Fates Worse Than Death: Protective Custody in Honor killing Threats
September 13th, 2007In Jordan, when male family members find out that a woman has “dishonored” the name of the family for befriending men, having extra-marital relationships, or even marrying someone without the family approval, they do their best to put an end to her life. In most cases they succeed in doing so. But if the woman has a narrow escape and seeks the protection of the authorities (often the police) such women are very welcomed by these authorities and they are offered protective custody. Where do you think this custody is? It is in prison. Prison, according to the authorities, is the safest place for those threatened poor women; the police think that there their male family members cannot hurt them.
It might be quite acceptable if those women are kept in prison for days till the police find them a better place of safety, but, unfortunately many of them stay there, in jail, for years. Is it justice that people who are threatening to kill are free and those who are seeking protection are thrown in jail for years as if they are criminals?
The authority officials claim that they cannot permit this threatened woman to leave prison until a male family member shows up and announces that he will guarantee her safety. If this doesn’t happen- which is in most cases- she then has to remain imprisoned.
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What legal rights do they have in Jordan? Surely the kingdom was a signer of the UDHR.
Are any re-courses taken to help these women?
Thank you for writing about this. One Jordanian activist who works with the women in protective custody told me the average case stays in Jweideh Correctional Centre (a prison outside Amman) for seven years; the longest at the moment has been there for 12 years. And, often, even if a male family member is willing to sign them out, it is a ruse. . .the woman is killed soon after. So some of these women prefer prison to being released because they believe they will be killed by the very people signing them out.
The first family violence shelter opened in Jordan earlier this year but, puzzlingly, it specifically won’t take in girls/women who are at-risk for “honor” killings.
Omid, Jordan has signed over 17 international agreements and conventions of which “honor” killings are in violation. The Jordanian constitution says that all Jordanians are equal but, unfortunately there are three penal code articles on the books (Articles 97, 98, and 340) that offer leniency to the perpetrators of these crimes. The average sentence is six months; the typical one is three to 24 months.
So, to answer your question, there isn’t much recourse for these women. The activists haven’t made much headway. I think perhaps it is time for the international community to start holding the Jordanian government responsible for complying with all those international agreements and conventions it has signed. Too many people who are in a position to help these women are choosing to look the other way.
Ellen R. Sheeley, Author
“Reclaiming Honor in Jordan”
(Available on the American version of Amazon.com)
Ellen R. Sheeley,
Why is the international commmunity the one that has to do something about women’s rights of Jordan? Women’s rigts has to develop within the country, not from outside pressure. Besides there are much worse things that are going on that should be addressed by the international community because the international community is contributing to the problem, like the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Congo, Sudan, Somalia, etc. These wars have had a terribe effect on women children, and men’s rights.
The lenient jail sentences for killers, that you mention is what needs to be addressed.
Randal, what’s wrong in Ellen’s admirable efforts? She is sharing valuable information with the world about a huge crime that not many people are aware of. I am fairly confident that none of the women who feel passionate about this will mind Ellen’s help, if anything they really require it.
One thing we should never do is sit back and watch these huge crimes take place with the illusion that someone within the community will miraculously wake up and be able to solve this single-handedly. We can’t do this entirely alone, but that doesn’t mean we have to involve foreign military or governments as you imply. It’s not like Ellen is the CIA, fishing for reasons to intervene in Jordan, she is a woman interested in the rights of other women and there is nothing at all wrong with that.
As she noted, the activists in the region have not made much progress concerning honor killings, not even in Pakistan. The international community can play a very big role in putting an end to such crimes because their interference will serve as a PR crisis for the countries in question, who in return can find a better solution to stop this crime, if not for the sake of women then for the sake of their worldwide reputations.
Yes you are right, but Ellen is not advocating for military interference.
You CAN be a foreigner interested in helping these issues without wanting military attacks against its people, nowhere does she imply that this is what she wants, this is an attempt to increase awareness and to find a solution to put this crime to an end. She should be commended, encouraged, and activists in this region should look up to her as an example of what we should be doing.
