Jordan: Two generations reflect on women’s rights

2010 is a great year of anniversary for women’s movements and debates on equality between sexes. It is 100 years since the “International Women’s Day” (the 8th of March) was born as an institution in Copenhagen, and it is 15 years since the Beijing Declaration was passed by the UN. The following interview examines how things have changed or not during the last 15 years in Jordan.

Laura Toft Nielsen

08. March 2010

Faizah at 38 years and her 15 year old daughter Anood come from Zarqa, the second largest city in Jordan. Zarqa has a lower standard of living compared to Amman and a great diversity mainly due to a large number of Palestinian and Iraqi Refugees. Both mum and daughter think that women’s rights are an important subject.  

“My family is marked by one of the biggest problem of inequality in Jordan, because my children get their father’s citizenship, and my husband is from Syria. I would wish that Anood and my four other children had a Jordanian passport and the same rights as me” Faizah explains. The problems of different rights between Jordanians and foreigners regard the right to vote and right to health care.

Faizah is a house wife and she is sad that she did not finish high school. “I am proud of Anood, because she is hard-working and clever in school”. Anood blushes. “I am proud of my mother, because she supports me. Believe in yourself, she always says.”

Anood tells about a very good friend of hers, who was treated unfair compared to a boy. The father decided to take the girl out of school, but her younger brother continued.  “It is tradition, but I think it is unfair.” She also explains that tradition can lead to unfair treatment of boys. The issue is often the background of the boy – if his family belongs to a specific family or class. She doesn’t like this kind of traditional thinking, but she also emphasizes, that she thinks it is a rare case.

Faizah laughs cheerfully, when she tells about women in the media. “Many men complain about the fact that a lot of television programs and commercials are filled with women issues like fashion and family and many strong women are portrayed in the media.” She continues: “A man can actually be economic depended on a woman, but most often women still work at home.”

Anood adds that mothers most often are raising the daughters, while the fathers are raising the sons. “The father does not interrupt until the girls get teenagers and start wearing the scarf and are ready for marriage.” Anood says. Her mother interrupts: “I think that more young women decide their husband compared to 15 years ago.” Anood does not agree. She thinks that most fathers have a say in choosing the son in law.

“I think that women should decide over themselves in any issue, and therefore it is positive that women have entered the parliament, which is new compared to 15 years ago” Faizah says. “Women have been in jobs traditionally held by men in more than two decades (engineer, architect or doctor), but I am very optimistic and convinced that small steps are taken all the time when it comes to improving women’s rights and equality between men and women. The most important thing is that everyone talks about it, which is an important difference compared to 15 years ago.”