Turkish embassy, ARDD organise seminar on women’s economic justice

AMMAN — "I want to study international relations and media; I want to become a translator but I cannot do that because I am a female and a refugee," Zad Al Khair Zoubi, a Syrian refugee said.

Zoubi was speaking about the difficulties and obstacles she is facing as a refugee in her young age at the Zaatari camp, during a discussion meeting organised last Thursday by the Turkish embassy in Amman, in cooperation with the Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD).

The meeting was organised on the occasion of International Women's Day (IWD) under the title, "Economic Justice for Woman: Overcoming Obstacles for a Better Balance". The 2019 IWD's theme is #BalanceForBetter.

Zoubi was quoted in an ARDD statement to The Jordan Times as speaking about the efforts she had to exert to overcome the state of misery she lived as a result of the death of her brother during the Syrian crisis and leaving school. 

To live a successful life against all odds, Zoubi said she started a self-study of English language at the camp, where she also participated in several initiatives targeting children to culminate in her efforts of sitting for the Tawjihi (general secondary certificate examination).

Speaking also about her life as a Syrian refugee in Turkey's Ghazi Aintab, young woman Aroub Nanaa said that finding a place to stay at an affordable price, unemployment and the language barrier are among the major challenges facing refugee women.

"Visiting Turkey and enjoying its sightseeing and historical sites as a tourist has been my dream but I found myself living as a refugee there as a result of the crisis in my country," Nanaa said in an ARDD statement. 

Opening the event, which was attended by Princess Wijdan, Turkish Ambassador to Jordan Murat Karagöz said that IWD was an opportunity to shed light on the difficulties and challenges facing women in general and women refugees in particular, and look into ways to overcome them, according to an ARDD statement.

ARDD CEO Samar Muhareb presented a briefing on a report the organisation will launch on the challenges facing woman's economic participation in Jordan.

 Muhareb said that the report covers the socioeconomic hindrances to woman's economic participation, discrimination against women in the workplace and the issue of gharimat (indebted women) in Jordan.