Also Randal, I don’t think it’s fair to dismiss this problem because there are other “more worrying” conflicts that we should be thinking about and acting upon. It’s this mentality that lets people get away with so many crimes in this region, including honor killing and human trafficking. They are massive threats, and victims amount to millions.
No way should we let this be ignored any longer. It’s time for us to really do something about this.
What do you guys suggest?
Great post Ahmad.
Community work. We need to find a nice way of networking with people across the globe and then applying them to our societies via real community work, be they workshops or sponsoring school lectures. It could be very helpful for us to target educational institutions in the countries most known for this. I am sure that we will find at least one school willing to collaborate. It would have to be one frequented by students in rural areas, instead of private schools with rich kids.
It will be very hard to find the right activists for this issue. The reason why none have really succeeded in getting the message powerfully across is that I don’t think anyone has really given it their best shot. That, and I don’t think that anyone can afford or has the skills to do something that can reach many people and inspire a real reaction from them.
The example I love to refer to is your own. The video you guys did for the Baha’is was so impeccably powerful it got lots of people talking both locally and globally. This is exactly the approach you should take with your honor killing campaigns: make people aware, inspire them to get involved, give them the resources on how they can get involved, and then start fighting together as a team.
As someone with daughters, this story is beyond my understanding, almost to the point of being unbelievable. Can you tell me more? Do the fathers somehow love their daughters less than I love mine? Do these families have television sets? Computers? Is this a “tradition” that is continuing on? Or dying with the older generations? Once a family kills a daughter, do they discuss it? Or does it remain a family secret?
Are there any readers of this blog who would defend this practice?
gary
Gary you’d be surprised. Some stone their daughters even if they’re as young as 12, for “suspicious behavior.”
A very long time ago we used to have extremists who did, and who spoke highly of things like female circumcision. Fortunately they no longer frequent this blog.
Ahmad,
great post indeed,I sadly believe what the police is doing is the right thing, the police cannot take people to prison merely based on suspecion that they will kill a female member of their family, it’s sad I agree but it’s unfortunately true, I believe what should be and done is community work and awareness raising among male men not only in Jordan but across the region that they should respect the sisters’/ daughters’/wives’/counsins’ choices in life regardless if they agree or disagree with it, I really cannot comprehend how people could kill their own flesh and blood merely to satisfy stupid backward tribal traditions and worse..even worse they dump it on religion, these people should serve a life time in prison to be an example for those who think of committing such a horrible crime!you know for sure that many NGOs (local and international
) as well as the government in Jordan are launching campaigns for that, and I know people that are involved in this, one cannot ignore the great effort journalist/human rights activist Rana Husseini is putting into, I met with her quite a few times, and I really admire her for what she’s doing…and I hope MEY’s ‘No Honor’ campaign will be able to contribute to those campaigns across the Mideast!
I’m sorry for the “male men” mistake!!
I have only one addition:
I meant the title to be “Fates Worse Than Death” which I took from an article written by the famous American writer Kurt Vonnegut. Vonnegut meant his title that the fate worse than death is dishonor or in other words losing honor.I want people not to compare the so-called honor killing with the honor that the other writer talks about, I meant by the title ” a fate worse than death is when people believe that by this crime you are reclaiming your lost honor.”
Esra’a, I couldn’t have addressed Randall’s issues better myself. Thank you for tackling them.
I would only emphasize again that Jordan and other countries have signed all these agreements with the international community, they are routinely in violation of them, and I think that alone gives us a right to go back to the leadership of those countries and say, look, you need to deliver on your promises to us, otherwise there’s a consequence to you. A country like Jordan couldn’t make it without its generous aid packages, so I think that would be one carrot we could dangle to promote some meaningful movement (though that wouldn’t work with the more affluent countries). No one put a gun to anyone’s head and forced him to sign off on all those agreements. I think it is totally legitimate to have some means of enforcing commitments made to the international community. . .otherwise, what good are they?
