Jordan: Legislative elections, a test for the role of woman
Jordan, Politics, 6/12/2003

While Jordan is preparing for legislative elections that the country has been waiting for since years, on June 17, there is a heated debate on the significance of allocating 6 seats for women in the next parliament, in the conservative society.

Officials, analysists and women candidates said that the royal decree which was issued by the Jordanian King Abdullah II in February provided for allocating 6 seats for women in the parliament constitutes a progress in the field of women's rights.

But in Jordan, where women constitute half of the population (Jortdan's population is five million, half of them are of Palestinian origin). The official spokesman for elections affairs Faisal Shabboul said the "aim of allocating 6 seats for women in the parliament is an encouragement for women and the most important is to encourage the society to choose woman (candidates)." He added " In case more than 6 women are elected in the next parliament, this would confirm that the society is starts to 'comprehend the issue of woman'."

Since the parliament resumed activities in 1989 in "conservative" Jordan where tribal affiliations are strong and women vote according to instructions of their husbands, only two women have so far reached the parliament.

A political analyst said that the "share" system is presumed to strengthen women's position because it ensures them six seats, at a minimum. However, this reveals indirectly the weakness of their position, as without such a system, they will not have access to the parliament." In the elections of 1989 some 12 women nominated themselves for the elections but "none of them won because democracy was new then and the democracy of culture was not popular" said candidate Nadia al-Alloul.

With the adoption of the only vote election for 1993, three women were nominated to the elections and only one of them won. She was Toujan al-Faisal, the woman who has opposition stances against the government's policy. She was the first woman to join the Jordanian parliament.

In the recent elections in Jordan in 1997, the 17 women candidates met a great failure. None of them won. A-Aloul said "under the one vote law, it is not possible for a man who enjoys credibility to have access to the parliament. A matter which makes it very difficult for a woman who has credibility to reach the parliament." She added "the women's quota is not enough but we do accept it in being a good start that will make the Jordanians conditioned to seeing women in the parliament."

However, women societies in Jordan used to have the hope that the government will allocate between 12 to 20 seats for women in order "to ensure enough number of women inside the parliament in order to be able to actually have an effect towards improving the condition of women," according to Amal Sabbagh, the secretary of the national Jordanian committee for woman's affairs.

She added she hopes that women will work inside the parliament in order to affect the legislation and amend the laws which serve women's rights."

Previous Stories:
  More than 800 candidates for the Jordanian legislative elections   (5/22/2003)
  Jordan: nomination for elections started, Toujan al-Faisal prevented   (5/20/2003)
  Jordanian elections law amended; six parliamentary seats for women   (2/12/2003)
  Jordanian human rights society calls for releasing Toujan al-Faisal   (5/18/2002)

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