تجربة المرأة الأردنية المرشحة للانتخابات النيابية لعام 2007

The experience of the Jordanian woman candidate for the 2007 parliamentary elections

The study aims at assessing the political participation of Jordanian women in the parliamentary elections of 2007 through the identification of: 1.The extent of participation of women as candidates for parliamentary elections in the civil society organizations and various volunteer work. 2. Practical steps to run women candidates for parliamentary elections. 3. The identification of women's economic status in the period of their nomination for the parliamentary elections. 4. an‎d positive and negative effects of women running to elections from the perspective of women candidates for parliamentary elections. The descriptive method (qualitative and quantitative), consistent with the study’s objectives, was adopted where focus groups and individual interviews were used in addition to a questionnaire specially designed for the parliamentary elections. The study population included all candidates to the parliament in 2007, and their number was (199) candidates. The questionnaire was applied on a sample of women (62.3%). The most important finding of the study was the importance of training for women candidates nominated next times in different areas (management of training campaigns, lobbying, public speaking skills and leadership skills ... etc), raising their political knowledge, informing them of the importance of participating in voluntary work, enrollment in various associations, clarifying the role of women parliamentarians in the House of Representatives in serving the society, in addition to facilitating training opportunities through the provision of training courses in locations close to their residence. The study also noted the importance of forming an electoral campaign including individuals of both sexes from various educational levels and different age groups, and the appointment of a director for their electoral campaign. The study’s results also highlighted the importance of changing the stereotyped image of women through raising awareness among members of the community of the importance of women's participation in public life in general, and in the Parliament in particular, amending the election law, and encouraging the media to focus on the importance of women's participation in political life. It also indicated the importance of women's ability to finance the election campaign and support them. The study came out with recommendations, some of which were related to legislative matters, cognitive and cultural matters as well as social and educational issues. Other recommendations were directed to nongovernmental organizations or parties while some were related to the electoral campaign and the Media