Differences on the 'honor crime' article in Jordan

The Jordanian dailies said on Tuesday that the Jordanian al-Ayan council (upper house) voted for canceling an article in the sanctions law which gives killers in honor crimes light sentences.

The decision of the council came in contradiction of the decision taken by the parliament which refused in November to cancel this section of the law ,Article 340, as they viewed this law as preventing promiscuity in society.

In a statement to the English language Jordanian daily Jordan Times, al-Ayan council member Laila Sharaf said that keeping this article is "an insult to half our society." "Do you think that women refrain from adultery merely to avoid punishment? Why is it always that a woman is the only one blamed for adultery? Doesn't she have a partner who should also be punished?" she asked the assembly, the paper reported.

Article 340 states that one who finds his wife or one of his relatives (a sister, mother, cousin) in an adulterous position with another man and kills or wounds them benefits from light sentences taken against him.