Also, we have already given the local activists plenty of time to do things that would demonstrate meaningful progress (and I mean that in the M.B.A. sense of objective, measurable, tangible results, not dabbling at the margins in ways that don’t really help). I’ve been following all this fairly closely since 1999/2000, so I’ve waited and watched for the activists in Jordan to make some good moves. I’m sure some of them work very hard on a daily basis, but keep their heads down and don’t seek attention or self promotion (e.g., the ones who work with the women in administrative detention and try to make their lives easier). I applaud them, but then there seems to be a louder, more visible group that is just fighting amongst themselves for attention and glory– elbowing aside people who might have more to contribute–who have built careers based on putting themselves at the center of all this, and meanwhile more people are dying. A workshop, a conference, a gathering of any sort might make the attendees feel good, but it doesn’t really help the poor girl or woman whose brother is chasing her around her bedroom with a knife trying to kill her. I think it is far more important and past time to focus on that, not the rest.
As for the other things going on in the world, I don’t see this as an either/or choice. Like Esra’a, I find that a very weak argument for doing nothing about “honor” killings. If a building were burning down with 5,000 people in it, we wouldn’t sit back and do nothing simply because there are problems in Darfur and no Middle East peace. We’d put out the fire and try to save as many people as we can. That is how I see the “honor” killings situation. It’s an emergency. The U.N.’s 2000 global estimate of “honor” killings per annum is 5,000, though most experts believe this number is on the low side. For every day we wait, more people die this way. I think we can multitask and, in the case of “honor” killings, the solutions are so obvious and doable. This isn’t rocket science.
Murad, I am an M.B.A./marketer by training and career. I’ve taught it at the graduate-school level and been a practitioner for almost three decades. I went to Jordan thinking I would work on a professional-caliber hearts and minds marketing communications campaign. The first step of that is to conduct some research, mainly to measure baseline attitudes and opinions and to figure out what segments of the population need to get the message (marketers don’t believe that it’s wise to pay to get the message out to everyone. . .that is wasteful. . .just educate the ones who need to get it) and how best to get it to them. So I conducted a nationwide attitude and opinion survey in Jordan about “honor” killings. But what I found–to my pleasant surprise–is that 89% of my representative sample already supports toughening the penalties for “honor” killings. Another 3.5% don’t care. So it’s just 7.5% of the population that likes the status quo. And, I’ve been doing this a long time, you almost never see this much consensus about anything. It would be a huge waste to spend money there on a campaign of the sort I’d been told was needed. Marketing is expensive. I’d rather see that money used to build women’s shelters or something more necessary and tangibly useful.
Anyway, I went back and looked at who are those 7.5% who are die-hard lovers of the status quo. People told me, oh, they’ll be tribal or they’ll be villagers or they’ll be people who live in refugee camps. But I didn’t find any of that to be so. What I did find is that they tend to have less formal education, they tend to be older, and they tend to be either unemployed or retired. Period. No other statistically significant differences. I didn’t even find gender differences on this variable. In fact, I don’t think targeting boys and men only is even a good idea, for often women play a role in these murders. Even though it’s overwhelmingly girls and women who are the victims, it’s not really a gender issue. . .more a cultural/social issue. Lots of parties and people are complicit in these murders. . .it’s not only the males.
Considering how desperately other things are needed, I don’t think it’s a good use of money to do school campaigns (because my research shows young people are already more likely to be with the times). In fact, when I was conducting my interviews at the universities in Jordan, it was that generation of people who, at the end of my survey, would lean in and tell me, don’t worry, if the current generation of leaders doesn’t take care of this problem, we will. So my hope is that nothing comes along and contaminates the thinking of that generation. What I’m thinking is that maybe we could harness their support for reform and use them to raise funds for shelters (i.e., make it a class/school project in good citizenship). Some schools in the region participate in model UN programs. . .can we use those students’ knowledge of the system to put pressure on signatories of human rights and gender agreements to enforce them? Instead of having their studies just be an academic exercise, can we give them a real problem to work on?
