Government Programmes in Jordan - General Federation of Jordanian Women (GFJW)

Below is a list of projects conducted by NGOs and in which GFJW was a local partner:

1. Bee-Keeping Training Course: the GFJW gave the Charity Society of Sayyidat Halawa a loan to organize bee-keeping training courses for 15 women, in order to increase their income.
2. Goats -Raising Project: the GFJW gave the Women's Charity Organization of Wadi el-Urdun a loan to purchase a number of goats which were distributed to poor households in Wadi al-Urdun.
3. Knitting and Sewing Training Centre: The project was established by the Charity Society of the Arab Woman. Namely, a training centre was established to train women in knitting and sewing as a way to enable them to improve their household economy. Over 9 months, 17 women were trained. The course is run for 3 to 6 months.
4. Training in Household Knitting Activities: The GFJW offered the Charity Society of Sayyidat Awsarah a number of sewing machines to help local women improve their status by training them in household knitting and sewing activities. 15 women were trained over a period of 9 months.
5. Processing Milk Derivatives: The GFJW supervised the implementation of the project run by the Women's Renaissance Society in Souf, Jerash. The aim was to create job opportunities for unemployed rural women by training them in the processing of milk derivatives such as cheese, labneh, jameed, and butter. The project created around 30 job opportunities.
6. Productive Kitchen Project (A GFJW Project). The GFJW started the project in 1986 as a small kitchen. The project evolved and became able to provide equipment and tools to poor women along with job opportunities after training them in the production and marketing of pastries and fast food.

The Legal Literacy Program was started in 1993. It entails a series of sessions (20 hours) to raise awareness and provide training in legal matters. Any group of 25 Jordanian women anywhere in the country can submit a demand to the Federation to take the course. Sessions are conducted for free by a number of specialized lawyer who give lectures, and discuss legal issues and real cases that illustrate material introduced during the classes. Material covered in these courses includes:

1. introduction to the law;
2. women and the personal status law for Muslims and Non-Muslims;
3. trial procedure;
4. general rights;
5. political rights of women;
6. women and crime;
7. civil rights;
8. trading rules;
9. renting and landlords law;
10. women and social security;
11. children's rights;
12. women and Arab and International agreements.

By 2001, the Federation had conducted 40 such sessions on its own, and another 35 in collaboration with other organizations such as the Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW)

The Legal and Psychological Help Line (in Arabic)

Advice and consultation through the Legal and Psychological Help Line began in 1996. A sociologist, two lawyers, and a psychologist were appointed to receive calls and provide advice to callers. In the beginning, most calls were to ask for legal advice. After appropriate promotion and campaigning, callers started to ask for social and psychological help as well. In order to ensure effectiveness of help however, in time, specialist counsellors proceeded started by gaining callers' confidence and then encouraged them to meet with them before providing them with advice and help. In time calls for help were received through letters as well.

The main objective behind this project is to fight violence against women and the help line was followed by the creation of a shelter for battered women.