Thalatha, Ithnaan, Waahid, Yalla

Discussions on gender equality are usually in the frame of looking purely at ensuring that the position for women is promoted. Whilst there is absolute place for this, if we are discussing gender then we also need to look at equality for men who may also not have as equal opportunities as others.

It’s fitting that on International Mens Day, we are working with Right to Play in two all boys schools in Al Qweis Meh in east Amman. Situated on a hillside, with an amazing panoramic over the city, the school is sandwiched between a Bedouin camp and a large area of rough ground; sparkling in the sun by the broken glass shards and scraps of plastic waste littered around – enough to give any ‘anti-plastic warrior’ a sense that trying to rid the world of plastic is going to be harder than achieving world peace. Yet there are groups of boys, attempting to play football with a beat up old ball on this rough surface. Inside the school grounds, the plastic and glass shards are scuffed to the side to allow the boys to play in a relative graze free environment.

The boys at both the schools we are at today are from a range of different backgrounds. Compared to the children in schools on the border of Syria where Jordanian and Syrian kids’ are split in shifts based on their nationality to cope with the numbers and different learning stages, in the capital the refugee and displaced population are mixed in with local Jordanian kids during the Right to Play organised ‘Play Days’. Similarly all abilities are thrown into the mix, as boys with visual impairments and other disabilities playing alongside their friends.

Seeing the boys dance long the relay lines, and hitting balls so hard that they skim over the top of the rough playing field as their friends scatter to find them, amidst cheering whilst runs are scored during a quick game of ‘Thalatha, Ithnaan, Waahid, Yalla’ (english ‘321, Go’ aka rapid fire) continues to demonstrate in its purest form is what integration and social cohesion is, and how it can be facilitated through play.