Celebrating International Women's Day (on 8 March) in Jordan this year was special – lawmakers had finally recognised the issue of harassment in Jordanian society, and clearly criminalised it for the first time. They had done this by passing an amendment to Jordanian labour law, following discussion on the proposed change in parliament.
Many women's rights activists – male and female – won't have forgotten the derision of Jordanian MPs over the study carried out by the Jordanian National Commission for Women (a trusted, semi-governmental body) several years ago. The study concerned the widening phenomenon of harassment in Jordan, and was attacked by MPs in parliament, who considered it an assault on Jordanian society, utterly denying the problem of harassment even existed.
They slammed the study's findings as "allegations" and claimed they had been pre-prepared by those working in the field of women's empowerment in Jordan. Moreover, they claimed the institutions employing these individuals were funded by foreign agencies and were not working to benefit Jordanian society. The implication was that those involved in the study were being dishonest to seek benefit for themselves and to sabotage and ruin Jordan's conservative social character.
However, today it seems we are beginning to witness a positive change, with a shift in the perspective of lawmakers, whose patriarchal view on many issues has dominated for years, with some Jordanian legislation clearly inconsistent with modern human rights trends, for example its failure to anchor principles around gender-based justice and equality in Jordan.
Positive social change in any area starts with legislation which is applied, in principle, to everyone without discrimination, because mostly, social behaviour will adapt (even if this or that idea is rejected on an individual basis) in line with legal changes, which, ultimately, are in the interests of all.
We have suffered for many years in Jordanian society, from a regressive social and cultural perception of women's rights. Those who even talk about them are accused of "feminism", a word which has become a negative term in Jordan and is used to condemn those calling for human rights principles, especially if related to women's rights. Accusations of "homosexuality" are also made against those working in this field, or who are calling for the implementation of human rights which are globally recognised, and even enshrined in our laws and constitutions, but which we are painfully far from applying.
True, Jordan's economic situation and rising poverty and joblessness rates might make demanding certain rights appear a luxury to some. But no right should be ignored, no matter the circumstances: the right to live with freedom and dignity are part and parcel of the right to life. Life loses its meaning without justice, dignity, and protection from violence against the body or spirit. Securing these rights are a priority when it comes to marginalised groups whose basic rights are usurped, like women in most of our Arab societies, in fact, in the world in general.
So why is the criminalisation of all kinds of sexual assault or harassment against employees in Jordanian institutions cause for optimism?
Because it criminalises harassment in the workplace. This in turn will lessen one of the major limiting factors which prevents the participation of Jordanian women in the economy – harassment is counted as one of the most prominent reasons for the low rate of female employment in Jordan – which is one of the lowest worldwide. Therefore the amendment gives rise to optimism that this will change and rates of female employment will rise.
Likewise, the simple fact that the parliament is recognising the existence of harassment as a problem that needs to be dealt with using legislation, opens the door wide for changes regarding other women's issues and signals that they will no longer be viewed with suspicion.
It also paves the way for further legislative amendments to laws which have not explicitly criminalised harassment, but just referred to it as "committing an act that affects human dignity".
While the amendment is positive, it does not cover cases of harassment between work colleagues or outside the workplace. However, overall, it is a step forward which must be built upon so that the problem of harassment will be dealt with everywhere, not just in the workplace, to ensure the safety and security of women in every public place.
Next, will come the task of ensuring that the official and royal reform committees' recommendations are implemented - these explicitly called for women to be enabled to play an active economic role in various sectors.
Etaf Roudan is a Jordanian journalist, board member of the International Press Institute, and director of Al-Balad Radio, a community radio station based in Amman.
Follow her on Twitter: @EtafRoudan
Translated by Rose Chacko. Read the original article here.
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