NÛR EL-ESÎL

Amman- Sedaqa is a non-profit organization mobilizing a wide group of activists advocating for a work friendly environment in compliance with Article 72 of the Labor Law and with the aim to increase women's economic participation in Jordan. The Sedaqa was founded in 2011 by a group of working parents who experienced the difficulties of balancing work and life. Sahar Aloul, a member of Sedaqa, spoke to NuJINHA about the activities of the organization.

“The organization aims to remove the barriers in front of women”

Indicating that Sedaqa is a non-profit organization advocating the rights of working women in Jordan, Sahar Aloul said, “The organization aims to remove the barriers in front of Jordan women. First, we demanded the implementation of Article 72 of the Labor Law saying that the employer who employs a minimum of twenty female employees should provide a suitable place under the custody of a qualified caregiver to care for the employees’ children of less than four years of age provided that the number of children is not less than ten.”

They aim to increase women's economic participation

Sahar Aloul added that another aim of Sedaqa is to support working parents to eliminate the barriers challenges faced by working women and their families and encourage women to participate in the labor force. “Although women are the foundation of our society, the women’s economic participation has not exceeded 14 percent in Jordan for the last three decades. This is what Sedaqa wants to change. Sedaqa has been organizing workshops in cooperation with the Ministry of Labor to raise the level of awareness amongst women employees on their rights in the labor law and specifically Article 72,” she told us.

Amendment to Article 72 of the Labor Law

After seven-year efforts, the Parliament of Jordan approved the amendment to Article 72 of the Labor Law in 2019. Sahar Aloul thinks this amendment is a positive step for working women’s rights.

Gender wage gap

According to the Jordanian News Agency (Petra), the recent statistics indicate that the gender wage gap stands at 27% in the both private and public sectors.