Debts of 1,542 gharimat covered, totalling JD1.1m

AMMAN — A total of 1,542 gharimat, indebted women, received warrant cancellation documents, Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Abdul Nasser Abul Bassal said on Thursday.

This is the third batch of gharimat women included in His Majesty King Abdullah’s initiative, Abul Bassal added.

His Majesty launched the initiative last Friday to pay the debts of 5,672 gharimat in total, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The minister noted that the sum owed by the third batch of gharimat stands at around JD1.1 million.

The total number of gharimat who have benefited from the initiative so far has reached 3,915 women, according to Petra.

The King called in on Jordan Television’s “Yise’d Sabahak” on Friday, and offered his best wishes to the Jordanian people on the occasions of Mother’s Day and the anniversary of the Battle of Karamah.

The King saluted Jordanian mothers and called for a national effort to support indebted Jordanian women who are unable to pay back the loans they had taken out to support their families.

His Majesty said Jordan is a country of solidarity, and that “we must all stand with our daughters and sisters”.

In accordance with the King’s directives, Prime Minister Omar Razzaz chaired a meeting on Saturday attended by Deputy Prime Minister Rajai Muasher, Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) Governor Ziad Fariz and a number of ministers and stakeholders, to tackle the debts.

The gharimat issue involves several stakeholders, including unlicensed finance companies, shops and deferred-payment sales companies, the participants in the meeting said.