SURA AL-DOMOUR

Jordan-Storyteller and writer Raya Al-Dabbas, a member of the Jordanian Writers Association, says that women’s participation in the cultural field has increased in recent years despite the challenges faced by them. Pointing out the challenges faced by women in all spheres of life, she emphasized that women have a great heritage in the field of cultural products.

“One-third of the members of the association are women”

Underlining that Jordanian Minister of Culture Haifa Najjar has been carrying out important activities in the field of culture, Raya Al-Dabbas thinks Haifa Najjar is one of the most influential women in the academic, educational and cultural fields. Speaking about the women’s participation in the Jordanian Writers Association, she said, “One-third of the members of the association are women. There are more than 270 women writers, poets and novelists in Jordan.”

“Women play an important role in the field of culture”

Raya Al-Dabbas pointed out that women compete with men in various fields, including in the field of culture. “Despite that, women are still subjected to discrimination and challenges in the cultural field. In Jordan, women play an important role in the field of culture as writers, poets and novelists. For this reason, women should be empowered in this field,” she said.

“If women get stronger, society gets stronger”

Raya Al-Dabbas believes that women should be supported and given the opportunity to be productive, especially after their retirement, to ensure justice and gender equality. “If women get stronger, society gets stronger,” she told NuJINHA.

“Your book is your friend”

Speaking about the experiences gained by her when she worked as director of the National Library of Jordan, Raya Al-Dabbas thinks her experiences gave her the opportunity to see what intellectuals, researchers and writers face and launch initiatives. “The initiative called “Your Book is Your Friend” aims to develop the role of women and change gender stereotypes in remote, rural areas and Amman by educating women and girls about their rights. The “Our children are our lives” initiative aims to educate children in order to raise a conscious generation that knows the value of women in society and that they are an essential part of their society,” she told us.

She received an award

Raya Al-Dabbas received an award titled, “Show your creativity in your spare time" which aims to help society to solve the problems it suffers from, such as violence against women, domestic violence in particular, violence against children and bullying.