie Christodoulou, and the Ambassador of Cyprus to Amman, Michalis Ioannou, participated in a session organized by the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD) on Wednesday, titled "Gender Equality and Inclusive Gender Policies in JOHUD."
During the session, JOHUD presented its programs and interventions related to gender, women's empowerment, social protection, and environmental sustainability, highlighting its contributions through its network of 52 centers across the Kingdom in empowering women, girls, and youth in social and economic fields.
Ambassador Ioannou praised JOHUD’s efforts in women's empowerment and noted the cooperation between Jordan and Cyprus in this area. Commissioner Christodoulou emphasized that women’s empowerment is a global priority due to its crucial role in achieving comprehensive and sustainable development.
The Secretary-General of the Jordanian National Commission for Women, Engineer Maha Ali, affirmed that the commission collaborates with JOHUD in implementing policies and legislation related to women's empowerment, aligning with national directions for enhancing the role of women, girls, and youth in comprehensive and sustainable development, in line with political modernization and the Economic Modernization Vision.
Dr. Maysoon Al-Dabboubi, Manager of the Women’s Empowerment and Gender Programme at JOHUD, spoke about the organization’s programs and interventions aimed at reducing the gender gap. She stressed that JOHUD has adopted a human rights-based approach in integrating gender into all development programs and projects to promote justice and equality for all genders.
She pointed out that this approach has strengthened the participation of various community groups, especially women, girls, youth, and persons with disabilities, in economic, social, and political development. She reaffirmed JOHUD’s belief in the role of women and girls in development and the economy.
Dr. Al-Dabboubi explained that JOHUD seeks to provide programs, projects, and resources to enhance women's roles and reduce the gender gap, which, according to the 2023 World Economic Forum report, stands at 64.6% in Jordan, compared to the global average of 68.4%.
She added that JOHUD’s volunteer women’s committees aim to empower women with leadership and development skills, enhance their political participation and representation in decision-making positions, and provide training in entrepreneurship, technology, and e-marketing to support women in launching income-generating projects, in line with the Economic Modernization Vision.
Doa’a Al-Mufleh, the Environmental Sustainability Project Officer at JOHUD, highlighted during the session the environmental governance model and its link to addressing climate change issues from a gender perspective. She discussed JOHUD’s role in mitigating gender-based violence caused by climate change and emphasized the importance of integrating all community groups, especially women, into the economy while ensuring equal opportunities and skill development.
She stated that more than 300,000 women have benefited from JOHUD’s initiatives in water, agriculture, and energy. She also noted that JOHUD focuses on training programmers to raise women's awareness of environmental governance.
Meanwhile, Rana Diab, the Social Protection Coordinator at JOHUD, spoke about the comprehensive social protection approach, particularly for the most vulnerable groups, including women, girls, children, persons with disabilities, and the elderly.
Diab explained that JOHUD works to enhance the capabilities of these groups in risk management, facilitate their access to resources, ensure quality service delivery, and help them exercise their rights.
Additionally, Dr. Ruba Matarneh, Secretary-General of the Jordanian National Forum for Women, discussed the partnership between the JNFW and JOHUD in empowering women in public and political life through awareness campaigns on election and party laws and advocacy initiatives. She mentioned that 350 awareness sessions have been conducted in this field.