AMMAN, Jordan – Marwa Alomari’s compassionate and patient style made her a popular English teacher who filled her classes in Irbid, Jordan with eager students and her free hours of private tuition.
As a college graduate, she received up to $ 3,000 a month, far more than most other Jordanians.
But after she married an army officer and moved in with his family, he began to get annoyed that she was paid more than he was. Although she contributed to the household with both money and housework, he and his family discouraged her from work and the marriage almost collapsed, she said.
“I was absolutely convinced that I would not stop, but at some point I found no support and just got tired and gave up,” said Ms. Alomari, 35. “I cooked, cleaned and gossiped with women again. And that wasn’t my ambition. “
Her story mirrors what is happening across Jordan – a small Arab monarchy that has been an unwavering ally of Western countries – where women’s status in terms of labor force participation, health and politics has declined for years, and even behind more conservative countries in the US remains region.
For the past 10 years, the country has been at the bottom of the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report, which highlights gaps between women and men in employment, education, health and politics.
After large increases over the past three decades, more women than men have graduated in the country, and women also have higher literacy rates.
Nevertheless, according to government data and the latest Global Gender Gap Report, 86 percent of women in the country are inactive. According to the World Bank, this is the highest rate in the world for a country not at war.
In contrast, Western Europe has moved and continues in the direction of gender equality the most, followed by North America.
And the effects can be felt far beyond the economy.
“As long as women are absent from the labor market, they are not represented in public,” said Asma Khader, president of the non-profit group Sisterhood is Global Institute in Jordan. “Top officials are afraid to make decisions in favor of women because society is conservative. But I believe if there are real economic reforms, women will be empowered and challenged. “
With its close ties to the West, an outspoken queen, female MPs and police officers, Jordan has long had the image of a relatively progressive kingdom in a conservative neighborhood. Recently, however, some golf neighbors have seen an increasing number of women-run startups and changes in labor legislation that have resulted in growing opportunities for women.
In Jordan, the head of household is usually defined as a husband unless he is dead, missing, or has lost his citizenship. This gives him sole guardianship over children, with authority over matters such as travel, citizenship, and opening bank accounts. In Saudi Arabia, due to the recent changes, at least in theory, women could also be viewed as “householders”.
Traditional attitudes, discriminatory laws, lack of access to public transport and wage differentials are hindering the advancement of women in Jordan.
The November elections to the country’s 130-seat parliament were testament to the declining role of women. Turnout was low and female candidates lost heavily. Women did not occupy a single seat beyond the quota of 15 female legislators, compared to 20 in the previous parliament.
Sara Ababneh, assistant professor of politics and international relations at the University of Jordan, said the problem extends beyond the elections.
“Sometimes we talk about women’s representation – we say there should be more women ministers,” she said. “But we never talk about universal rights and real political empowerment.”
Recent research by the World Bank has shown that men in Jordan are paid up to 40 percent more than women for the same job in the private sector. In the public sector, the gap is 28 percent.
The employment gaps – 53 percent of men are employed compared to 14 percent of women – are almost twice as high as in neighboring countries such as Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
The traditional roles in Jordan are enshrined in laws that distinguish between the rights and duties of women and men. There is no law that prohibits gender discrimination in the workplace. And while the constitution provides that “every worker must receive a wage commensurate with the quantity and quality of their work”, there is no right to equal pay for women and men.
For Muslims, who make up the majority of Jordan’s nearly 11 million population, marriage, divorce, custody and inheritance issues are governed by Sharia or Islamic law and are decided by Sharia courts rather than civil or military courts. For example, under Sharia law, women can inherit property, but daughters receive half as much as sons.
And during the Arab Spring a decade ago, many women and human rights defenders attacked a parliamentary committee for breaking its promise to include the word gender in Article 6 of the Constitution, which aims to ensure equality for all Jordanians. It states: “There must be no discrimination between Jordanians with regard to their rights and obligations on the basis of race, language or religion.”
Despite the obstacles, some women have managed to be successful in their careers.
Jamileh Shetewi is an exception among Jordanian women in every way. She grew up with her eight siblings and parents in a mud-walled one-room house and spent her childhood picking tomatoes, eggplants and bananas with her four sisters on hot and shadowless farms.
The odds were against them.
She dropped out of school at the age of 17 and married at the age of 18. As a young farmer, she was paid $ 3 less a day than the men she worked with from 1997 to 2002 and had to cook for them on top of her job.
She decided to go back to school and did her PhD. in archeology. Today she heads the antiques department in the Jordan Valley region.
“Yes, I defied all expectations,” said Ms. Shetewi, 50. “I fought and destroyed the culture of shame.” But without changing laws and perceptions, most women will not be able to move forward.
“I didn’t care what people had to say and I said to my husband, ‘I need your support to make our lives better,” she said. “We are not the enemy. Believe that a country without half of its population can reform and prosper? “
