Bani Mustafa highlights efforts to empower women at Helsinki forum

AMMAN — Minister of State for Legal Affairs and Head of the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Women Empowerment Wafa Bani Mustafa on Sunday participated in the second meeting of the Helsinki Policy Forum Women Parliamentarians Network, discussing the role of women in economic decision-making, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The meeting was hosted by the Think Forward Foundation in partnership with the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was attended by Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto and a number of women decision makers and parliamentarians from Iraq, Libya, Egypt, Finland, Ireland and the UK. 

During the meeting, Bani Mustafa said that the recently approved legislative amendments will enhance the participation of Jordanian women in the economy, referring to the amendments to the Labour Law and Social Security Law, including the criminalisation of gender-based wage discrimination. 

The Inter-Ministerial Committee for Women Empowerment is currently reviewing key reports covering gender-based issues, including the Women, Business and the Law and Closing the Gender Gap reports, to identify challenges and propose a number of legislative amendments to serve women’s rights and interests, she said.

The Jordanian minister also underlined that enhancing the role of women in economic decision making requires efforts focused on increasing their participation in the Jordanian workforce and elected councils, enhancing their skills, providing them with an appropriate work environment and protecting them from all forms of violence, including political violence.