After many years of advocating women's issues and working with local and national women's groups, Princess Basma initiated the establishment of the Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW) in 1992. The Commission is the highest policy-making forum in Jordan on women's issues and rights, both at the governmental and non-governmental level. JNCW operates through affiliated mechanisms such as the NGO Coordinating Committee, the network of focal points in government ministries, the legal committee, and the professional women's committee.

Under Her Royal Highness's leadership, and through a national consensus-building process, JNCW formulated the National Strategy for Women in 1993. This Strategy was adopted by the Jordanian Government, and set a precedent for the Arab region. The strategy covers six major areas, namely: political, legislative, economic, social, educational and health areas. Following the numerous developments that have taken place at the national and international levels, and to build on progress made since its ratification, in December 1999 Princess Basma launched the process of up-dating the National Strategy for Women. The revised strategy highlights women's participation in public life, legal amendments, human security and social protection, economic empowerment, as well as information and communication.

JNCW has also been responsible for mainstreaming gender issues into Jordan's Socio-Economic Development Plan for 1999-2003. This achievement by JNCW is significant, as incorporating a gender perspective within the Five Year Plan allows for women's issues to be recognized as equally important to those of men in sustainable development and human rights, and also distinguishes the particularity of women's issues by stressing the need to eliminate all forms of discrimination.

As Chairperson of JNCW, Princess Basma has been involved in guiding the Commission in making amendments to a number of laws and legislation concerning women, and in increasing the profile of women in national and local decision-making bodies. For example, Her Royal Highness encouraged and supported a number of local women leaders to gain first-hand experience in municipal councils. As a result, in 1995 for the first time in Jordan, 13 women ran in local council elections. Ten women won seats, one of whom became Jordan's first woman mayor.

The Fourth World Conference on Women and Beijing + 5 Special Session

On an international level, Princess Basma played a significant role leading up to, and following the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. She was a member of the International Advisory Group to the UN Secretary-General for the preparatory phase of the Conference, and headed the official Jordanian delegation to Beijing in 1995. Princess Basma later hosted the Arab Government and NGO Conferences in Amman to finalize post-Beijing plans for the region.

Part of Her Royal Highness's main message during the conference was to focus attention on the Platform for Action, which she said, "would be of little meaning" unless it was accompanied by a genuine commitment for genuine work. "The time for rhetoric is over. It is now time for deeds, not words," Princess Basma emphasized.

In February 2000, the Arab NGO Preparatory Conference for Beijing+5 was held in Amman under the patronage of Princess Basma. Subsequently, she headed the Jordanian delegation to the United Nations General Assembly Special Session "Women 2000: Gender Equity, Development and Peace for the Twenty-First Century". Ten thousand representatives from 180 countries met in New York from June 5-9, to review progress on the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, over the five year period following the Fourth World Conference on Women.

The Jordanian National Forum for Women (JNFW)

In order to raise awareness amongst women at the local level about the different components of the National Strategy for Women, voluntary women's committees were formed in different parts of the country. The initial aim of their mobilization efforts was to promote the role of women according to the strategy and thus bring them closer to the arena of public and political life. By 1995, through this initiative, the number of women participating in such committees had reached 15751, culminating in the establishment of the Jordanian National Forum for Women (JNFW). Chaired by Her Royal Highness, JNFW is currently the most wide-spread grassroots women's movement in the Kingdom. Its members advocate for women's rights and increased women's participation in decision-making processes. JNFW's activities also include awareness-raising, training and programmes which focus on political participation and environmental issues.

The General Federation of Jordanian Women (GFJW)

In 1999, Princess Basma was asked to become the Honorary President of the General Federation of Jordanian Women (GFJW), in recognition of her active role in advancing the women's movement and her support and advocacy for women's issues over the years, particularly since the establishment of the Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW). The General Federation of Jordanian Women is a union of 95 women's NGOs, which are registered at the Ministry of Social Development. The Federation is also a member of the JNCW and its affiliate, the NGO Coordinating Committee.