JWU calls for ‘equal, fair’ Personal Status Law

AMMAN — The Jordanian Women’s Union (JWU) called on the government to shed light on any discriminatory laws that hinder women’s progress in the Kingdom.

The JWU’s call came during the conclusion of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence event, supported by UN Women.

“The 16 days activism ended, but the JWU’s strategy is to continue promoting women’s rights and advocating against gender-based violence all the time,” JWU President Amneh Zu’bi said at the closing ceremony.

The ceremony, which was held in Amman, was attended by dozens of women from various governorates as well as local NGOs, government entities, diplomats and activists.

Zu’bi told the gathering that the campaign this year focused on the Personal Status Law (PSL).

“Our aim was to call for an equal, just and fair PSL to ensure the security and stability of the Jordanian family and its members’ rights,” Zu’bi said.

Therefore, Zu’bi maintained, “we organised a training course for 25 male and female volunteer lawyers for a period of three days, during which basic issues in the PSL were discussed”.

“The issues discussed reflected common problems between family members in the event of family disputes,” Zu’bi noted.

The lawyers then visited 15 areas in various parts of the Kingdom and met with 450 women to hear their opinions and recommendations “pertaining to the PSL,” according to Zu’bi.

One of the main recommendations that the women suggested was cancelling the exception clause regarding the legal marriageable age of women.

The PSL law allowed marriage exceptions for minors at the age of 15, while the amended version endorsed by the MPs earlier this week allows those who have “turned 16” to tie the knot. A change in terminology means that, in reality, turning 16 means that the law can be applied only one day after the completion of age 15, critics have said.

The legal age of marriage in Jordan is 18 for men and women, but the law allowed for several exceptions for girls aged 15 and older if a judge deemed marriage beneficial for them.

Many activists and women’s groups have been calling for the cancellation of such early marriage exceptions. If this endeavour proves impossible, activists say that they at least want an increase from 15 to 16 for the age that is eligible for exceptions. Activists and women’s groups say that the current law only contributes to increasing early marriages for girls who are under the age of 18.

The interviewed women also agreed that the custody of children should be granted directly to the father after the mother, and not to grandmothers as is stipulated in the PSL.

They also called for keeping children in the custody of their mother in the case that a woman divorces her children’s father and marries another man.

Also addressing the gathering was UN Women Deputy Country Representative Aisha Mukhtar, who stressed her office’s commitment to work with local NGOs such as the “JWU to strengthen and amplify the voices of women in this country to contribute towards legislative reforms”.

“The advocacy work that we do with NGOs is very important because it focuses on transformation, it is about challenging unequal gender relations, it is about challenging discriminatory social norms and practices, and it is about changing discriminatory laws and policies,” Mukhtar told the gathering.          

The JWU commemorated the role of several women who had been with the union for over 40 years.