JNCW begins trainings for potential women candidates with the National Team of Trainers
Date:
The Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW), in collaboration with UN Women and UNDP, started the implementation of a dedicated programme to enhance women's participation in the upcoming elections to form Jordan’s 19th Parliament through a series of workshops aimed at building the capacities of potential women’s candidates and empower them to run in the parliamentary election, which will be held on 10 November 2020.
Running between 19 September to 1 October, 22 workshops will be delivered by the National Team of Trainers in all Governorates of Jordan. This initiative will target nearly 400 women who have expressed their interest in running for the elections by registering on the JNCW's data based announced earlier this month. All women who wish to run for elections can join this programme, which is based on a dedicated manual on political leadership and training of female candidates launched by UN Women in 2019. This model is implemented for the first time in Jordan through a national team of male and female trainers who participated in two specialized workshops aimed at introducing the components of the programme and its implementation mechanisms in alignment with the national context.
The programme will cover 11 topics, focusing on the practical aspects of campaigning for the elections, including how to develop inclusive and gender-responsive electoral messages that are responsive to the needs and priorities of the society, as well as managing human and financial resources by developing a detailed expenditure plan in alignment with local instructions for campaign spending. The program also includes confidence-building strategies to motivate women and support them in their decision to run for elections.
Dr. Salma Nims, Secretary General of JNCW, emphasized the importance of the topics addressed by this program, especially those related to political participation and how to analyze the reality of the electoral districts candidates will represent in a way that contributes to refining their knowledge, not only as candidates but also as voters and supporters of electoral campaigns for other women. This will contribute to creating a unified women's movement that acknowledges the importance of women’s representation in the Parliament as legislators and through their oversight function over the performance of the executive branch.
“As a potential candidate who wants to run for the upcoming elections, and who just resigned from the Governorate Council, I have substantially benefitted from the workshop as I was not aware of the registration process, the mechanisms of electoral list formation, and how to budget for the campaign. I wish there could be more of such opportunities in the future.” added one woman candidate from Mafraq.
"Women's participation is essential to informed, inclusive decision-making processes. As UN Women, we welcome the opportunity to work with JNCW and national partners, with the leadership of the national Steering Committee, not only in empowering women candidates for this electoral cycle but also to strengthen skills and capacities to help achieve Jordan’s priorities on women’s empowerment and representation,” said Mr. Ziad Sheikh, UN Women Jordan Representative.
JNCW also noted that the implementation of this programme contributes directly to achieving the first objective of the National Strategy for Women (2020-2025), namely to promote the social, economic and political rights of women and girls in Jordan, through enhanced representation and leadership in decision-making positions, as well as by fostering an enabling environment free of gender-based discrimination. Within this framework, the work of the National Team of Trainers is not limited to the electoral process, as their expertise will be also leveraged throughout the implementation of the National Strategy for Women. JNCW encourages women who wish to apply to the workshops that will take place during the upcoming coming two weeks in each Governorates to register via the link (https://bit.ly/2Dj0tel).
Available in Arabic here.