AMMAN - Gender mainstreaming is expensive but a worthy investment that will enhance a county’s financial prosperity and human development, UN agencies in Jordan stressed during an International Women’s Day celebration on Tuesday.
The commemoration ceremony, held under the patronage of HRH Princess Basma in coordination with local UN heads of mission, highlighted this year’s theme: “Financing for Gender Equality and Empowerment”.
According to UN agencies, there is a critical need for increased investment in women and girls, and political rhetoric and objectives are not compatible with the required human and financial resources.
They emphasised that donors and governments should decisively identify the country’s needs and have more political will to advocate for budget allocations.
In her keynote address, Princess Basma pointed out that “intensive efforts are required to counteract women’s under-representation [in the Kingdom], particularly in areas such as trade, infrastructure, and finance”.
She explained that although increasing financial commitments on already overburdened budgets may not be greatly welcomed by financial decision-makers, it should be remembered that ultimately these measures are for the good of all.
On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the Princess saluted Jordanian women and the women of Palestine, “particularly Gazan women who are enduring overwhelming hardships under fierce Israeli attacks”.
Participants stood for a moment of silence and prayer “for the martyrs who lost their lives”, at her request.
Meanwhile, UN resident coordinator, Luc Stevens noted that in spite of the many commitments made by national and international stakeholders, much remains to be done to counter impediments to the advancement of women.
He cited the 2005 World Summit, when governments of all nations agreed with General Assembly Resolution 60/1: “Progress for women is progress for all”.
Gender equality commitments were made through the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action, the outcome of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly in 2000, the 2000 Millennium Summit, the 2002 Monterrey Consensus and the 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.
“Despite these commitments, there are still insufficient resources to adequately support policies and programmes that promote the advancement of women,” Stevens said.
He explained that the lack of resources and insufficient budgetary allocations also hold back efforts to realise all the Millennium Development Goals.
“We are now at the mid-point of our journey to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, and only by investing in the world’s women and girls can we expect to reach our destination,” the UN official added.
On a positive note, Mouna Ghanem, UNIFEM Arab States regional office director, told The Jordan Times that the Kingdom already recognises the need for women’s progress and has many projects geared towards this goal.
“The environment is already conducive to the empowerment of women, we should use this advantage and exert more efforts for further growth in all areas for women, including politics,” she said.
Some of the challenges stakeholders face in mobilising increased support include the lack of senior gender specialists and the absence of dialogue between the public and private sectors, donors, research bodies and women’s organisations, according to the UN.
A few of the UN recommendations presented at yesterday’s event included increasing support for analytical work to identify inequalities, making poverty reduction strategies more gender responsive, and ensuring that trade promotes economic growth, employment and development for all.
-- By Linda Hindi, Jordan Times
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