The Jordan Times
By Dana Al-Emam

AMMAN - HRH Princess Basma on Sunday laid the cornerstone for the Raouf and Mireille Centre for Women′s Studies at the University of Jordan (UJ).

The centre was established through a JD1 million grant from Raouf Abu Jaber, a Jordanian historian and scholar, and his wife.

Abu Jaber said the funding seeks to empower women and enhance their role in society across all fields, adding that the grant complements a long journey of social work that the couple embarked on over 50 years ago.

Under the grant, a comprehensive centre will be built and equipped, with nine board members including seven women′s rights activists and two male business or thought leaders, Abu Jaber said.

Princess Basma commended the donation as a way to bolster Jordanian women′s achievements in educating and supporting women, citing the Abu Jabers as a genuine example of “sincerity, unlimited giving and generosity”.

The couple recognised UJ′s need for the centre and took the initiative to establish it, said the princess, who described the donation as an investment in the country′s human resources.

“We count on the students of the centre to carry on the achievements of previous women leaders and to continue the building and development process,” she said.

The centre, which is expected to open in a year, is to include three main halls, six lecture rooms, a computer lab, a specialised library, a cafeteria and a parking lot, said Ziad Abu Jaber, Raouf′s son.

“The four-storey centre will be very modern and advanced… it will adopt European building codes and safety measures,” he said, noting that the external walls of the building will showcase drawings of women′s activities in the community.

UJ President Azmi Mahafza said the initiative is a boost to the country′s human rights-based discourse, which adopts a moderate ideology and advocates tolerance and coexistence to rise above destructive extremist voices, citing women′s rights as an essential part of human rights.

“The centre will take on the challenge of supporting a just discourse for women,” he said, adding that it will harness women′s engagement in the political and economic arena, as well as the development of local communities.

The women′s study programme at the UJ was established in 1998 and was transformed in 2006 into a department, but did not have a separate facility, said Abeer Dababneh, the president of the centre.

She added that the centre offers a masters′ programme in women′s studies in both thesis and comprehensive exam tracks, and has graduated over 250 students so far.

“Our academic vision is to be the first centre in the Middle East to offer master′s and PhD programmes in women′s studies,” she told The Jordan Times, citing aspirations to become an arm in implementing national studies related to women.