Jordan man arrested after wife is 'beaten to death'

A Jordanian man was arrested on Monday after his wife was beaten to death, according to local security.

The husband confessed to beating and suffocating his wife to death in the Balqa governorate, west of the capital Amman, a media spokesman for the Public Security Directorate said.

Sartawi said the husband was arrested and confessed to killing his wife and is currently being interrogated.

Jordan has witnessed a series of domestic violence crimes over the past month.

On 18 June, a 21-year-old was allegedly beaten to death by her father after failing her studies.

A man has also been accused of burning his sister to death in Zarqa, east of Amman.

Since January 13 girls and women were murdered in Jordan, with 20 killed in 2020 and 21 in 2019.

The Jordanian Women’s Solidarity Institute (JWSI) warned that domestic violence will continue so long as the law mitigates excuses for perpetrators of so-called "honour killings".

Activists complain that the legal measures needed to protect women are not being implemented by Jordanian authorities.

The JWSI renewed its calls to establish a national observatory in which civil society institutions can work hand-in-hand with relevant government authorities with the aim of developing strategies to reduce and prevent so-called honour crimes.

“Although there are shelters for women in danger, their capacity is insufficient and are not available in all governorates of the kingdom,” the institute said.

The body also called for the establishment of more shelters, allow their children to join them, and provide them with the necessary rehabilitation and treatment needed to re-enter society.