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DW.COM
1 year agoWomen in Jordan: Real progress through social enterprises? | DW | 25.06.2022
It now states that at least 10% of a party's founding members must be women, and the same percentage be people be aged between 18 and 35.
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"The constitutional amendment and the reform of the law on political parties have generated a little more public attention which is urgently needed," said Magdalena Kirchner, resident director of the German-funded Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in Amman.
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Such problems include, among other things, a disadvantageous inheritance law, male-dominated social expectations and the fact that many women take on care duties at home instead of following a professional career.
Despite its high rate of college graduates, only 14% of women participate in the workforce in Jordan, according to the International Labour Organization.
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"Women are increasingly represented in Jordanian civil society, especially among urban elites," Kirchner told DW.
This engagement has led to a growing number of social enterprises.
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Mideast researcher Lilian Tauber recently described social enterprises as "innovative community-centred organizations that use business strategies to address social issues."
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Sandra Jelly, who moved to the desert Wadi Rum some 14 years ago, has made it her mission to empower women, and is now doing so with her Lumeyo - Bedouin by Design social enterprise.
For this, some 35 Bedouin women recycle threads, weave materials on the ground looms, and hand-finish bags, rugs and seating pillows.
Jelly sees her main role as creating international demand for the Bedouin weaving craft, "So that local women in rural communities can work from home and help support their daughters go to university," Jelly told DW.
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In contrast to nongovernmental organizations, which are mostly nonprofit, or international aid programs that are mostly temporarily, social enterprises are neither limited in time nor turnover.
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Jelly, for example, decided to register her social enterprise as a for-profit commercial company.
Another social enterprise for women is run by Mei Hayashi, the founder of Tribalogy.She has been supporting refugee and nonrefugee women from disadvantaged communities since 2013.
"We are an income-generation project, provide training and employment so that these women can empower themselves and earn money," she told DW.
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That could change if social enterprises continue to see success on the ground.Online and on social media at least, their presence is growing.
Particularly popular are the social impact platforms Naua as well as Forsa,which claims to be the first Arab site for scholarships and open positions for graduates.There is also the government-funded platform Impacthub .
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The Jordanian queen's enthusiam was priceless for women - and the future of social enterprises.