Chairman of the Jordanian Joint Chiefs of Staff, Major General Yousef Huneiti (photo), launched the gender mainstreaming strategy for the Jordanian Armed Forces-Arab Army (JAF), in cooperation with the United Nations (UN).

The strategy aims to increase women’s representation in senior leadership positions and their participation in peacekeeping operations, both locally and externally, according to a JAF statement.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Director of the JAF’s Military Women’s Affairs Department, Colonel Maha Nasser, said raising awareness of the women’s role in the security and peace fields required a “wide” range of developments in the JAF, through the adoption of this four-year strategy, which provides a number of gender-responsive policies and guidelines, which would have a “lasting” positive impact on the JAF.

Nasser stressed the importance of enhancing women’s participation in the armed forces to continue their development and increase their effectiveness.

The strategy, Nasser said, is based on gender mainstreaming analysis carried out by JAF early 2020, which helped to identify current priorities, aimed to align with Jordan’s plan to activate United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000), on Women, Security and Peace 2018-2021 and its implementation supported by governments of Canada, Finland, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Speaking on behalf of the donor group, UK Ambassador to Jordan, Bridget Brind, lauded the JAF’s efforts at this “historic” moment, stressing the continued commitment to support the Kingdom in implementing the Jordanian National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security.

For his part, representative of the UN Women office in Jordan, Ziad Sheikh, said JAF’s transformation in gender issues has introduced a “new” level of ambition, and is key to accelerating efforts to localize the UNSC women, peace and security agenda.