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Women's Empowerment and Good Governance Through - amarc

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65<br />

Best Experiences for an Action Research Process<br />

for long hours with low salaries. Women have almost no chance to gain a higher education,<br />

<strong>and</strong> are not able to speak publicly to raise awareness about health, <strong>and</strong> women’s rights. My<br />

idea was to mix farming <strong>and</strong> women’s issues to respond to the realities of a large number of<br />

women farmers.<br />

Four active girls from JordanValley joined AMARC 9, attended the conference sessions on<br />

community radio <strong>and</strong> gained technical training on how to use the radio suitcase donated by<br />

Wantok LTD. It was important for them to listen to women’s experience <strong>and</strong> stories highlighting<br />

the prominent role of community radio in development.<br />

After one month, the project received two years funding support from “Women’s World Day<br />

of Prayer” through Wadi.e.V., the German-based association. This support has enabled girls<br />

to attend six months of journalist <strong>and</strong> radio training at Ammannet “First Community Radio in<br />

Jordan.”. Ammannet applied to the Jordanian Government for licensing the station under its<br />

umbrella.<br />

The total number of trainees was nine. The girls produced local stories about violence against<br />

women, on malnutrition, on the municipal elections, on women’s participation in good governance,<br />

on launching the women farmers association, on traditions <strong>and</strong> tribes prevention of<br />

women representation in the municipal council, on the lack of health services, on the weak<br />

points of the social insurance system <strong>and</strong> on the reasons for divorce cases.<br />

Project impact <strong>and</strong> challenges:<br />

Educating rural women on media for the first time in there lives is challenging. I think this is<br />

not because of there inability to learn but is due to the social restrictions imposed by the male<br />

dominant society. «there is also the fear by some on what a female radio station may bring to<br />

the girls’ awareness..<br />

Girls proved to be able to learn quickly <strong>and</strong> showed enthusiasm for how they would raise the<br />

women’s voice. They did this in spite of the personal difficulties they faced from male family<br />

members who tried to prevent them from joining the station. These women were real, ordinary<br />

fighters for their sisters..

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