Japan, UN Women partner to boost livelihood, protection services for vulnerable Syrian women in Jordan

AMMAN — The Government of Japan is partnering with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (UN Women) to increase protection referrals, awareness-raising on gender-based violence and psycho-social support for vulnerable Syrian refugee women and girls.

Through the UN Women’s Oasis centres located in the Zaatari and Azraq refugee camps, access to essential services will be complemented by life-sustaining assistance to support vulnerable women, especially female-headed households, in coping with the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a UN Women statement made available to The Jordan Times on Thursday.

“Japan has supported　UN Women’s project ‘Women's Leadership, Empowerment, Access and Protection’ (LEAP) in Jordan since 2016,” Japanese Ambassador to Jordan Hidenao Yanagi said in the statement.

“In January this year, we renewed our commitment to launching the fifth phase in order to enhance gender equalities and to support activities in the ‘OASIS’ centre. I myself visited OASIS in both camps several times and confirmed that this project is really distinctive, constructive and valuable for protection and empowerment of refugee women,” he said.

According to Yanagi, gender-based violence (GBV) related services for vulnerable women are “much more critical” and in greater need of support during the COVID-19 crisis.

“Japan highly appreciates UN Women for their dedication and leading role in ensuring access to various activities and protection for women in the refugee camp and host communities. We sincerely hope that our assistance will contribute to helping women to access necessary services and opportunities, and to building resilience through realising gender equality and empowerment of women," Yanagi added.

Within the framework of the recently released Jordan Response Plan (JRP) to the Syrian refugee crisis for 2020-2022, the “generous contribution” from the Japanese government will also allow UN Women to continue supporting women in the Oasis centres to access educational opportunities, civic engagement and training, while engaging men and boys on issues related to gender-based violence, the statement noted.

During the Kingdom’s lockdown, which began in March, UN Women leveraged its blockchain cash-disbursement system as well as technology to disseminate reliable information on COVID-19 prevention and protection services made available by the Jordanian government, the World Health Organisation and humanitarian partners.

“From sharing information on how to prevent the spread of the virus to supporting parents and their children with remote learning during the lockdown, women refugees have stepped up to protect their families and their communities,” said UN Women Jordan Representative Ziad Sheikh in the statement.

“We are deeply grateful to the Government of Japan for its significant and sustained support over many years to our humanitarian work in Jordan through the Oasis model. UN Women will continue to work with the most vulnerable women and girls so that they have access to livelihood opportunities and protection services, while contributing to Jordan’s recovery,” he added.

Through the regional LEAP programme in Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, the Government of Japan has been supporting UN Women’s efforts to create sustainable employment opportunities for displaced women and to provide them with skills for employability, the statement said.

UN Women reached more than 800 Syrian refugee beneficiaries with the support of Japan over the past year and engaged 17 Jordanian civil society and grass-root organisations to enhance the gender responsiveness and accountability of the humanitarian response architecture in Jordan.