Personal Info
- Country of residence: Jordan
Information
Dr. Haifa Abu Ghazaleh appointed as a Senator to the Jordanian Upper House of Parliament for its fifteenth session on December 2007 until November 2010, and as a General Secretary to the Family council for Family Affairs on December 17, 2007.
Prior to her appointment, Dr. Abu Ghazaleh served as the Regional Programme Director for the Arab States Regional Office at the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). For more than three decades, Dr. Abu Ghazaleh has been heavily involved and instrumental in the Arab region in the areas of policy and legislative reform, gender mainstreaming and analysis, strategic planning, organizational development, management and capacity building, Gender and ICT, project formulation, evaluation and analysis, community development programming, educational counseling, human rights, peace and security, and training programme design and implementation.
During her tenure at UNIFEM, Dr. Abu Ghazaleh also served as the Arab Region Focal Point for the United Nations for the NGO forum on Women in Beijing 1995 throughout the period 1993-1995, and won the national elections as the President of the General Federation of Jordanian Women in 1993; served 1993-1995 terms. Prior to her service as Regional Programme Director at UNIFEM, Dr. Abu Ghazaleh served as Regional Project Coordinator for UNIFEM, and previous to that she held several prominent positions such as the Advisor to the Minister and the General Director for Foreign Relations at the Ministry of Education in Jordan. Her work on the national level was instrumental in preparing her for a more international profile.
She brought her experience of working for communities and women with her to UNIFEM, where she has continued much of the same work, but in different, broader context .Dr Abu Ghazaleh has also worked to enhance the accountability of the Jordanian Government regarding migrant women workers as she oversaw the introduction of legal amendments to ensure better protection of migrant workers, particularly women. She receives recognition for her amazing work when UNIFEM received the Arab Gulf program on Migrant women workers. The prize acknowledged her efforts in implementing programs in the Asia Pacific and Arab States.
Perhaps one of Dr.Abu Ghazaleh’s most remarkable achievements centers around her idea of connecting and comparing the convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against women (CEDAW) and Shria (Islamic Religious law) . When she first proposed the idea amongst her circle of organizations and colleagues, it was almost outright rejected, and considered potentially contentious with Muslim religious authorities. She later initiated round table discussions on the relationship between CEDAW and Shari In Amman, New York and Saudi Arabia. As part of this project, she also encouraged research and studies on the relationship. Dr. Abu Ghazaleh believes that this initiative has been positively accepted in the Arab World and has become a subject of considerable interest and debate. Her commitment and dedication to women’s rights strengthened her to continue her pursuit.
Dr. Abu Ghazaleh received her State Doctorate (Doctorat d'Etat), PhD, in Education from the Jesuit University in Beirut in 1995 having written her doctoral dissertation on the ‘Efficacy of Desensitization and Relation in Reducing Test Anxiety’. Her first PhD was in psychology, awarded to her by the Jesuit University in Beirut in 1982. Her doctoral dissertation then was on ‘Stuttering, its causes and effects on Educational achievement in Compulsory Stage’. She obtained her Masters Degree, MA, in Educational Counseling from the University of Jordan in 1978, and her Bachelor's Degree, BA, in Psychology and Sociology from Ein Shams University in Cairo in 1968.
Dr. Abu Ghazaleh has published extensively on the subjects of Education, Counseling and Gender & Development, CEDAW indicators, “Arab Women CEDAW+30”, Regional strategy on Women, Peace and Security , CRC indicators, contributing numerous chapters to different publications for UNIFEM, UNICEF, League of Arab State, Arab Women Organization and other National, Regional and international Organizations . Since the 1970s and until the present time, her articles appeared in international journals such as the Women for Women International Journal, and her papers have been presented at many international forums, including several National Women Machineries in the Arab World, the Oxford Research Group, the Wilton Park Conference Forum, the Government of Jordan and the American Bar Association, the United Nations Foundation, the Women for Peace International Organization, the Institute of Diplomacy in Abu Dhabi, UNESCO, the Japanese University in Tokyo, the American University in Washington and the Finnish Adult Education Organization.
Dr. Abu Ghazaleh is a founder and member of several national and international organizations such as ,Head of CEDAW Regional Expert committee of the League of Arab State ,Jordan Representative and Executive Member of the Arab Women Organization Board Member of the Jordanian National Committee Board Member of the National Council for Family Affairs, Board Member of the Board of Trustees of the Women Research Center of University Jordan, Board Member of the Royal Commission “We are All Jordan- Kalona Al-Ardun” Executive Board Member of Arab Family Organization .Head of WHO Collaborating Centre for Family Violence Prevention ,co-founder of the General Federation of Jordanian Women, founder and member of Women Workers Association ,Member of the ICT Royal Committee, and international member of Sheikh Sebeka Gender Award foundation.
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Achievements and Awards
In 2005, Dr. Abu Ghazaleh was nominated for the Noble Peace Prize following her nomination selection for the '1000 women for Noble Peace Prize 2005'. Laureate of numerous prestigious international and regional women leadership awards, Dr. Abu Ghazaleh was awarded the Teaching Excellent Medal from H.M King Abdalla of Jordan in 2009, ESCWA Award in 2007, Sheika Sabika Bint Ibrahim Al-Khilkfa Award in 2007, the Humanitarian Aid Club in 2007, the Ministry of Manpower and Migration Award for Egypt in 2007, the UNIFEM Lifetime Achievement Award for Exceptional Services and Commitment in 2007, the Women leadership Award of the Ministry of Social Development for Oman in 2006, Women leadership Award, the Ministry of Education of Jordan in 2001, the Jordanian Ministry of Education in 2001, the Omani Ministry of Social Affairs, and the General Federation of Jordanian Women.
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