I am not for waiting for all the 7.5% hardheads to get with the program before any laws are changed or shelters built. I think, with effort and will, that can be done now. Like right now.
In Jordan, once I discovered what my research was telling me, I felt obliged to take my findings to the leadership (i.e., members of the royal family and both houses of Parliament). Both the Senate President and the Speaker of the Lower House independently told me they’ve had draft reform legislation on their desks for years. They asked me if I knew why none of the Jordanian activists had come back to them and lobbied them (I didn’t and still don’t, but I was shocked to learn this from them). I think this is something students could do. . .lobby the leadership, make the case for reform, hold people to account. I would add, though, that Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey, and other countries have already undergone legal reform on this issue, but the efforts have so far been, well, disappointing. They’ve left loopholes in the laws, and enforcement has been hit or miss. So I think we need to learn from that. . .not just to request legal reform, but legal reform with a full set of teeth in it. I’m not an attorney, but people who are could probably ensure that that happens.
So much more I could write. But this is why people in Jordan told me to write a book about my work. I wasn’t planning to do that. . .didn’t really want to. But I did want to get out the word. I think so many people are operating on a set of assumptions that isn’t borne out by scientifically-gathered data. I know I was. . .until I looked at my own data and realized how much “honor” killing mythology is out there.
Gary, to answer some of your questions, I think it’s fair and accurate to say that, in Arab cultures, male children are generally more highly valued and more wanted. Parents love all their children, but it’s the males who rule. There is almost pressure on married women to produce male offspring.
In Jordan, televisions are pretty prevalent, even among poor families (but not the very, very poor). Internet market penetration is something like 15% (don’t quote me on that, but I’m in the ballpark). In wealthier countries, these figures are probably much higher.
No one knows for sure, but “honor” killings are believed to have their origins in misinterpretations of pre-Islamic Arab tribal codes (thus, it’s unfair to blame them on either Islam or the tribes). They are actually on the increase in these times, which is very disturbing to anyone who’s been paying attention.
In my survey, I asked a series of very personal questions about “honor” killings, even asking people if any had occurred in their nuclear and extended families. When I analyzed my data, I found that only one female knew (or admitted to knowing) of a case within the family, whereas seven males did. This gender difference in knowledge about threats and killings within the family could possibly mean one of two things: either the women aren’t told of them in all situations, in which case there’s almost a conspiracy of silence among the men of the family or, alternately, the females in my sample were more afraid of the consequences of reporting them to me (because they can lose their lives?). This is still a pretty taboo discussion topic for some people.
Hope that addresses your questions.
Ellen that was incredibly helpful and enlightening. Thanks a lot for taking part in this discussion. I hope that we can soon put your suggestions into good use.
Hi Ellen,
Thanks for the info. Since the people doing this have less formal edication and tend to be older, maybe the answer is to improve education in general? Just having increased exposure to the outside world tends to breakup these excessively primitive customs. For instance I understand that there are no more headhunters.
gary
Hey Ellen, building shelters for these women is a great idea, but do you think they might be targeted or attacked? It would require so much funding, security, staff and work to get this done. I’m sad to see that not many care enough to pull it through. Maybe if someone as influential as Queen Rania puts her money where her mouth is, we can see some change, but she is too busy yapping on Oprah about how down-to-earth she is. Someone needs to attract people like her to this cause as they can play a big role in building awareness campaigns and gathering both local and global support.
By the way, I have just taken the time to read the reviews about your book, all of which are positive. You’re doing a very decent job, thank you.
I think you opened up a can of worms by mentioning her… I’ve been wondering about her stance on this for a while though.
ERS Wrote,
Who are “we?” Why don’t you bring up the fact that 50% of Jordon’s citizens are Palestinians. WHy don’t you bring up the burden Jordan, Syria, Iran have by taking in millions of refugees from the various military interventions of the United States, Israel, and various European countries?
The aid the UNIted States gives to developing countries benefits the U.S. more than the people of these countries. Here is an article about how U.S. aid to Africa does more harm than good. http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/article2871490.ece
Randall, I do not see how any of this is relevant. What does the above have to do with honor killing?
