(MENAFN- Alghad Newspaper)
'JoPetrol, Jordan's number one petroleum provider is planning to hire a second batch of Jordanian women in their gas stations in Amman. The unprecedented experiment, which was launched months ago, received a surprising welcoming and acceptance, aside to some opposition to employing women.
Most of the voices opposing women employment in the practical field demand they stick to the traditional roles, which are saturated with tens of thousands of female graduates.
It all began with six women operating a gas station in Amman and proved themselves worthy, efficient, and committed.
The next step would include employing a similar group to operate a gas station in West Amman.
Female unemployment in Jordan is one the country's most challenging economic problems, which lay heavy on the economy and increases unemployment rates.
In the first quarter of the current year, unemployment rates stood at 33 per cent among females, as opposed to 14 per cent among females.
The grandest of these catastrophes is the rising level of unemployment among women with degrees. 54 per cent of women with bachelour degrees are unemployed, as opposed to 21 per cent among males.
These rates mean two things.
First, university education for women graduates an abundance of unemployed women.
The second is the societal, gender-based discrimination against women, which denies them the right to compete for the jobs offered in both sectors, private and public.
Among the working girls at JoPetrol are some holding a university digree.
Despite having received an education, they found nothing wrong with what they do, especially since their working hours and the salaries they receive are better than those employees receive in the public sector.
Add to these perks are health insurance and social security.
JoPetrol alone owns 180 gas stations around the country and there are three other companies spreading their stations everywhere.
They too can follow suit and open the gates for female employment.
It is vital to face up to the work taboos with bold steps like the one the JoPetrol did. It is important to open new sectors for women.
In other Western and Islamic countries, women drive taxi cars and work in construction and service sectors.
Jordanian women too have joined in the military and police forces, and early on too.
We remember the debate which spread when we first saw a female traffic police officer organising traffic in Amman.
Such a debate is now in the past; no one doubts the abilities of female police officers to do their jobs professionally and responsibly.
We must stand proud of the achievements of our women.
There are dozens of sectors closed to women, given the culture.
We must overcome all this gibberish and pointless debate over equal rights of women in the workplace, and in the economy as a whole.
In the gas stations sector, Manasir, Total, and Gulf, can follow in the footsteps of JoPetrol, to give our women a chance to depend on themselves to work with dignity instead of life on the margin!
Equal rights for women are the base for advancement.
It is crucial to overcome the barriers of culture, to catch up with the rest of the world, instead of living in slavery!
This article is an edited translation of the Arabic version, published by AlGhad.
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