Restoring the role of fathers within the family

Date: Sunday, June 21, 2020

Traditional gender roles have for a long time segregated the roles of parents at home – with mothers usually fully responsible for raising children while fathers act mainly as providers, with little involvement in child-raising. With an aim to promote more active roles for fathers within their families – including their fundamental influence on children – UN Women Egypt in partnership with the National Council for Women organized a “Father and Child” camp to raise awareness of fathers on their essential role and strengthen their bond with their children.

Trained in self-defence, Lebanese women find new confidence

Date: Sunday, June 21, 2020

In Beirut’s southern suburbs, testimonies of women who have faced abuse paint a very dark picture. Gathered at Ghubairi’s Social Development Center, a government managed multipurpose space providing services to the community, many women recall having experienced sexual harassment which sometimes escalated to actual attempts of rape.

Connected by their phones, women peacebuilders lead COVID-19 prevention efforts across Libya

Date: Friday, June 19, 2020

Separated by their country’s divisions, both geographically and politically, 36 Libyan women have since used their phones to connect, discuss and overcome their differences in the interest of one goal: Peace.

When fathers share the care

Date: Thursday, June 18, 2020

As COVID-19 impacts parents around the world, sharing the care work is critical. This Palestinian couple living in a refugee camp in Lebanon shows how it’s done.

Meet the Syrian women baking up new confidence and preparing healthy meals to 29,000 children every day

Date: Thursday, June 18, 2020

The smell of freshly baked pastries lingers in the air of the HealthyKitchen in the Azraq refugee camp. Leena Ahmed Al-Faraj, 25, a Syrian refugee from Der Zoor, has just finished her six-hour shift, baking healthy meals that will be packaged and distributed to 10,000 children in the six schools of the Azraq camp.

From where we stand: Our journey of resilience and empowerment between two crises.

Date: Thursday, June 18, 2020

Ten years since the start of the conflict, with more than 5.6 million people fled Syria to neighboring countries and Jordan is currently hosting more than 747,031 Syrian refugees. Women and girls have been disproportionately affected by the conflict and displacement, and they are now facing additional challenges due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Turkish and Syrian women manifest solidarity to respond to COVID-19

Date: Thursday, June 18, 2020

To circumvent lockdown and social distancing measures, a group of women call to check in on vulnerable Turkish and Syrian women and offer support. These phone calls are part of the “Home to Home Solidarity Programme” jointly run by UN Women and the Foundation for the Support of Women's Work (KEDV).

New report from UN Women brings forth voices of Palestinian women under COVID-19 lockdown

Date: Tuesday, June 9, 2020

Early into the COVID-19 crisis, UN Women, in partnership with Arab World for Research and Development, conducted in-depth interviews with Palestinian women in the West Bank and Gaza for a new study that sheds new light on the situation and needs of Palestinian women and girls.

Youth blog: Challenging discriminatory laws for migrant domestic workers amidst COVID-19 in Lebanon

Date: Wednesday, June 3, 2020

Migrant domestic workers in Lebanon and other countries in the Arab States region already face hardship due to the longstanding kafala system, a sponsorship system that regulates the relationship between sponsoring employers, or kafeel, and migrant workers and binds the worker to the contractual relationship with the employer. Under this system, workers cannot enter the country, work, travel, resign, change jobs or return home without the permission of the kafeel.

Rural women social enterprise supports communities amid the COVID-19 crisis in Lebanon

Date: Tuesday, June 2, 2020

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown measures instituted by the Lebanese government have amplified Lebanon’s economic crisis and decreased the income of many households especially in marginalized regions.

HeForShe volunteers take over social media to raise awareness on COVID-19 and gender equality

Date: Monday, May 11, 2020

Whether to pursue their studies on the Government’s e-learning platform or to stay in contact with families and friends, youth rely on internet to support each other during the COVID-19 lockdown. Over 500 HeForShe volunteers across Jordan are using social media to help their peers copying with the pressure of confinement, with a rich calendar of virtual initiatives to continue raising awareness on COVID-19 and gender equality. Here is a sneak peek of their work behind the scene and their message of solidarity during this difficult time.

Using technology to assist vulnerable Syrian refugees during COVID-19 lockdown

Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Amid the coronavirus pandemic and the social distancing measures, UN Women is providing urgent support, information and essential services to more than 5,700 Syrian refugees in Za’atari and Azraq refugee camps.

Women in the security sector at the frontline of the COVID-19 response

Date: Monday, April 20, 2020

From patrolling check points to answering emergency calls, women serving in security sector agencies continue to undertake vital work across Jordan alongside their male colleagues, supporting citizens and carefully applying critical mitigation measures against the spread of COVID-19. UN Women is working closely with the Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF), the Civil Defence Force (CDF), the Public Security Directorate (PSD) and the Gendarmerie Force to provide gender-sensitive emergency response to local communities to protect them from the virus transmission while assisting vulnerable women in need.

Weaving a close-knit community

Date: Sunday, March 8, 2020

Mohammed Al-Shibli and Ismail Al-Waked are utilizing their skills to build a community where women are empowered to overcome the barriers in their way. Both actively participate in the regular awareness sessions organized by Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD) in partnership with UN Women, in the ‘Oasis Centers for Resilience and Empowerment of Women and Girls’.

Call centre training boosts self-confidence and nets women jobs

Date: Saturday, February 8, 2020

Safa al-Afeer and Raghad Khaled dreamed of becoming successful career women after graduating from university, but their paths to employment didn’t go quite as planned. Al-Afeer and Khaled had almost lost hope of finding work, everything changed when they enrolled in a Call Centre and Customer Service Training provided by Education for Employment (EFE-Jordan), in partnership with UN Women.

Take five: Morocco’s Anti-Trafficking Law and its link to migration

Date: Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Amina Oufroukhi is President of the International Judicial Cooperation Department headed by the Office of the Public Prosecutor of the Kingdom of Morocco.

The men who are standing tall against early marriages in the Gaza Strip

Date: Monday, November 18, 2019

After taking part in UN Women’s Regional Men and Women for Gender Equality Programme, men and boys have become change makers to promote gender equality and challenge the tradition of early marriage.

16 ways you can stand against rape culture

Date: Monday, November 18, 2019

Every day we have the opportunity to examine our behaviours and beliefs for biases that permit rape culture to continue. From the attitudes we have about gender identities to the policies we support in our communities, we can all take action to stand against rape culture.

Strengthening resilience, investing in passion: Zonta International Foundation and UN Women empower women across Jordan

Date: Sunday, August 18, 2019

From 28-31 July, on their first official visit to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, four members of a delegation headed by Susanne von Bassewitz, President of Zonta International Foundation, gained first-hand insight into UN Women’s work and witnessed the opportunities that are being provided to women through continuous support from the Zonta International Foundation.

Reforming the laws that forced women to marry their rapists

Date: Tuesday, July 16, 2019

Years of collective mobilization, strategizing and innovation by women’s rights groups culminated in the repeal or reform of archaic laws across the Northern Africa and Western Asia region