Jordanian magazines fight misconceptions with ‘real-life’ advice

AMMAN — The desire to provide accessible, evidence-based information to parents in Jordan and the Arab world pushed a group of Jordanians to start the only parenting magazines in Jordan, Family Flavours and Nakahat ‘Ailiyeh more than a decade ago.

“After I had my first child, I was struck by the lack of suitable information available to Jordanian and Arab parents and by the number of widespread misconceptions about parenting and childcare,” recalled Hind Lara Mango, the publisher and managing director of Al Marji Publications, adding “after a while, I got together with a group of parents who had the same desire to provide reliable, localised information for our community”.

This is how Family Flavours and its Arabic equivalent Nakahat ‘Ailiyeh were born, some 12 years ago, aiming to offer parents across the Kingdom references on topics ranging from family health, couple life, parenting and literature, among many others.

“We strongly believe that everyone should have access to credible, science-based information on subjects that are too often misunderstood or confusing due to the abundance of contradictory advice young parents get from their entourage,” Mango told The Jordan Times at the offices of Al Marji Publications, which publishes the two magazines.

Determined to provide a real, home-grown magazine to the local public, Mango contacted Jordanian experts in the field of nutrition, religion, medicine, sexual health and fashion. 

“We try to tackle every aspect of a family's life, without taboo and bias, while striving to promote respect, self-acceptance and diversity,” she continued, stressing that the magazine only portrays “real people, of all shapes, races and backgrounds”.

The publisher noted that “every parent is vulnerable in the face of information and everyone should be able to better understand how to best care for their family.”

This dedication to a gender sensitive social agenda is precisely what drew Laura Haddad to become the managing editor of the magazines, which emphasise their focus on fathers and mothers alike.

“It is a shame that the generalisation of mothers being the only caretakers of the children has become a supposedly true fact in Jordan. Through our workshops and other activities, we noticed the eagerness of fathers to be part of the family life, and to challenge the preconceived idea that they do not want to be involved in their kids’ uprising,” Haddad explained.

“I do believe that we are much more than a magazine people skim through to pass time. We have a social purpose to raise awareness on crucial issues with a multidisciplinary approach. We provide a human face to the struggles that people go through in their daily life,” she underscored, citing the importance of local experts in providing holistic advice on issues that touch every group in society.

“Family Flavours and Nakahat are definitely not a 'West Amman only magazine' and we cater for every segment of society. For instance, our ‘Divine corner’ offers a Muslim and Christian experts’ perspective on important topics. This is a way to show that everyone is equal in the face of parenting, feeling the same fears and having the same interrogations,” Haddad noted.

Stressing the need to help people “regain self-love” at a time when photoshopped media's conveyed ideas of perfection are overflowing, the two women strive to display "all types of people" in their publication.

“We have photoshoots with children with Down syndrome, people in wheelchairs, old, young, size ten or size 16, because that is what society looks like. Nobody can identify with polished, unattainable images of flawless individuals we see in most media,” Haddad explained, adding that “all our editions are related to pressing issues and time bound topics".

Last month, the magazines highlighted women through International Women's Day and Mothers’ Day, while the April edition will feature Autism Awareness Day and Earth Day, focusing on energy food, holistic medicine and yoga, among other topics.

“We are a homegrown product that caters to the needs and demand of the local community. We sincerely internalise what we preach, through workshops where we put parents face to face with experts to whom they can ask all the questions they have and get a scientific context related feedback,” Mango said, noting that the organisation also partners with numerous organisations such as UNICEF, UNFPA, and various institutions which offer the readers “the latest and most reliable local data”.

“I think we all need to join hands in helping people to love themselves whoever they are, and to stop feeling bad for not fitting to the norm that tends to make them believe that ‘there is something wrong with them’,” Mango concluded.