Jordanian bloggers are currently talking about women’s rights in Jordan. Sweet! I like that. The reason for the interest in this issue now is because Jordan recently endorsed a United Nations convention eliminating discrimination against women — albeit with some reservations.
I’m not sure if this endorsement will really mean anything since Jordan did express some concern over clauses that related to the Personal Status Law, citizenship, housing and the free movement of women. I’m assuming that although Jordan endorsed the convention, Jordanian women are still unable to pass citizenship on to their children and will continue to receive half the share of inheritance compared to men [in accordance with Sharia Law, which, in this case, is applied to both Muslim and non-Muslim alike]. I hope I am mistaken.
While reading some of the comments on Roba’s blog, I was surprised to realize that "the law requires a married woman to obtain her husband’s permission to obtain a passport (see Section 2.d.)." Is there anyone out there who would like to make my day and tell me that this antiquated law is no longer enforced? Is this really the case? With all due respect, I see this type of legislation as the epitome of discrimination. Would I need my American husband’s permission to renew my Jordanian passport? I wonder.
Update: Nas just made my day. I do not need permission to get a passport thanks to Provisional Passport Law (No. 5 of 2003). Phew… This is from the Freedom House report on Jordan:
Jordanian law provides citizens the right to travel freely within the country and abroad except in designated military areas. Unlike Jordan’s previous law (No. 2 of 1969), the current Provisional Passport Law (No. 5 of 2003) does not require women to seek permission from their male guardians or husbands in order to renew or obtain a passport. Nevertheless, in several recent cases mothers reportedly could not depart abroad with their children because authorities complied with requests from fathers to prevent their children from leaving the country. Social norms continue to play a major role in maintaining restrictive measures on women’s freedom of movement.
In many countries, whenever children are travelling with only one adult (whether a mother, father or otherwise), a letter of permission is required. As a Canadian who produced a letter to take my daughter both to the United States and back, I am glad to know that someone is checking to make sure that she isn’t being taking away illegally. Of course, someone abducting her would need only to forge a letter but since it requires passport data and other info, I’m hopeful that it is less likely. Of course the land border is much easier to cross.
But I didn’t need his permission to get *my* passport and I’m grateful for that and many other freedoms.
Would you want men to be able to take children out of the country without the wife’s permission?
Ahmad, I’m not sure if you are talking to me, but I’ll answer this part.
I mean ‘Does Human rights put by human?
The position on “Human Rights” in the US (as it is written in our Constitution and Declaration of Independence) is that all people are endowed with certain rights that were bestowed upon them by God. God is written as “Creator” in our Bill of Rights. And it is explicitly stated that no governmental power has the authority to take those rights away.
As for the United Nations, I think their concept is more generic. That all people possess a basic set of human rights by virtue of being human beings. There is no “God” concept in the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html
Without commenting on Islam, let me ask you Ahmad: Do you trust man to properly interpret God’s will? Do you trust man to properly interpret what is written in the Quran? In Hadiths?
Because I don’t trust man to do anything but serve himself. For instance, on what basis do can Muslims enforce Sharia on non-Muslims? Did God give Muslims the right to do that? Or is that just man, doing what man wants to do?
I mean ‘Does Human rights put by human?
Does Human put by human? Why do we need follow rules put by people where there is s a system put by God. This is an excuse used who do not agree with human rights such as women rights and homosexual.
Government seeks satisfaction from UN although that is against what people want. They know these agreements are not worth the papers where they singed on them People will not accept that since the old traditions lead Jordanian life.
I will tell a story .In my town A boy who was around 17 years old killed his friend from different clan. The victim family forced every one who links to killer family to leave village although they are innocent people these were like refugee around city and around more than 100 persons. After some of their house gets burnt, they returned home after 3 months.
The funny side of story .The family victim decided to get revenge from the killer family .They decided to choose the best person in clan such a doctor …..
I believe we are Jordanian do not deserve democracy and need long time to understand what does democracy mean. What is worrying me if there will be conflict between Islamic groups and governments and Jordan be like Iraq and Palestin
Hamzeh,
Some Muslims say that it’s even better than what it would be if it were left to the church to decide what women get. Implying that Christian women might be at a further disadvantage in that case. I think that’s a week argument, even though I’ve heard it from a Christian too.
Perhaps those Muslims are unaware of the fact that Christian scriptures (and Christian Churches) are not “the law” in any country on this planet. Not even in Vatican City. You’d have to go back some 500 years to find a nation that enforced Christian scripture as law.
I won’t comment on the rest, it’s none of my business, but there is no conflict between human rights and Christianity, in any country. If that is an argument Muslims are trying to make, it’s an extraordinarily weak one.
Yeah I’m not sure how far this is going to go. I mean they had signed the document over a decade ago if I understood the news reports correctly, and now they’re endorsing it? What does that mean?
Anyway, the UN document obviously creates a conflict in the mind of every Muslim who believes in the Quran, and you gave the best example with the inheritance law. In Islam, women are not as free as men to move around. They don’t get the same share as men in inheritance, and their testimony is not always (or is always not) equal to that of men in court. And most of this is stuff that pretty much cannot be disputed within the boundaries of the religion itself, since it’s in the Quran, which in Islam is the undisputed word of God.
So should we expect a change in the inheritance law in Jordan? I won’t be holding my breath. You have to ask what Jordan is. Jordan is an overwhelmingly Muslim (and on top of that tribal) country. Giving women the same share in inheritance against clear Quranic text is just not gonna flow, and that will go against the same UN document that our government signed years ago, and endorsed again this year.
Now I never understood why non Muslims are subject to something like the inheritance law of Islam. Some Muslims say that it’s even better than what it would be if it were left to the church to decide what women get. Implying that Christian women might be at a further disadvantage in that case. I think that’s a week argument, even though I’ve heard it from a Christian too.
Hi Mohannad,
I just read this on the BBC website. That’s really good.
Hey natasha,
Just a suggestion, after you covering the “ordeal” of the Iraqi blogger, I think it is worth it to give jordan some slack and talk about this : http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20070807-075523-1788r
Natasha, sorry..i guess you got it though
Lina: yeah that’s still a big problem that i believe runs more along the lines of how honor crimes work. in other words, social norms dont play nicely with vague laws and judges tend to sympathize with fathers more than the mothers. it much worse in neighboring arab countries. this is what you get when you have a judicial system that’s…balash a7kee.