Jordan

In 2024, Jordan successfully held Parliamentary elections which saw a dramatic increase in women�s political representation to a historic high of 19.5%, up from 13.8% in the previous parliament. With this result, Jordan surpasses the MENA regional average of 17.9% for the first time and jumped from 153rd to 123rd place in the Inter-Parliamentary Union country ranking for female parliamentary representation. In a further sign of progress, women candidates collectively gathered nearly twice the total number of votes compared to the last election. This result significantly contributes to SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions). The surge in women�s parliamentary representation resulted from the government�s implementation of the 2022 new electoral and political parties� laws and dedicated outreach efforts by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), the Ministry of Political and Parliamentary Affairs (MoPPA), the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Women (IMC), the Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW) and civil society, all of which UN Women directly supported under its Electoral Assistance programming and through strategic engagement with these duty bearers. Ahead of the elections, the IEC developed a General Framework to enhance women�s participation as voters, candidates, and election officials, established a Women�s Empowerment Unit, and launched its first ever strategy for Women�s Empowerment in Elections and Political Parties (2024�2026). This strategy introduced a definition of Violence Against Women in Elections (VAWE) for the first time and included measures to address it, including the formation of a monitoring committee and the development of Standard Operating Procedures to deal with reported cases. This was instrumental for women during their electoral campaigns and beyond. Further, over 5.4 million individuals across the entire Kingdom learned about the amended legislative frameworks governing elections and political parties which support women�s political participation. To achieve this, IEC engaged in voter education efforts which included, in partnership with JNCW and civil society, a dedicated national campaign leveraging digital platforms and traditional media, as well as CBOs and local community champions at the grassroot level in rural and remote areas. Those results were achieved under a partnership agreement between the IEC and UN Women, the first of its kind between the IEC and the UN in Jordan. Furthermore, women increased their capacities and succeeded at running and winning elections, with three trained women elected from the 40 officially registering as candidates for the election. These women were part of a total pool of 445 women who learned how to prepare to run for elections as part of a training programme conducted by UN Women through two partnerships, with JNCW and MoPPA and with the Women Political School supported by the IMC and the National Democratic Institute (NDI).

Jordanian institutions and their partners enhanced their accountability and responsiveness towards GEWE through 1) policies to translate the national commitments on gender equality into action and 2) tools to support the implementation of those policies, with UN Women�s support. The results derived from these efforts directly contribute to the achievement of SDG 5 and SDG 16. Jordanian institutions adopted 3 key frameworks that constitute concrete steps for the achievement of the national commitments towards gender equality: The Ministry of Labour developed the first Gender Mainstreaming Policy , with the technical support of UN Women. This initiative aligns with the Ministry�s commitment to contribute to the implementation of the Economic Modernization Vision and related strategies. Looking ahead, the Ministry of Labour, in continued collaboration with UN Women, is poised to further operationalize the Gender Mainstreaming Policy. The Jordan National Commission for Women (JNCW) endorsed an executive plan of the National Women's Strategy. Aligning with the EMV and National Strategy for women in Jordan, JNCW with technical support of UN Women developed an executive plan which will serve as a guidance for policymakers and donors on women's issues. The Government endorsed the second Jordanian National Action Plan on 1325 . This achievement was made possible through the coordinated and holistic efforts of JNCW, with technical support of UN Women. The engagement of national stakeholders under JONAPII, including governmental sectors such as security, judicial, diplomatic, media, education, as well as civil society, underscores the inclusive nature of this collaborative effort. Adoption of implementation tools to translate the policies into concrete actions and this included in 2023: The General Budget Department endorsemed a new Gender Responsive Budgeting Manual. . By using the manual�s Gender Budget Tagging methodology, each ministry included at least one gender sensitive indicator in the 2024 draft budget law. Four ministries (Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Political and Parliamentary Affairs and Ministry of Labor) are piloting the methodology. This manual is a critical step for realigning financial allocations with concrete gender equality principles. UN Women developed the manual in collaboration with the JNCW through utilizing the experience of the technical team in guiding the engendering of the budget manual. The election management body adopted a General Framework that serves as a guiding tool to enhance women�s engagement in elections and political parties (as candidates, voters, aspirants and election officials). The framework was developed with the support of a national consultant hired through GIZ, and UN women provided support through reviewing the draft framework developed by the consultant and organizing national consultations with relevant stakeholders to validate and framework.