Amman, Jordan – WDN Director Michelle Bekkering and WDN staff member Lenea Reuvers visited Jordan to examine the role of women in the November 9 parliamentary elections. From November 3 – 7, 2010, WDN conducted programming with women candidates and activists from across the country to determine societal attitudes facing women’s political participation, and implement strategies to overcome these obstacles. Women in Jordan were not able to compete for parliament until 1989, and only six women won seats through a quota system in the previous elections in 2007.

On November 6, WDN staff met with the WDN Jordan country chapter, a diverse group of 60 women from all 12 governorates, who were active in supporting women candidates for the elections. The meeting included a forum on the role of women in Jordanian politics, followed by a strategy session to define the goals and future activities for the Jordan country chapter after the elections. With regards to the gender quota, WDN members remarked that “when the chance is there, Jordanian women will take it.”

However, they stressed that the gender quota would only reach its full potential if the newly elected female parliamentarians were properly trained and prepared to assume their responsibilities as elected leaders; a demand that WDN can meet by utilizing its global network of members with legislative experience to serve as trainers for these newly elected women.

WDN staff also visited the campaign headquarters of WDN members running as candidates in the Balq’a and the Ajloun governorates on November 4 and 5. WDN staff and the candidates discussed their experiences as women competing in a traditional patriarchal and tribal society, and the progress of each woman’s individual campaign.

Amneh al-Ghararghir, WDN member from Deir Allah in the Balqa governorate, was a member of parliament from 2007 – 2009, and was able to use that experience to run on a platform that emphasized her past successes as a legislator. Salma al-Rabady, a Christian candidate from Ajloun, a first-time candidate, based her campaign on her extensive involvement in the civic life of her governorate, where she had been an active public servant for more than 40 years.

WDN also worked with its sub-grantee, the Musa –Al Saket Cultural Center (MSCC), an organization that focuses on women’s empowerment in the Balq’a governorate. MSCC, located in Salt, brought together women from across the governorate for a roundtable discussion on the role of women in Jordan’s political system. Through its sub-grantee, WDN sponsored a public debate between women candidates from Salt which allowed the candidates a public venue to introduce their respective policy stances before a large audience of both men and women.

WDN is pleased to note that two of its members, Salma al-Rabady from Ajloun and Amal al-Rfou’a from Tafileh, won seats during the elections and will serve as two of the 13 women in the 120-seat parliament. WDN will work with the International Republican Institute and the Arab Women’s Leadership Institute to ensure that these newly-elected women receive the skills-training necessary to effectively represent their constituents.