Esra’a,
It’s just plain ridiculous for us in the West to preach to the Middle East, when our military and politcal interventions have caused the deaths of millions and have strengthened the power of dictators and kings who do our bidding.
We in the West need to do something about what out governmnets are doig and let the Jordanians do something about women’s rights in their country. We both have a difficult task and things will not change overnight.
Why not have stories about JOrdanian activits,even if they haven’t been very successful. Look at how many us who are against the Iraq war haven’t been sucessful, even though we live in a democracy.
I would like to hear more about how women in the West gained their rights. I know it wasn’t by having foreign countries threaten them with sanctions. I would also like to see a history of feminists in the Middle East, after colonialism ended but before the military interventions of the U.S. and Europe.
Randal I know that you have a point in what you are saying. but who told you that there are no Jordanian activists who are fighting for women rights without seeking the support of the US or Europe. I have met them,seen them and worked with them; and I’m one of them, but as you said, things won’t change overnight. We as activists in Women’s rights know for certain that the goverment won’t listen to anyone but to its own people when they want to change the laws for the good of Jordanian women. All we do when we discuss this issue with the international reader is to spread awareness that there are such problems in our region and there are also people who are trying their best to do some positive changes; but all the way through we can get an advice from here or a helpful experience form there, something to enlighten our way.
Murad,
On the Oprah Winfrey program with Queen Rania, honor killings were discussed
http://www2.oprah.com/tows/pastshows/tows_past_20011005_d.jhtml
Queen Rania and, for that matter, all the members of the royal family, are very quiet on this subject within Jordan, though.
(If this posts multiple times, I apologize, but the site is acting glitchy for me.)
Just having another gander at this discussion.
Thanks, Esra’a. . .glad you find the information useful. I’ve been trying to disseminate what I know, correct some of the misperceptions, suggest perhaps what can be done, etc.
Gary, actually, the educational system in Jordan isn’t too bad. There is pretty much universal education and a high literacy rate. The public schools are considered less effective, but there is a fairly extensive system of private schools, so families who can afford them generally send their children there.
Nonetheless, one man in Jordan told me the worst thing that ever happened to Jordan (in his estimation) was that, during the late King Hussein’s reign, caught in some kind of conundrum, he for some reason negotiated leadership of the Ministry of Education to the Islamists, who still have a great deal of say in things. And, of course, they are very, very conservative and generally aligned with Islamic/Shari’a law.
I haven’t looked at my data lately, but I think if I burrowed more deeply into it, it would show the older people are the ones who tend to have low formal educational levels (anecdotally, I remember some of the older men telling me they’d left school after third grade and such, whereas I can’t recall any young people telling me that). King Hussein was the ruler who made education universal, but some of the people who came of school age before that missed out.
What I think is perhaps the way to address this is to do some mosque education. Approximately one in five people in my survey told me they believe Islam tells them they must avenge threats to the family honor
through murder. It doesn’t, of course, but that notion needs to be addressed. I’d like to see the imams take it on, then see if that clears up the problem.
Murad, your issue with the shelters is valid. But it’s the same issue we have here in the West, albeit maybe a little more complicated because Jordan is so small, so everyone knows everyone else’s business
and whereabouts. Surely, the shelters’ locations would need to be kept confidential. They would probably also require embassy-style security, which Jordan seems pretty good at handling. When I was heading off to work in the country in 2003, I was dating an American architect. So I was asking him before I left. . .is it possible to build mobile shelters, so they can be moved around? And he said, well, second-hand buses could be refurbished into temporary homes (think downmarket Winnebagos, for
those who are familiar), probably on the relative cheap. . .those would be more comfortable and humane than sitting around in prison year after year, plus mothers could be reunited with their children. Another option is to have a network of safehouses, so families of the at-risk people wouldn’t necessarily know which one their potential victim is residing in. I think, with creativity and resourcefulness, there are ways around this. Other countries have been building shelters for a while, so Jordan could research best industry practices and not have to
reinvent the wheel. Almost anything beats prison.
