YEARS OF STRUGGLE The Women’s Movement in Jordan RANA HUSSEINI YEARS OF STRUGGLE The Women’s Movement in Jordan Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan National Library Submission No. (2021/6/3203) Husseini, Rana Ahmed Years of Struggle – The Women’s Movement in Jordan (280) pages Deposit No.: 2021/6/3203 Descriptors: Women – Women’s right - Politics The author bears full legal liability for the content of her work. This work does not reflect the opinion of the Department of the National Library or any other government authority. Publisher: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Jordan and Iraq Office Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung – Amman Office Tim O. Petschulat, Resident Director PO Box 941876, Amman 11194, Jordan Email: [email protected] Website: www.fes-jordan.org Not for sale © Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Amman Office All rights reserved. This book may not be reprinted, stored, reproduced, or transmitted in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, including by electronic means or computer – such as photocopying, recording, or using any information storage and retrieval system – without prior written authorization from the publisher. The views contained in this study do not necessarily reflect the views of Friedrich- Ebert-Stiftung or the editor. Each writer is personally responsible for the content of the portion he or she wrote. • This photo is part of Emily Naffa photo collection • Cover design: Beyond Design House • Design of interior: Iman Khattab • Edited by: Nermeen Murad Garlick • ISBN: (978-9923-759-33-2) YEARS OF STRUGGLE The Women’s Movement in Jordan By Rana Husseini Dedication For the women and men of this country who dedicated their lives to fight for justice, equality and real freedom To my dear loving and supportive family: My mother Randa, my late fa- ther Ahmed, my brother Moutaz, my sister-in-law Soura Madani, and my nephew and niece Zayne and Hanna 6 Years of Struggle – The Women’s Movement in Jordan Table of Content 7 TABLE OF CONTENT About Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung 11 Authors Note 13 Chapter 1: History of the Jordanian Women’s Movement 17 The Forties: Early Beginnings 19 The Fifties: Marshall Laws and Secret Activism Work 22 The Sixties: Resisting the Occupation and Refugees’ Aid 31 The Seventies: The First UN Conference, a Turning Point for Women in Jordan 36 The Eighties: Gradual Changes in the Political and Social Situation 44 The Nineties: The Years of Empowerment, Actions, and Clashes 54 Chapter 2: The next 20 Years: Activism, Achievements and the Impact of the so-called Arab Spring 71 Law reforms on Divorce, Marriage Age, so-called Honor Crimes 73 The 2010s –The Impact of so-called Arab Spring 83 Side Effects of the “Arab Spring” 85 Pushing Social Barriers and Taboo Topics 87 Royal Support, National Dialogue, Disappointing Results 87 Some Symbols but Little Political Will 88 New Protection Facilities 91 Historical Law Reforms 92 More High Level Public Positions and Flexible Work 92 8 Years of Struggle – The Women’s Movement in Jordan New Cases of Violence against Women 93 Women’s Football 95 Personal Status Law 95 Chapter 3: The Jordanian Constitution and International laws 97 The Battle to Include the Word ‘Sex’ in the Constitution 97 Impact of International Laws, Conferences and Conventions on Women’s Status in Jordan 99 Controversy Surrounding CEDAW 105 Chapter 4: The Fight about ‘Honor’ 113 The National Committee to Eliminate so-called Honor Crimes 119 The Struggle to Abolish Article 340 122 Changing Verdicts and a Progressive Fatwa 139 Changing Attitudes 142 A First State Provided Shelter 143 The Debate around the Murder of Ahlam 145 A Fallen Taboo 147 The Problem with Waived Legal Rights 148 Chapter 5: The Discriminatory Laws’ Fight 151 The Personal Status Law 152 Article 308 157 Child Marriage 166 The Khuloe (Iftida) Law 170 Citizenship Rights Battle 174 Virginity Tests 183 Sexual Harassment 188 The Islamic Action Front’s Position 192 Chapter 6: The Political and Labor Scene in Jordan 199 Women and the Parliamentary Life 199 Women and Political Parties 214 Women and Municipalities 217 Women in the Labor Market 220 Table of Content 9 Chapter 7: Impact of the Educational System on Women’s Lives in Jordan 229 Chapter 8: Empowering Women with Disabilities 241 Chapter 9: The Syrian Refugees Crisis, Article 1325 247 Women Refugees 247 1325 252 Chapter 10: Lessons Learned 257 Chapter 11: What’s Next? Recommendations 261 Bibliography 265 About the Author 279 10 Years of Struggle – The Women’s Movement in Jordan ABOUT FRIEDRICH EBERT STIFTUNG The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) is the oldest political foun- dation in Germany with a rich tradition in social democracy dating back to its foundation in 1925. The