The former minister of Social Development, Reem Abu Hassan, sponsored the activities of the "Hand in Hand to Stop Violence against Women" ceremony, which was organized by Princess Basma Center for Jordanian Women's Studies at Yarmouk University in cooperation with the International Relief Committee and the Lutheran Charitable Union as part of the 16-day campaign to combat violence against women. Abu Hassan said that Jordan recognizes the importance of promoting women's political, economic, and social participation as evident in amending the Jordanian constitution by adding the phrase “Jordanian women” for the first time, thus recording a regional democratic precedent in women's rights. She pointed out that violence against women is not a Jordanian case, but rather a global phenomenon that not only includes physical violence, but incorporates also economic, sexual, and political violence.
In his turn, Professor Massad stressed the keenness of Yarmouk University represented by Princess Basma Center for Jordanian Women's Studies to participate in the 16-day campaign to combat violence against women. Such keenness, he explained, stems from the fact that women's issues including their protection and the guarantee of their full and undiminished rights are among the main concerns of the whole Jordanian society. Besides, the university is interested in supporting and empowering women in line with the thought and directives of His Majesty King Abdullah II.
In her turn, Susan Borden, Executive Director of the International Relief Committee in Jordan, delivered a speech in which she said that gender-based violence, whether physical, sexual, emotional or economic, is universally recognized as a widespread and persistent violation of the rights of women and girls. She indicated that despite the passage of nearly 30 years since the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, women are still subjected to violence, indicating that in 2020, 21 cases of murder of women were recorded in Jordan, and about 7,000 women were subjected to violence. She also expressed her appreciation that the need to eliminate violence against women in Jordan had been recognized and that the government had put in place laws and regulations to protect women, listen to their complaints, and guarantee their rights.
The Director of Princess Basma Center for Jordanian Women's Studies, Dr. Nadia Hayasat, indicated that the slogan of the international campaign for this year is "stop violence against women" and it reflects the steady increase in the number of cases of domestic violence for the year (2022) compared to the previous years. She pointed out that the reasons behind domestic violence are the weakness of family ties, the rift in parental relationships, the lack of religious faith, and the low standard of living. She then explained that Princess Basma Center is concerned with studying the conditions of Jordanian women, organizing counseling courses, training workshops, and family therapy sessions to contribute to combating violence against women and similar phenomena.
