HRH Princess Basma chairs a meeting of the recently formed Jordanian National Commission for Women on Sunday (Petra photo)
AMMAN (Petra) - HRH Princess Basma on Sunday underlined the importance of women’s contributions to the development process.
The Princess made the remark during the first meeting of the recently formed Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW).
Praising women’s achievements over the past few years, Princess Basma noted that many other challenges still need to be met.
She said the issue of women and their participation in public life is at the top of His Majesty King Abdullah’s concerns.
The Princess highlighted JNCW plans and programmes slated for implementation, pointing out that the commission’s new make- up calls for optimism because of the members’ varied specialisations and interests.
The members represent the Senate, the Lower House, various ministries and several NGOs which are concerned with women’s issues, the Princess noted.
During the meeting, JNCW Secretary General Asma Khader briefed the attendees on the commission’s tasks and responsibilities, which include drawing up general policies for women and prioritising women-related programmes in governmental and nongovernmental arenas.
Several members presented suggestions to support the JNCW’s work, including the formation of specialised teams to measure the commission’s efforts through indicators set for this purpose.
The commission members also highlighted the need to provide all JNCW entities with recent and updated data on women.
Headed by Princess Basma, the JNCW is one of the first semi-governmental commissions established in the Arab world to promote women’s issues.
Established by a Cabinet decision in 1992, the JNCW has led a large effort comprising public and private institutions and individuals involved with women’s issues to formulate a national strategy for women in the Kingdom, according to the JNWC website.
The commission’s responsibilities broadened in 1996 with a Cabinet decision to entrust it with defining policies and legislation related to women and identifying priorities, plans and programmes in both governmental and nongovernmental sectors.
---Jordan Times, July 7, 2008
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