Women Making a Difference

Taking charge of Her Life and Becoming the Neighborhood Mayor

	Source: USAID/Jordan

Most of her life, Amal had no control over what happened to her. She was forced to leave school early; she was pressured to get married; and her entire extended family wanted her to have more children. Amal was becoming desperate. Then she attended a gathering of women, who for the first time talked about themselves – their hopes and dreams for the future. “That gathering was called Arab Women Speak Out [(AWSO), a program which is a part of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID’s) Jordan Health Communication Partnership project], and since I attended it, I started speaking out,” says Amal.

Amal was forced to leave school at the age of thirteen, so she could take care of her aging parents. Forced to serve them, Amal decided her only way out of the misery was marriage. She quickly accepted Ahmad’s proposal to marry and started dreaming of the new life she was going to have. Married life was not as rosy as she imagined. After marriage, Amal found herself subject to a new kind of pressure: her in-laws constantly telling her to have children as quickly as possible. And although she and her husband were happy with a small family, Amal was still under pressure from her in-laws and neighbors.

As the family grew, so did the financial pressure on Ahmad. His salary could not cover the needs of his growing family. The financial burden as well as the outside pressure to have more children led to fights between Amal and Ahmad. Life was becoming intolerable for Amal, until one day she heard of a group of women who gather to talk about real women’s issues.

Attending AWSO, Amal began to take charge of her life. Discussing topics like the Arab women’s roles and responsibilities in modern times, future planning, men and women’s participation in family planning and family health issues, safe maternal and child health, and healthy lifestyles opened up a new world of possibilities for Amal. She, as did 8,000 other women in Zarqa, set goals, developed a plan, and began to take action to make her life better. For Amal, one way she was able to take control of her life was her decision to start using a long-term contraceptive method, despite the family’s pressure.

Today, Amal walks her seven-year-old daughter Roaa to school every morning. She wants Roaa to have a better life than her own and encourages her to strive for a good education. “I want my daughter to go to university. Then she can be independent and make her choices without having to depend on anyone.”

Amal is setting a good example for her daughter. She began doing catering work and then moved on to become a taxi driver for female clients. The income she earns helps her family lead a better life. Importantly, Amal has become an active member of her community. She became one of over 200 AWSO facilitators in Zarqa to lead discussions among women. She says, “Today women in the neighborhood call me the ‘Neighborhood Mayor’ because I listen to their problems and I try to help them find solutions.”

Story provided by USAID/Jordan

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