Also, just a crazy notion. . .why not send the people who do the threatening to jail? That would remove a lot of the risk to the others.
Murad and Esra’a. . .Queen Rania. Oh. Gee. I think we are on the same page here.
I sent her office highlights of my research findings as I was discovering them myself. They acknowledged receipt
and thanked me. Then I sent her office my entire technical report when I finished it (almost 300 pages long). No acknowledgement. Did the same for her husband’s office–after all, he’s the one in charge, not her–but no response at all. OK. Then, after my book was published, I met with the director of research at the royal court. Had a long talk with him, and we were able to corroborate some of our data, which was gratifying for both of us. He bought two copies of my book. . .one for himself, and one for Queen Rania. So I’m pretty certain she has a
copy. I wrote to her and told her I was willing to meet with her to discuss my research, my techniques, my findings, and my recommendations and answer any questions, but didn’t get a response. Conclude what you will.
I’ve discussed this with other members of the royal family, too, so I’m sure they know about it.
I would still be willing to meet with either of them at any time, though. In the end, however, King Abdullah could overturn those laws with a stroke of his pen if he wanted. Or, if he thinks that is too
ham fisted and risky, he could use his leadership skills and Hashemite legacy to deal with this in more collaborative, culturally-sensitive ways, by bringing together tribal leaders and others and getting them
to reach some sort of consensus that change would be good for Jordan.
Randall, by “we” I mean the international community and the people who want basic human rights for as many people as possible.
Hey, Ahmad. . .you’re famous ;-)(see the third paragraph):
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/issuesideas/story.html?id=9953c22f-86e9-48c2-b526-12637e583d05
Unfortunately, the writer got some of his facts wrong (e.g., about legal reform five years ago, about taking the at-risk people into protective custody being a new thing). But at least he’s trying.
According to the crazy increasing of prices levels I wish to be a woman in Jordan to have a special custody in jails.
They are given shelters, express food service and maybe ADSL-laptops
So which place do you prefer and what gender you wish?
For me….
Murad, Esra’a, and ERS,
You are not Jordanians,and you certainly don’t know the reality here as much as we do!
Queeen Rania has been advocating and campaigning against honour crimes for years, but honour crimes is more of a cultural problem than a legislative one,a sizable portion of the Jordanian society thinks that honour crimes are justified, and therefore honour criminals should not get a minimal sentence they should not be sentenced to prison at all!!
Her majesty has been doing alot for youth and women empowerment in Jordan, ask most young and opend minded Jordanians about the projects the queen is involved with.
the interview Oprah did with her was spoiled because of Oprah’s attitude, just when she started addressing important isuues like youth and women in Jordan, Oprah interrupted her and asked her about what would make her ” deliriously happy”.
Her majesty is currently advocating for social corporate responsibility, encouraging corporations in Jordan to give back to the community, and implement programmes that target youth and women in the country, she’s someone I’m absolutely proud of.
Here is a link to session her majesty facilitated during the world economic forum that was held at the dead sea last May on Philanthropy and global citizenship, see for yourself before you judge!!, and please don’t be judgemental and try always to look at the brightside.
sorry the link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Odw2oQLaMQ8
Blue, with all due respect, ERS knows much more about this than most Jordanians are even aware of. She has actually lived there, conducted huge research, talked to the leaders, and wrote an influential book about it. I wouldn’t think twice about calling her an expert in the field.
For as long as these crimes are still rampant, then said leaders are not really not doing enough. Talking is easy. Action is not. The latter is what we fail to witness from not only Queen Rania but the Royal family in general. All of our leaders talk. Mine for example love to boast about free speech. Doesn’t mean that any of such leaders actually apply it.
I may not be Jordanian, but I have lived in Jordan for 3 years and do not really see real groundbreaking achievements by Her Majesty other than her annoying love of PR.
