Building confidence among women in Jordan, Egypt and Tunisia

An UNDEF-funded project works in Jordan, Tunisia and Egypt to strengthen the role of women in society, particularly in remote and underprivileged areas.  Implemented by the Jordanian Centre for Civic Education, the project works with local civil society groups to improve their capacity and networking to advance women's participation; establish a network to promote women’s issues; educate men and women on human rights conventions and women’s rights in constitutions;  train women in skills and practical knowledge to form networks for advocacy campaigns on women’s rights and democratic reform; conduct civic education, community project implementation, confidence-building and political activism among women's groups. At a project session in January 2014 al-Mafraq, on Jordan's border with Syria, locals concentrated on violence against women. They chose to focus the discussions on men and recruited leading figures from the mosque, the education sector and the local newspaper to lead the discussions. Participants spontaneously signed the project poster as a project commitment. UNDEF Executive Head Roland Rich visited the al-Mafraq session and met with Mona Al-Alami, Executive Director Jordan Center for Civic Education, as well as the men who served as session's discussion leaders.