“I got so disappointed. I was actually really enthusiastic – and then she just told me to stop.”
Nidal Abu Saada remembers the day when, as an school child, he asked questions about his school’s finances and received a curt rejection from the headteacher: That’s not your job, he was told. That experience stands in stark contrast to what he later encountered when he became involved in Jordan’s Children’s Parliament.
“It was a safe place for me to share my ideas. People showed genuine interest in my opinions and ideas. That helped me to present my ideas to society,” he says.
Taking Part in Democracy and Politics
In the Children’s Parliament, 490 children aged 12-17 came together to learn about politics, society, rights and legislation relating to children. More importantly, they learned to nurture their desire and ability to understand and strengthen their own rights and to become part of the country’s political life.
Now 18 years old and studying engineering, Nidal Abu Saada had no doubts about wanting to take part in the parliament. The demotivating experience with his headteacher played a decisive role.
“That was the day I decided to stop working for nothing, to stop wasting time on people who don’t care about me, my ideas or my work,” he says.
A Disillusioned Democracy
For Nidal Abu Saada, the discouragement pushed him to try to play a more active role in his society. That is not necessarily a general situation in Jordan. Voter turnout in Jordan is around 30 per cent or lower. International assessments rank the country as “Not Free” in terms of democracy, political rights and civil liberties. And a recent law on cybercrime has been described as a tool for restricting and punishing criticism and opposition.
This situation formed the backdrop for the Jordanian Women’s Union (JWU) to establish the Children’s Parliament project: to create a solid foundation – and enthusiasm – among the younger generation to help change the situation.
Equipped as Democrats
Jordanian Women’s Union’s logic behind the establishment of the Children’s Parliament stems from the belief that youth empowerment in political participation and especially in equal political participation needs to be through a lived experience where they can explore the concepts of democracy, gender equality and representation in practice.
Once they step into adulthood where they can practice their right to vote and begin engaging in discussions on their rights for example in learning institutions or join political parties, the experience from the Children’s Parliament can enhance their engagement and empower them with tools and capacities to engage meaningfully in equality and on the basis of human rights rather than secterian affiliations for example.
JORDANIAN WOMEN’S UNION
The Jordanian Women’s Union (JWU) and KVINFO have worked together for many years on, among other things, strengthening rights for all Jordanians and combating violence against women.
The work is funded by the Danish-Arab Partnership Programme (DAPP) under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.
Jordanian Women’s Union opened its first Children’s Parliament in 1996 and is now developing a new Children’s Parliament project.
Children from all Backgrounds
Among their tasks was to compare Jordan’s Child Rights Law from 2022 with the international Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Jordan – like almost every other country in the world – has ratified.
This strengthened their knowledge base. It also created a community they describe as both strong and inspiring.
“We were 200 children gathered at the first conference I attended. So many children together! We had the chance to talk to one another and put our differences aside. Wow! I made new friends, and I felt that we really can achieve something when we stand together across differences in background, opinions and where we come from in the country,” says Besan El‑Mazraawi, who was 16 when she joined the Children’s Parliament.
“It also meant a lot to me that we were such a mixed group. There was an equal number of girls and boys; people from cities and rural areas; and people with disabilities. Experiencing such diversity is important for understanding the needs that exist in this country,” adds Nidal Abu Saada, who was 15 when he became part of the parliament.
Growing up fast
When teenagers in Jordan meet in this way, the agenda is not about sweets or staying up later at night.
“That’s not where these children are – or where we were,” says Besan El‑Mazraawi, who is now 19 and studying psychology.
“It was about far more basic needs.”
Her fellow former child parliamentarian, Mohammed Almansi, elaborates:
“The Middle East is a geographical area of conflict and human rights violations. That forces children to behave and take responsibility like people who are much older and more mature than they actually are. It’s not something children in Jordan choose themselves. They are forced into it.”
“It means that you stop being a child very early, even though you are still young. You can really see that when children from these circumstances meet in the Children’s Parliament,” he says.
The third former child parliamentarian agrees:
“That’s very much my experience here as well. Children speak like adults. I was only in third grade when I became deeply interested in understanding society and defending children’s rights,” says Nidal Abu Saada.
A Child Law with Room for Improvement
Jordan’s Child Rights Law had been more than 20 years in the making before it was passed in 2022. It is seen as a step forward for children’s rights, including securing the right to education and healthcare.
However, it has also been criticised as a very broad and vague document. For example, it protects children against drugs and exploitation through slavery and begging without clarifying how this protection is to be enforced.
At the same time, international rights organisations have raised concerns because the law fails to regulate a number of crucial issues. Child marriages, for example, still take place in Jordan. While the legal marriage age is 18 under the Personal Status Law, special permissions can be granted for marriages from the age of 15.
Similarly, children of Jordanian mothers and foreign fathers have fewer rights regarding education, employment and healthcare. They cannot inherit Jordanian citizenship from their mothers, only from their fathers as per the Nationality Law. Jordan has one of the world’s highest proportions of foreign residents – around 30 per cent of the population – making this issue relevant for a large segment of society.
Children Helping Children
The Jordanian Women’s Union – the organisation behind the project – has continuously passed the children’s proposals on to partners and into Jordan’s political system.
“To me, it almost represents a new vision of what politics can be: connecting children with official politics in this country,” says Mohammed Almansi, who is now 18 and studying journalism.
“Personally, I want to work directly with children’s rights – and I still do. And I want to do so together with children living in Jordan’s more marginalised areas. You have to get close in order to understand the real needs and to help one another in the best possible way,” he says.
Continuing the Work for Democracy
The three Jordanians are now adults and too old to take part in the Children’s Parliament themselves. That has not stopped them from continuing their democratic engagement: They have signed up as coordinators and will help organise the first conference for the next group of child parliamentarians.
For Nidal Abu Saada, this in itself is inspiring:
“When you tell children about rights, they are able to understand their own needs within that framework. It’s like a small flame lighting up,” he says.
Mohammed Almanis adds:
“I feel a sense of responsibility towards the next group of children’s parliamentarians – to ensure they too get the chance to shape their personalities by learning about politics and society, and to experience the Children’s Parliament as the highly inclusive space that it is.”
All children deserve it
Besan El‑Mazraawi also sees it as crucial that children understand their rights and have the opportunity to work with them:
“Children know best what children need. When there are too many layers in the discussion, children’s needs get lost,” she says, expressing a wish that many more children could have the opportunity to join a Children’s Parliament project.
“Many of my friends and colleagues asked whether they could take part. I wish they could have. All children deserve the chance to be part of these kinds of conversations,” she says.
