Accelerating Gender Equality Locally

The project strives to improve social norms in Jordan regarding women’s rights, from achieving gender equality to women’s roles and participation in their communities. These are the key improvements expected at the very heart of the action. To achieve this KVINFO’s partners, JWU and Al Sanabel will target municipal council members through a legal approach where they are trained to view services as rights, especially those of women. 

Capacity building of JWU and Al Sanabel will be done through the innovative methodology: GenderLab, which is engaging key stakeholders (from the public /private sector at the local level) to come up with new and innovative solutions to challenges/barriers to gender equality. It is an innovative approach, which can help facilitate increased dialogue between CSOs and local authorities and other relevant stakeholders locally. 

A sub-granting scheme is also part of the project and aims at assessing, improving and monitoring the capacity of CSOs. The sub-granting scheme is expected to amplify local ideas and voices on how to translate democratic values and accountable governance into actions that overcome barriers to women’s participation in public life. 

As the project will directly target 250 municipal council members to build their capacities, in relation to the protection and advancement of women’s human rights as a prerequisite for the democratic sustainable development of Jordan, the project further relates to the Law of Municipalities of 2015. The law mandates council members to, amongst other duties, prepare strategies; development plans, and needs assessments for the municipal areas. The project will thus support the council members to fulfill their duties in line with the mandate given to them as local duty bearers, to focus on gender equality. In addition, 75 individuals from local communities, CSOs and other relevant stakeholders from all governorates will be trained to work on influencing mind-set and perceptions on gender equality. 

The strategic objective of the Action is: Strengthened capacity of targeted rights holders such as CSOs, and duty bearers such as the municipal council members, in regard to advancing women’s rights. This includes their participation in leadership and public life and eliminating gender based violence, through amplifying the dialogue and actions between CSOs and local authorities with the goal of also accelerating gender equality in the 12 Governorates of Jordan.

EXPECTED RESULTS

1.       Co-applicants have built their capacities to act as strategic actors influencing the development locally and have tested and developed capacity to use the innovative GenderLab methodology, which builds on a combination of norm critical thinking and design thinking.

2.       Improved capacity of 6-10 CSOs (Sub-grantees) to use evidence-based advocacy in their policy dialogue with the local government to advance women’s rights. 

3.       Increased knowledge and capacity of 250 municipal council members representing all 12 governorates to fulfill their duties to uphold women’s human rights, including prevention and responding to GBV and enabling women’s equal participation in leadership and public life. 

4.       Increased awareness and ability to act in order to advance gender equality locally for 75 individual stakeholders from local communities.

5.       Networking and Dialogue meetings for municipal council members and stakeholders have taken place in the south and in the north of Jordan.

Achieved results to date:

·       Result 1 – KVINFO has begun developing the design for the GenderLab innovative training, in order to adapt the methodology into online training. 

Result 2 – 8 CSOs selected as sub-grantees. By September these CSOs will have their projects started. These projects will improve the capacity of the sub-grantees in using evidence-based advocacy in their policy dialogue with the local government to advance women’s rights.  

·       6-10 civil society organisations receiving sub-grants from this action.

·       250 municipal council members representing all 12 governorates of Jordan.

·       75 individuals from local communities, CSOs and other relevant stakeholders from all governorates.