In December 2018, Al-Anwar Women Charity Society published the field diagnosis entitled "Women in Leadership Positions: Local Perceptions and obstacles in Ma’an Governorate" as leader of the local cluster of actors for gender equality© (third cycle) in Jordan, implemented by the Euro-Mediterranean Women’s Foundation with the support of the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed) and included in Axis 1 "Strengthening the capacities of the actors working for equality" of the project "Women for the future in the Mediterranean" financed by the Priority Solidarity Fund of the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs.

Drawing on the diagnosis, this article explores some of the social norms of the communities in the Ma’an governorate in southern Jordan identified as one of the factors preventing gender equality in terms of political representation and highlights the policy recommendations proposed by local associations to address the low political participation of women and girls in this area, as well as their limited legitimacy in the context analysed.