foundation owes its formation and its mission to the political legacy of its namesake Friedrich Ebert, the first democratically elected German President. The work of our political foundation focuses on the core ideas and values of social democracy – freedom, justice and solidarity. The activities of FES Amman aim at promoting democracy and political participation, supporting progress towards social justice and gender equality as well as at contributing to ecological sustainability and peace and security in the region. FES Amman supports the build- ing and strengthening of civil society and public institutions in Jordan and Iraq. 12 Years of Struggle – The Women’s Movement in Jordan Author’s Notes 13 AUTHOR’S NOTES When I was a teenager in the 1980s, I had simple dreams. I wanted to play basketball with my friends and represent my country by competing regionally and internationally. Unfortunately, this sim- ple dream was constantly blocked by the basketball federation with its blunt discrimination against female players. The federation never believed in women’s sports and therefore concentrated all their at- tention and support on the men’s teams. When I grew older, I thought things would change for the better. But I was so wrong. I started seeing and living the discrimination on so many levels and I knew it was because I was a woman. That is why I decided that I wanted to use my work to fight for women’s rights. When I went back to Jordan from the US in 1993 af- ter graduating from university, I immediately started working for The Jordan Times. I had one goal: to start from the bottom and find my way to the women’s cause. However, the cause found me instead. My work entailed me reporting about crime in Jordan and it followed that I found that many of the murders I came to report on were of women who were killed by their male relatives for reasons related to family honor. Their killers were getting away with their crimes and receiving only lenient sentences, in some cases no more than a slap on the hand. This is how it all started and it continues to influence my pro- fessional pathway even today. I dedicated most of my career, with the support of my family, friends, editors-in-chief and colleagues at The Jordan Times, to reporting about the murders of women and the court verdicts handed to the men who committed them. My hope was to eventually direct the attention of decision makers and the public to this issue which was considered taboo. 14 Years of Struggle – The Women’s Movement in Jordan I believe my strategy worked and, as a result, much has changed in Jordan with regards to the handling of so-called honor crimes by the courts and in fact by society at large. I think much of the credit goes to the heavy and serious involvement of the leader- ship of the country and the efforts of the women’s rights movement as well as other influential actors in society who have supported this cause since I started reporting on it. Fast forward 25 years, I sense there has been a major change in attitudes towards women’s issues in Jordan from decision makers, government and society at large. Of course, the change is for the bet- ter. Many laws have changed, new approaches have been formu- lated, including in how the justice system deals with crimes against women and in how the state provides safe houses and shelters for women and children fleeing domestic violence. Change has also been witnessed on other levels, especially in terms of women’s ascension to senior and even leadership positions in multiple sectors. Frankly, some of these changes we are seeing now, I thought I would not witness during my lifetime. But it hap- pened. Of course, there are still gaps and there is quite a lot to achieve yet including how the education system tackles issues of equality as well as legislation that continues to discriminate against women such as denying the Jordanian nationality to children of Jordanian women married to foreigners. Both of these high priority causes, and others, have been tackled by the women’s movement over the many decades but it continues to meet resistance to its efforts for reform and equality. This prompted me to write this book. I wanted to document all the changes that occurred in Jordan with regards to women’s rights over the past 20 years. This documentation, of course, pushed me to dig into the history of the country and to follow the work of the women pioneers who devoted much of their lives, sometimes public- ly and sometimes secretly, to carve the road for us and for future generations to come. I dug in my old notes, newspaper clippings, Author’s Notes 15 hundreds of papers and research papers that I have collected while reporting, taking part in local and international events, and within the hundreds of books in my library to identify material relevant to this project.