Jordan

Malaysia: Fiesta Feminista

Malaysia's Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) kicked-off Fiesta Feminista in mid-June with a three-day "fiesta" meant to celebrate, as the name suggests, the achievements of feminism, to synergize the efforts of women's and social justice groups, and to address the challenges and inequalities that remain. Over 500 women and men from all walks of life took part in workshops, lectures, presentations, exhibitions, performances, and films focusing on a variety of feminist issues with a thematic emphasis on diversity. JAG, which includes Sisters in Islam (SIS) and the All Women's Action Society (AWAM), plans to host a Fiesta Feminista event every two to three years.

In July 2007, in Jordan, three WLP alumnae won seats in their municipal councils. Additionally, two alumnae of a regional training in Africa have gone on to take leadership roles in NGOs and in civil service. Christiana Thorpe and Daphne Williams were appointed as National Electoral Commissioners of Sierra Leone in 2005 and 2006 respectively, with Ms. Thorpe gaining the distinction of being the first woman to hold that position in the country. Elections were held in Sierra Leone in August 2007, with run-off election results still pending, and Ms. Thorpe and Ms. Williams were key players in overseeing the process.

Sisterhood Is Global Institute/Jordan (SIGI/J)’s team joined women’s rights activists in the national campaign launched on Tuesday July 17th to support female candidates in municipal elections to be held at the end of the month in Jordan.

At the Women’s Learning Partnership, we consider our greatest achievement to be the solidarity, strength, and dynamism of our Partnership based on relationships of trust, respect, and cooperation. Our shared vision, nurtured through six years of collaborative effort and sustained communication, has enabled 18 autonomous national and regional organizations on four continents, working in 17 languages, and functioning under diverse conditions, to work closely together, thereby significantly increasing our impact on the struggle to secure justice and equality for women. The partners inspire each other, learn from one another, and provide support and solidarity in our human rights advocacy. In this issue we spotlight our partners in Jordan and Zimbabwe.

January 21, 2007: At the Seventh World Social Forum in Nairobi, Women’s Learning Partnership (WLP) presented an interactive panel and dialogue with women’s rights activists from Africa and the Middle East who discussed strategies to strengthen social movements, particularly the women’s movement, in an era of crisis for civic organizing. Efforts to achieve gender equality, human rights, and social justice are being increasingly challenged by rising extremism and fundamentalism, wars and conflict, poverty, and violence. Activists are overcoming these barriers by working together to devise innovative, context-relevant strategies that will transform power relations and dynamics with the family, community, and society.

WLP convened the Middle East/North Africa (MENA) Regional Roaming Institute for Women's Leadership from December 9-15, 2003 in Petra, Jordan. Thirty women leaders from eleven Arab countries including Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, the Sudan, and Yemen took part in the week-long Institute for training of trainers. The goal of the Regional Roaming Institute was to empower and train Arab women activists in the Middle East and North Africa to become better trainers and advocates for women's rights and equal participation in civil society. WLP President, Mahnaz Afkhami who was in Jordan for the event said, "The Institute was a positive experience that brought a spirit of hope, optimism, solidarity, and faith in the future so much needed in a region that is undergoing a challenging period of transformation."

The Institute was organized in cooperation with WLP's Jordanian partner, Sisterhood Is Global Institute/Jordan (SIGI/J), one of the most effective Jordanian women's organizations working to promote women's human rights through education and skills training programs. The MENA Regional Institute built upon the material and expertise developed in WLP's pilot international Roaming Institute for Women's Leadership held in Maryland in 2002. Participants included lawyers, educators, grassroots organizers, and activists working to promote democracy, human rights, and women's political participation in the region.

Recent workshops conducted by WLP partners Sisterhood Is Global Institute/Jordan (SIGI/J) and the Foundation for the Support of Women's Work (Turkey) provided a dynamic learning environment for women to develop effective leadership skills, explore advocacy strategies, and discuss ways to overcome the challenges they face in taking on leadership roles in their families and communities.