About SIGI-J

Founded in 1998, the Amman-based Solidarity Is Global Institute/Jordan (SIGI/J), formerly Sisterhood is Global Institute/Jordan, works to promote women’s advancement through a range of education and advocacy programs. SIGI/J has a specialized full time team of 20 employees. SIGI/J carries out its work in collaboration with local and regional scholars, human rights and women's rights activists, journalists, lawyers, jurists, and representatives of governmental and non-governmental organizations.

Since joining the WLP partnership in 2001, SIGI/J has promoted women's human rights education, youth education, women’s political participation, and the elimination of gender-based violence, among many other issues. Participants in SIGI/J’s programs include grassroots women, youth activists, women political candidates, legislators and government officials, and local community-based organizations. SIGI/J works primarily in Arabic and English.

Organizational Programs and Activities

SANAD—Support Women at Risk

• SIGI/J’s “SANAD—Support Women at Risk” is a program to help vulnerable women, including Syrian refugees, women from refugee host communities, and women heads-of-household, to become capable and active in their local communities through capacity building programs and vocational training. SIGI/J has partnered with the Switzerland-based Surgir Foundation to empower Syrian refugee women with information about their legal rights in Jordan, and to make available various social supports, including legal, psychological, health, and social counseling services for the women and their families.

Annual Youth Tech Festival

• Since 2008, SIGI/J’s Annual Youth Tech Festival has engaged more than 1,045 participants (53% female, 47% male) from across the country using information technology and social media in campaigns to advance the rights of women. The topics covered each year range from violence against women, to economic participation, political participation, women’s rights, and increasing youth participation in public life and municipal elections. Proposed topics for future festivals include addressing Jordan’s Personal Status Law and negative social views on divorce and inheritance, and encouraging women’s economic participation in Jordanian society.

“Eyes on Women” Program Registering Women to Run for Municipal Office

• SIGI/J’s “Eyes on Women in elections” initiative began in summer 2016 during the parliamentary elections, and focused on election monitoring from a gender perspective, and examining how election laws and procedures affect women’s political participation in Jordan. In 2017, SIGI/J increased the number of women registered as candidates on the first day of registration to 18.4%, from 16% in 2013. SIGI/J collaborated with several NGOs to document election and polling violations, and to observe best practices that will improve women’s participation in political life. A final report, supported by USAID Takamol, was prepared that covers the lessons learned and provided a comprehensive assessment of the election process from a gendered perspective.

Social Aid and Legal Services

• SIGI/J has provided free legal representation in over 1,000 cases to women facing court trials who otherwise could not afford an attorney. Additionally, SIGI/J provides vocational courses for women and girls to empower them and equip them with income-generating skills. SIGI/J’s clients receive legal support, individual counseling visits, family visits for reconciliation and mediation, and follow up with governmental authorities with influence over their legal cases.

Campaign to Eliminate Early Marriage of Young Girls

• SIGI/J is campaigning to eliminate early marriage among girls in Jordan. Although children are forbidden by law to marry before the age of 18, the custom of early marriage continues in some parts of the country, and is particularly prevalent among impoverished Syrian refugee families. In addition to educating girls, SIGI/J works to bring awareness about the health and psychological dangers of early marriage to parents, teachers, young men and boys, and local communities, including refugee communities. SIGI/J uses WLP’s training methodology, and the curriculum Victories Over Violence: Ensuring Safety for Women and Girls, in its education and outreach. SIGI/J uses social media, press releases, radio and television interviews, and training meetings to get the word out.

Weekly Cultural Events

• In 1999, SIGI/J launched its Weekly Cultural Events program. Once a week, SIGI/J hosts seminars and events that focus on important women’s rights-related topics in Jordanian culture. The events have included screenings of short films about child marriage, a discussion about women in film, and discussions on laws and legislation, and education reform, among other topics.