UN Women supports marginalized women to “Spring Forward” towards new economic empowerment milestones in Jordan’s rural areas

“Women of Al Mafraq have become pillars of change and will be a model for all women all over the Kingdom [of Jordan]. We are very proud of you,” affirmed Mr. Giuseppe Belsito, UN Women Representative to Jordan, at a June 2015 signing ceremony to commence the work of partners under the ‘Spring Forward for Women’ project. His comments mark the pronounced achievements of the project led by UN Women Jordan and the Jordan River Foundation (JRF).

Spring Forward for Women (SFW) is an initiative implemented by UN Women country offices across the Southern Mediterranean region, funded by the European Union. The primary focus of the project is to encourage the effective participation of marginalized women in economic and public life by addressing the barriers that have impeded their engagement in these areas. The project has targeted four areas within Jordan’s Al Mafraq Governorate, an area north-east of Amman where women’s unemployment and poverty rates are particularly high and further perpetuated by the presence of Syrian refugees.

To support women’s access to the economy and labour market, UN Women and JRF partnered with eight community-based organizations for the provision of micro-credit and business startup related technical assistance. This has also supported the goal of promoting ownership and strengthening the capacity of national entities to provide ongoing, sustainable support to women’s income-generating projects.

In total the project has assisted 320 women in opening and/or continuing to run and expand their small businesses. Further successes identified by a project assessment in October 2015 highlight that 94 per cent of women running projects have expressed their intention to expand them, while 43 per cent said that it improved the dynamics of the whole family.

The Spring Forward for Women project and its achievements underpin UN Women’s mandate to invest in women’s economic empowerment as a direct path towards gender equality, poverty eradication and inclusive economic growth. The Deputy Governor of Mafraq stated that, "[this project] is one of the most successful projects in the Governorate. It reached the most marginalized women, and they started to get income to their families, that led to the improvement in their economic status."