Jura GentiumRivista di filosofia del diritto internazionale e della politica globale
Jura Gentium
Materials on Jordanedited by Kristina Touzenis Women in JordanThe situation of women in Jordan is receiving quite a lot of attention when the discourse falls on women's rights and Islam. For quite some time now, the women in the Royal Family have been keen fighters for women's rights. Queen Noor have focused much on women position and culture and Queen Rania on women's empowerment and civil rights. Princess Basma is also actively involved in women's issues. This has without doubt made women's position in Jordan better than in many neighbouring countries. Women can for instance run for election. The recognition that women should be active participants in society - also politically - is an important message from the leaders of this country. One that can pave the way for the enforcement of women's human rights and their empowerment. It is also noteworthy that it is all spheres of society - also those where power is held - that are recognised as field where women should have a say - for instance the importance of women in legal professions has been underlined as imperative for promoting equality in the legal system.
Honour KillingsEven if women in Jordan are gaining rights some crucial problems remain. For one parliament is not always favourable to change supporting women's rights. A serious problem in the Jordanian society is the so-called "honour killings" where a male relative kills a women who supposedly has shamed the family - for instance by falling in love with a man, not recognised by the family. These offenders practically go off free because of a special provision in the penal law. According to this, these offences are "excusable" and the offender often receive very light punishments. An amendment to this provision has been suggested, so that the offenders would be punished by normal standards but the law fared badly. Islamists and conservatives opposed to the new law said it would encourage vice and destroy social values. The United Nations estimated there are about 5,000 such killings annually in Jordan. Under existing laws, people found guilty of committing honour killings often receive sentences as light as six months in prison.
Toujan al FaisalToujan al-Faisal was arrested following her public criticism of the Jordanian government. She was convicted by the State Security Court on charges of "tarnishing the Jordanian state", defamation of the judiciary, "uttering words" before another deemed to be "detrimental to his religious feeling", "publishing and broadcasting false information abroad which could be detrimental to the reputation of the state", and inciting "disturbances and killings." She has received the harshest sentence allowed on such charges. Toujan al-Faisal was sentenced under a law promulgated through a provisional royal decree two weeks after the 11 September 2001 attacks. The law not only expanded the definition of "terrorism" but also further restricted freedom of expression in Jordan. Offences committed under the law were transferred to the State Security Courts, which almost invariably use military judges and do not provide the same guarantees of independence and impartiality provided by the ordinary courts. A sentence delivered by the Jordanian Court on 24 May 2003 rejected the contest by Toujan al-Faisal, who was deemed ineligible to run in the upcoming parliamentary elections on the grounds that she had previously committed a non-political offence. This is a hard blow to freedom of expression and also to women's right since the person affected is the only women who has yet been elected to parliament in Jordan.
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