The Aoun Jordan Private Association, in cooperation with the Princess Basma Center for Jordanian Women’s Studies and the Deanship of Student Affairs at Yarmouk University, launched the “Future of the Kingdom” initiative in celebration of the silver jubilee of His Majesty King Abdullah II assuming his constitutional powers, which aims to prepare and develop women leaders in particular and develop the capabilities of... youth social, economic, and political in general.
Dr. Batoul Al-Muhaisen, director of the Princess Basma Center for Jordanian Women's Studies, confirmed the Center's ongoing endeavor to enhance the role of Jordanian women and develop their capabilities in various fields so that they can carry out their role in the development of Jordanian society.
She pointed out that cooperation with the “Kingdom’s Future” initiative comes to fulfill the university’s role in building students’ capabilities and serving the local community, stressing the necessity of working on political education and possessing leadership skills, especially for female students, to help them raise their awareness and push them to set their goals.
Al-Muhaisen pointed out that this training targets university students to enable them to build their leadership skills and capabilities, enhance their social and political participation, and thus be able to perform their active and supportive roles for women.
In turn, the CEO of the Jordan Aoun Society, Nour Al-Duwairi, said that the “Future of the Kingdom” initiative aims to build women’s leadership skills in order to raise awareness among women and youth in all fields and self-development, which helps them determine their public and private goals.
Al-Duwairi pointed out that framing the mental image of women in traditional templates comes not only practically but also intellectually and socially, as the economic participation of Jordanian women constitutes 14%, despite the fact that the percentage of educated women in Jordan is 97%, while the percentage of Jordanian women’s participation in party life is 40.8%. While the percentages of women’s participation in leadership positions in parties certainly did not exceed a quarter, which means that the parties corrected their situation with a percentage of women and youth amounting to 20% for each category, which increased women’s membership, this did not correct the situation related to women assuming leadership positions in parties.
She explained that the “Future of the Kingdom” initiative came to correct social behaviors, change the mental image of women, and encourage women to discover themselves, their abilities, and their plans for the future, as they are not only half of society but also the educators of the second half, which makes them a cornerstone in the process of change towards the desired future in Jordan’s second centenary.
Al-Duwairi pointed out that the “Kingdom’s Future” initiative is divided into two tracks: “capable and active,” where “capable” is concerned with training young women and men, helping them identify and solve their problems, setting general and specific goals, helping them innovate and pioneer, raising awareness of the importance of electoral and partisan participation, and involving them in public work.
She pointed out that the “Qadira” track contains three main portfolios (social work, leadership and innovation, and political leadership), so that female students are distributed among the portfolios according to their desires so that communication, social, and self-development skills are honed, and then each portfolio is allocated to them to develop themselves in a conscious and mature manner. It encourages the integration of gender roles in accordance with the responsibilities and image of a conservative and cohesive Jordanian family while directing an “active” path for youth.
