PRINCESS BASMA WOMEN'S RESOURCE CENTER

Women's resource center for policy makers and women's groups in Jordan.

Prior to the 8 March 1996 celebrations of International Women's Day, the Princess Basma Women's Resource Center was opened in Amman. At the inauguration of the center Princess Basma, sister of the late Jordanian King Hussein ibn Talal, stressed that "the women's movement is undergoing a new stage in Jordan, which is that of implementing and executing strategies," adding that "both the governmental and nongovernmental organizations that deal with women's issues should co-operate, re-examine, and develop ways of implementing strategies." The center is directed by Princess Basma's daughter, Farah Daghestani, and it aims to gather and analyze information and enhance effective policies on women's issues. It also aims to increase the participation of women in development and decision-making processes in addition to organizing seminars and training workshops for women's groups. The center intends to implement mechanisms for the Platform of Action, which was agreed to at the 1995 United Nations Fourth Conference on Women in Beijing. The establishment of the center is perceived by many as an attempt by Princess Basma to take full control of women's issues in Jordan, especially because it came after the 1992 establishment of the Jordanian National Committee for Women and the 1995 establishment of the Jordanian National Women's Forum.

see also basma bint talal; gender: gender and law; gender: gender and politics; jordan.

Bibliography

Brand, Laurie. Women, the State, and Political Liberalization: Middle Eastern and North African Experience. New York: Columbia University Press, 1998.

Princess Basma Women's Resource Center web site. Available from <http://www.nic.gov.jo/jmaw/pbwrc.htm>.

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