Princess Basma calls for unified efforts to enhance protection for abused women, girls

AMMAN — HRH Princess Basma, chairperson of the Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW), stressed the critical need for coordinated national efforts at the official and civil levels to enhance and strengthen protection services for abused women and girls.

Speaking at a coordination meeting for the annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) campaign, Princess Basma underscored the importance of addressing GBV-related challenges through national policies and mechanisms that align with Jordan’s broader goals of empowering women, improving their roles, and advancing protection measures.

The Princess also expressed pride in Jordan’s progress in empowering women across various sectors and highlighted the vital role of the Ministry of Social Development, in partnership with the JNCW, the National Team for Domestic Violence Protection, the Jordanian Women’s Union, and international organisations like UN Women, in the fight against GBV.

Social Development Minister Wafa Bani Mustafa reiterated Jordan’s commitment to the comprehensive empowerment of women and the protection of their rights. 

“We were able to amend many laws related to GBV and discrimination against women as well as introducing laws that contributed to increasing women’s economic participation,” Bani Mustafa said.

These achievements, Bani Mustafa maintained, “reflect the government’s political will in protecting women’s rights and encouraging their political and economic participation”.

The new 2024 Social Development Law included a “clear article related to protection services, including services provided to GBV survivors”.

Bani Mustafa also said that the ministry and its partners are in the “process of revising and developing the Social Protection National Strategy”.

“The ministry is open to all its partners to enhance the social protection system because Jordanian women deserve all the support and empowerment in various areas,” Bani Mustafa stressed.

The minister also pointed out the assistance provided by the Kingdom to support the steadfastness of Palestinian women in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, “who are being subjected to unprecedented genocide”.

JNCW Secretary General Maha Ali announced during the event the launching of an awareness platform on the JNCW’s website entitled “Learn more about prevention and protection from violence”, which is directed at women and specialists in the protection and prevention services.

The platform provides a comprehensive guide and a list, translated into sign language, of the entities providing GBV protection services at the national level, according to Ali.

The platform, Ali added, also addresses the definition of the concept of violence in all its forms and includes a set of frequently asked questions regarding reporting and filing a complaint, the right to child custody, protection of the person reporting violence, shelters and economic violence.

Turning to the 16 Days campaign, Ali highlighted the activities that will be conducted during that period in cooperation with various local partners and international donors.

The meeting was held as part of the JNCW’s preparations for the 16 Days Campaign with this year’s slogan: “Towards Beijing +30: UNiTE to End Violence Against Women and Girls”.

International activists chose the dates November 25 — the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women — and December 10 — International Human Rights Day — to symbolically link violence against women and human rights and to emphasise that such violence is a violation of human rights.

This 16-day period also highlights other significant dates, including International Women Human Rights Defenders Day on November 29, World AIDS Day on December 1, and the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre on December 6.