Zonta International Foundation and UN Women empower women across Jordan

The four-day mission included visits to two UN Women Oasis centers in host communities in Mwagar and Taibeh, two Oasis centers in Za'atari refugee camp and the Jordanian Women's Union in Zarqa, as well as a meeting with civil society organizations and Jordanian women leaders to discuss national priorities to promote women’s empowerment.

Since 2018, Zonta International has been partnering with UN Women to support national efforts aimed at strengthening the resilience and empowerment of Syrian refugee and vulnerable Jordanian women and girls through the 'Eid bi Eid' (Hand-in-Hand) program.

The partnership supports the UN Women Oasis Centres for the Resilience and Empowerment of Women and Girls, which provide women with relevant job skills and meet their protection concerns and promoting empowerment through leadership and civic engagement, while also engaging men and boys in dialogue and mobilization for social equality.

“Doing something for women in this humanitarian context and this part of the world is important to address the refugee crisis,” affirmed von Bassewitz. “The services provided within the center are impressive. It was inspiring to learn that the women themselves were raising the session topics that they want to learn about and discuss. This is empowerment, women knowing what their needs are and asking for it,” she continued.

In 2012, UN Women opened its first Oasis Centre in the Za’atari refugee camp, eventually expanding to four centers in both Za’atari and Azraq camps. With the support of Zonta International Foundation, since late 2018, eight pilot centers have been launched in partnership with the Ministry of Social Development and its community centers in Jordanian host communities in five governorates (Zarqa, East Amman, Karak, Ma’an, and Tafileh).

The delegation visited four Oasis centers, including two in Za'atari refugee camp, where they viewed the multisectoral services including tailoring, childcare, information and communications technology, handicraft training, and the after-school program. The delegation proceeded to visit two Oasis centers in host-communities, where they were introduced to the new training sectors available for incentive-based volunteers: home maintenance and poly-tunnel agricultural training."