A Journey of Leadership

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In 2018, Amal Al-Jamani attended a workshop conducted by WLP’s partner in Jordan, Solidarity is Global Institute-Jordan (SIGI-J), and is now an emerging women’s rights leader in her community. In her own words, Amal described herself as shy and unsure of how she could contribute in a group of experienced activists. However, inclusive activities and interactive exercises encouraged Amal to discover the critical experience and skills she had to share with the rest of the workshop participants. Since that day, she has continued to develop her role as a leader and recognize the potential in others, a process that has helped her reach new positions of influence in her community. 

Amal Al Jamani Accepts Certificate

Amal Al-Jamani (right) smiles with SIGI-J facilitator Aroub Al-Khateeb (left).

In Amal’s life, ideas of leadership and equality began early in her family. In recounting her upbringing, she noted her father’s encouraging presence and his support in helping her achieve personal confidence and empowerment.

“As a leader in my family, the first person that supported me was my father. My father ensured that I would work hard and feel empowered. That is what truly made me feel that I am a leader. He supported me by encouraging the importance of education, he made sure that I attended university and obtain a university degree.” 


After graduating from university, Amal began working with the Greater Municipality of Amman.  In her role as a civil servant, she attended the WLP leadership workshop hosted by SIGI-J. She described the workshop as an open, encouraging environment where she could voice her ideas and contribute to the larger discussion. 

“I was very shy, but the facilitator being so encouraging, was finally able to spur me to participate, and you know, at the end of the training no one could stop me!” 

Amal’s transformation reflects the empowering methodology of the SIGI/J workshop. Through the course of the training Amal discovered the ways in which she could use her leaderships skills and understanding of women’s empowerment to address specific issues facing women in Jordan. After seeing her natural leadership skills, SIGI-J staff nominated Amal to attend a regional training in Lebanon focused on women, peace, and security, to enhance her skills to support vulnerable communities in Jordan, including refugees. 
 

Amal and Group at Beirut WPS RTOT

Amal (far left) works with a group of activists from across the Middle East to empower women in peace-building processes. 

At the regional training, Amal was joined by women nominated from different civil society organizations, from Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Palestine, and Syria, who all came together to build strategies for involving more women from conflict-affected areas in peace-building. Amal reflected on her workshop experiences with WLP, stating, 

“The workshops allowed me to understand how I can share this information with the community and how to increase their knowledge, raise their awareness. I am thankful for the support and guidance because there are certain issues that you might be unaware of on a personal level or even at a work-related level, such as how you could use information that you have to benefit society.”

Since her engagement with WLP materials and trainers, Amal became the Manager of the Women’s Department at the Greater Amman municipality, narrowing her professional focus on women’s development. As the head of the women’s division she works in four areas including: awareness and education, training and empowerment of women, enabling voluntary work to ensure that women have a meaningful role in their society, and enabling communication and connections with women in society. 

Amal has now trained hundreds of men and women in Jordan and held multiple educational workshops with the aim of ending early marriage. She has conducted 5 workshops specifically focused on educating men on the topic of early marriage, which she identifies as a challenging but necessary component to ultimately end the practice in Jordan. 

Whether it is at home, at her workplace, or when conducting workshops in her community, Amal employs the leadership and communication skills she enhanced through WLP’s participatory trainings on a daily basis. When asked about opportunities to continue empowering other Jordanian women, she left us with this slogan: 

“’Your strength is from her strength.’ “This is something we should grow and allow to continue.”
 

Al-Jamani Smiling with Group
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