The long-awaited reshuffle of the Cabinet was sealed Sunday evening when His Majesty King Abdullah accepted the oath of office of 10 new ministers and the resignation of three.
The heftier line-up, which raised the number of Prime Minister Faisal Fayez’s Cabinet members from 21 to 28, introduced a previous minister and nine first-timers.
It also increased the number of women ministers from an unprecedented three to a new record of four. Among the newcomers are three secretaries general who have been promoted to minister. The average age of Cabinet members is approximately 49 and there are 15 PhD holders.
This is the first reshuffle since Fayez was appointed prime minister one year ago.
Source [The Jordan Times]
The best news about this reshuffle, in my opinion, is the record number of female ministers at four. Way to go Jordan!
I have always thought Jordanian women enjoy excellent political and social
status compared with that of their peers in the region. Integrating women into
the Jordan government is one example of this unique status. I know there are
still many issues to work on, such as the infamous “honor crimes,” but I remain
optimistic.
Your blog is right on. We do hope things will improve before much longer generally, though. Watched a Discovery NYTimes channel story last night showing a Muslim woman reporter visiting and comparing Peshawar and Lahore. Wow, what different interpretations of Islam! In Peshawar she was investigating the continued influence of Taliban style thought, in Lahore the influence of Western fashion, both thru talks with women esp. in Lahore and men, mostly in Peshawar.
Well, I don’t think the number of the honor crime cases occurring in Jordan is exaggerated. On the contrary, I think it’s actually quite accurate. However, Jordan is one of the few countries that discuss this topic openly unlike other places in the region like Turkey, Palestine, Egypt and some parts of Africa.
In many nations, this issue is a taboo and is hush-hushed by the media. In Jordan though — thanks to the courageous reporting of Rana Husseini — the issue is being discussed and hopefully will be resolved soon.
When honor crimes became a topic of discussion in Jordan, it was picked up by the western media. Many ate it up with a spoon, as, sadly enough, it fits the general stereotype of Arabs and Muslims.
For the western media, Jordan is now the country they associate honor killings with simply because the subject is no longer a taboo.
I heard that the honor crimes are deeply exaggerated.