Calls rise for gender quota as JPA polls see no woman elected

AMMAN — Journalists and civil society organisations on Monday called for introducing a gender quota for unions and associations following the failure of women to gain any seats in the recent Jordan Press Association (JPA) elections.

On Friday, 947 out of the 1,142 journalists eligible to vote cast their ballots to elect their 11-board members, which for the first time witnessed a woman candidate for the presidential post.

Falha Bariasat garnered 277 votes, but the votes were not enough to beat former president Rakan Saaideh who collected 321 votes and won the presidency seat.

Four other female journalists competed in the elections, but they failed to win any seat.

The elections witnessed a high turnout with 947 journalists casting their ballots to elect their president.

Meanwhile, journalist Khalid Qudah, who won a seat in Friday’s elections and was the head of the JPA Freedom Committee, said that he believes “Bariasat’s decision to run for the presidency took the spotlight from the rest of the female colleagues who ran for the elections”.

In addition, Qudah told The Jordan Times that over 65 per cent of male journalists supported Bariasat’s elections some by voting and others by encouraging her.

“I believe it is important to ensure that female journalists are elected either through a quota or by supporting women candidates who are part of the voting lists,” Qudah stressed.

Meanwhile, Solidarity Is Global Institute (SIGI), a local women’s organisation, on Monday issued a statement calling for at least a 30 per cent quota for women in all political and union fields.

“The JPA elections yielded disappointing results for the female candidates and observers who were hoping to see some of the women candidates winning,” the SIGI statement said.

The previous two boards included female candidates, the SIGI statement added and it is important to introduce “quotas for all unions to ensure that women are present in all boards, including the JPA”.