Celebrating women’s empowerment in agriculture and climate change in rural Jordan

ACTED has been leading these discussions as part of a UN Women-funded initiative aimed at strengthening rural women’s leadership in agriculture and national advocacy in Jordan.

As part of this initiative, women have engaged in leadership training sessions, where they discussed topics such as the qualities that make a good leader, how to best advocate for change in their communities, and how to challenge the social and gender norms that impact their lives. The participants have demonstrated the true power that women have, and how, when they come together to advocate for women’s empowerment, they become catalysts for positive change.

On March 8th, on the occasion of International Women’s Day, ACTED celebrates the remarkable achievements of over 200 of these women in rural Jordan.

She praises the achievements of the women she has worked closely with over the course of the project. “It is inspiring to see their dedication and commitment to this project, and I cannot wait to see the positive change they bring about in the future.”

There is no doubt that Aida, Rasha and Wedad have become capable and skilled leaders in their communities.

Aida, a woman from a rural community in Aidoun, in the north of the country, tells about her experience: “I learned about other female leaders, advocacy campaigns and climate change, and also about how I can strengthen my own leadership skills”.

Aida would like to implement a community gardening initiative, using water-conservation techniques such as hydroponics, an off-ground production technique.

Rasha, who has been an active participant in the project since its inception, also speaks fondly of her experience at the training sessions and the knowledge and skills she gained:“I’ve learned so many new things, especially about women’s empowerment,” she says. Rasha wishes to facilitate these same training sessions for other women like her: “Facilitating the training sessions really helped me further develop myself as an active member in my community. I learned so many more things that I never expected and it really increased my confidence.”

“I’ve learned so many new things from the whole project,” agrees Wedad, a project participant and the Chairwoman of the Al-Rafeed Agricultural Society, a small community-based organisation, “I especially appreciated the focus on women’s role in decision-making.” Wedad speaks enthusiastically about her goals to run in the upcoming local elections.