Women in Jordan
In recent years, Jordan has introduced legal reforms aimed at improving women's rights, although significant barriers to gender equality remain in the workforce.
[19] Dr. Alia Mohammed Odeh Abu Tayeh was a prominent member of the Jordan Senate, actively contributing to the country's legislative processes.
Dr. Abu Tayeh's achievement as a female senator demonstrates the progress being made towards enhancing women's participation in Jordan's political decision-making processes.
[22] Rania is highly educated; she has a business administration degree from the American University in Cairo (1991) and before marrying King Abdullah II in January 1993, she worked as a banker.
In 1996, the Jordanian cabinet made the JNCW the official government "reference point" on all issues pertaining to women; it now reports directly to the prime minister.
[24] Her royal highness Princess Basma sits as current president and it was led by the late Secretary General Asma Khader, a prominent feminist lawyer and previous Minister of Culture who was also CEO of Jordan's Sisterhood is Global Institute (SIGI).
When a poorer family is unable to put more than one child through school, the boy will likely get the education and the girl is expected to focus on homemaking skills, and this is rooted in gender inequality.
[33] Jordanian women have been active in education for over a century, as the first woman to teach high school courses in Jordan was Zainab Abu Ghneimah in 1922.
[9] While the laws themselves promote justice and equality, the traditional ideals of masculinity and femininity and the "patriarchal nature of the legal system" contribute to women's noticeable absence from the workplace and the inequalities they face once there.
Men's responsibility to protect their wives and children is considered sufficient justification for their exercise of authority over women in all areas of decision-making regarding both the public and private spheres.
Wage discrimination in Jordan is no different from anywhere else in the world, but in combination with traditional and cultural factors – like being responsible for the private sphere (the family and the home) – women are driven away from the workforce.
[49] Vertical segregation refers to the concept of the glass ceiling, where women are concentrated in lower paying, lower-ranking jobs and cannot break through to the higher levels.
[51] Estimates put one million migrant workers in employment in Jordan (though only about a third are documented) and the vast majority are women who come from the Philippines, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Uganda.
[29] The Islamic Center Charity Society in Jordan is an example of one way middle class Jordanian women are able to network and connect over mutual experiences.
[40] Queen Rania shows that she is committed to her people and invested in improving the lives of her subjects by trying to open Jordan up to modern influences with her entrepreneurship.
[59] Dima and Lama Hattab (December 31, 1980) are twin sisters from Jordan, primarily recognized as the first female ultra-marathon runners in the Middle East to participate in the endurance race, Marathon des Sables.
[60] Dima and Lama Hattab have faced challenges when seeking sponsorship from major companies in Jordan due to a lack of support for sports activities.
If the twins achieve their goals, they will join a select group of Arab women who have gained fame through sports, such as Princess Haya, the wife of Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashed, the Crown Prince of Dubai.
[63] Through various artistic mediums, such as painting, sculpture, and performance art, these women challenge societal norms and redefine traditional gender roles.
[70] Throughout history and still today, when women have owned and inherited property, they have been frequently and intensely pressured to give up their land to male family members.
Women can "shame" their family by engaging in "marital infidelity, pre-marital sex and flirting", or getting raped [6] The Jordanian Penal Code today still includes provisions that excuse honor crimes by granting the perpetrator leniency in punishment.
The United Nations Commission on Human Rights reports of honor killings in Bangladesh, Great Britain, Brazil, Ecuador, Egypt, India, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Pakistan, Morocco, Sweden, Turkey, and Uganda expose that this practice "goes across cultures and across religions.
"[6] It has been difficult to change legislation (particularly Article 340 of the Jordanian Penal Code) because violence against women has traditionally been considered a "private matter" rather than the "responsibility of the state.
"[73] In fact, there has been a nationwide women's human rights campaign, supported by King Abdullah and Queen Rania, to modify Article 340, which grants perpetrators of honor killings leniency in Jordanian courts.
The law states "Any man who kills or attacks his wife or any of his female relatives in the act of committing adultery or in an "unlawful bed" benefits from a reduction in penalty".
According to the Human Rights Watch, "In the case of article 340, the "temporary" law amended rather than repealed: husbands would no longer be exonerated for murdering unfaithful wives, but instead the circumstances would be considered as evidence for mitigating punishment.
"[77][78] In April 2010, a 33-year-old man was charged with "hammering his wife to death and dumping her body on the highway leading to the Queen Alia International Airport".
On July 18, 2020, a massive uproar regarding honor killings began in Jordan after a horrifying murder occurred in plain view on a public street.
[79] "A man killed his daughter, Ahlam, by smashing her head with a concrete block in plain view on a public street, then sat beside her body, smoking a cigarette and drinking a cup of tea.
[81] A similar law was struck down in Tunisia during that same summer,[82] and thus the change in Jordan's code can also be seen as a part of a global campaign, in addition to its crediting as the fruits of local organizing.
