WOMEN ACTIVISTS PRESS FOR MORE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 002016

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/19/2016
TAGS: PGOV KDEM KWMN JO
SUBJECT: WOMEN ACTIVISTS PRESS FOR MORE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL
SEATS

REF: A. AMMAN 1430

B. AMMAN 1826

Classified By: Ambassador David Hale for reasons 1.4 (b and d).


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Women's rights activists are calling for
parliament to expand quotas that guarantee women,s
representation in municipal councils and the national
parliament. The government agrees, at least for the
municipal level, and the municipal elections law that it
plans to submit to parliament reportedly calls for a 20
percent quota in municipal councils. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) Jordanian women's rights activists are calling for
parliament to include a women,s quota in forthcoming
amendments to the municipal government law. Currently, there
is no such quota for municipal councils. Senator and
Secretary General of the Jordanian National Forum for Women

SIPDIS
(JNFW) Mai Abdul Samen led the consensus among post,s
contacts on women,s issues, calling for a 20 percent quota.
In February, JNCWA formally presented to PM Bakheet a
proposal that also endorsed a 20 percent quota for women on
the municipal councils. NOTE: At present, the GOJ Executive
appoints all mayors, and half of municipal council members.
The government has drafted, but not yet publicized, a bill to
amend the municipal government law, and reportedly to provide
for the popular election of all mayors and all council
members, except in the case of Amman. However, the
government may be considering postponing submission of this
bill to parliament (ref B.) END NOTE.


3. (SBU) The JNCWA proposal would provide at least one seat
reserved for women out of every five seats on a municipal
council. For example, councils of five or fewer members
would have one seat for women, councils of 21-25 members,
five seats for women. JNCWA,s proposal also would provide
for free competition between candidates, both men and women,
for seats not designated for women. More than 20 women's
organizations banded together with JNCWA and JNFW to lobby
for quotas.


4. (C) In presenting its call for quotas, the JNCWA rejected
the idea of the GOJ appointing women. In the last municipal
elections in 2003, only five women won their seats outright,
with an additional 99 appointed onto councils and one woman
appointed mayor of al-Hasa, a small village located in
southern Jordan near Tafila. NOTE: During a recent visit to
that region, Poloff met al-Hasa's mayor, Rana al-Hajaya. An
engineer by profession, prior to being appointed mayor, her
energy and dedication to her position have won the hearts of
al-Hasa's predominantly Bedouin population and advanced the
role of women in her community. The governor of Tafila
mentioned that he planned to endorse her bid to run for mayor
in the next municipal elections, which have not been
scheduled yet. END NOTE.


5. (SBU) The women,s activists were pushing on an open door
with their call on the government for a quota at the
municipal level. The report of the National Agenda
Commission endorsed efforts to increase the representation of
women in elected bodies, and we understand the GOJ was
already planning to include this provision in its reformed
municipal elections bill even before JNCWA launched its
campaign.


6. (SBU) According to Senator Mai, if parliament approves the
proposed 20 percent set-aside for municipal councils, the
women,s groups intend to lobby the GOJ to include similar
provisions in other reform legislation it is drafting. The
activists will call for the government,s anticipated new
legislation on political parties to provide for women,s
places on parties, executive boards. Finally, they will
press the GOJ to expand the women,s quota in the national
parliament from the current five percent to twenty percent.
FM Al-Khatib told Ambassador the government did in fact
intend to include a 20 percent quota for national elections
in the electoral reform bill it plans to submit to parliament.


7. (C) COMMENT: While NGO contacts expect the quota proposal
to prevail in a reformed municipal elections system,
achieving an expanded quota in parliament will be a greater
challenge. Until more women are given the opportunity to
demonstrate their abilities in government, it will be slow
going for women's representation beyond mandated quotas. END
COMMENT.
HALE