Volunteers pushing the boundaries
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Tayma Feisal is no stranger to taking on challenges and opportunities to grow in her community. In June 2019, she joined the Jordanian Civil Defense Volunteers team, going through a rigorous training and learning how to intervene in the event of major natural disasters, incidents, or emergencies that may require expertise in providing basic medical assistance and rescue services.
Passionate about giving back to her community, Tayma began volunteering when she was in school in her hometown of Irbid as a scout and continued to pursue such opportunities when she moved to Aqaba after graduating from high school.
“I was overwhelmed when I started the training at the Civil Defence,” Tayma recalls. “I started panicking, but I forced myself to continue. I was determined to succeed in the training and show that women and girls can act as first responders in case of emergency.”
Before Tayma, women’s involvement in the Jordanian Civil Defense team has been limited to ambulance operators. But her participation helped to change that narrative, serving as an example for other women and girls in the community.
Thanks to her positive experience training with the Jordanian Civil Defense team, Tayma felt empowered to seek out other opportunities that would set a good example for girls and young women in the community. In September 2019, she joined the community-based initiatives organised by Generations For Peace and UN Women, with the generous support of the European Union, and she is bringing all her expertise and enthusiasm to promote the role of women and to raise awareness of their contributions to the development of the local community. In particular, she is engaging local young women on Jordan’s National Action Plan (JONAP) on UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, to share her experiences and encourage more women to consider opportunities in the peace and security sectors. She does so by leading and supporting community-based initiatives, such as painting murals in schools and putting on plays for the local community. These initiatives, which are selected and implemented by local youth and young women, share a common goal of raising awareness of JONAP 1325 and advocating for women’s role in the peace and security sectors.