Can you please not provide us with any more “words”, and list the number of people she has actually helped from these crimes? Can you list us the number of families she has directly worked with and listened to? Can you provide us what inner city children who suffer from poverty and illiteracy think about her, has she ever really attempted to reach and help them? What are her real achievements, other than her media appearances?
Here is an article that really for once shows us what Jordan is like behind the way some people paint it:
(Skip) - continued:
Couldn’t have said it better myself!
Read article in full.
Blue, you are right. I’m not Jordanian. But I’ve worked there on numerous occasions, always for free because I actually give a damn about your country and know it is impoverished and don’t feel right taking money from the mouths of poor people. And I have lived there so that I could work on this problem, which I learned about from people on the ground in Jordan and was told my kind of expertise was needed.
Others have articulately expressed the issues I have with Queen Rania. It’s just that it’s all talk, all positioning, all about her own PR. I know members of her family, have shared meals with them, have corresponded with them, have chatted on the telephone with them many, many times. I know more about the inner workings of things than I could or would write here. She is surrounded by PR machinery, that is how she spends most of her time (i.e., managing her image). She is an intelligent woman, though not very experienced at anything before she became queen, but only because she was so young when it happened. I just find it a pity that she hasn’t used her intelligence and her position to do more for her own people. She could. She’s got the ability and the means. It’s just that, for some reason, she doesn’t. It’s a huge missed opportunity.
It’s a shame you haven’t read my book. I believe it has sold out in the Jordanian bookshops (try The Good Book Shop on Rainbow Street in Jebel Amman. . .if they don’t have any copies, probably it can no longer be bought in Jordan). Alternatively, you can find it at the Shoman Library, between the First and Second Circles in Amman. And it it is still available on the American version of Amazon.com, but I don’t know whether they’ll ship to Jordan.
What you have spouted back to us here is all the conventional thinking in Jordan on this topic, but it is not based on any kind of empirical data or evidence, just what peoples’ hunches have long told them and what they’ve perpetuated for years because they’ve lacked any evidence to the contrary.
But I went out and conducted a national survey of public opinion on “honor” killings, using proven empirical, scientific techniques. Polled a representative sample so that I could generalize my findings to the larger population. I spoke with young and old, wealthy and not, educated and not, Muslims and Christians, men and women, people from cities, towns, villages, refugee camps, bedioun tents. I didn’t want my sample to consist only of, say, educated people or English speakers. I was seeking the voices of all.
And what I found is what no one was expecting, least of all me. A full 89% of the people in my sample already support strengthening the penalties for “honor” killings. Another 3.5% don’t care one way or another. So that leaves 7.5% who prefer things remain just as they are. A lot of the 89% who support stronger penalties just volunteered that they think the perpetrators should get the death penalty. One man wanted to hang them off Hadrian’s Arch in Jerash and make a big spectacle of it. A few even said they’d gladly perform the job. So it isn’t even a close call here. Jordanians should be very proud of this. . .most people do know right from wrong, and they think “honor” killings are wrong. Bravo.
This was just one of a whole lot of questions I asked in my survey. Others corroborated this overall sentiment on the part of most Jordanians that “honor” killing is unacceptable and that the time has come to change the status quo. I also recorded peoples’ comments and verbatims and put them all in an appendix at the back of my book. You would probably be really surprised at how strongly people feel about this issue when they get serious and talk about it with someone for hours at a time. Some people cried during the survey. Others told me that it’s happened in their families. Almost everyone had a tale to tell about this.
I never intended to write a book on this subject. I am a marketer by training, and I was intending to use all this data to help me design a hearts and minds marketing communications plan to begin to change attitudes. But first I had to know what the attitudes were, and that’s why I started with a survey. This is just how my profession does things. But, to my pleasant surprise, most peoples’ attitudes don’t really need to be changed. However, the laws do. The options for at-risk people do. There is work to be done. And that is why I lived in Jordan much, much longer than I really wanted. I wanted to get out the word, let the leaders know what I found so, if they want to change things for the better, then can do so knowing they have the support of most of their countrymen and women. And that’s when people began to ask me to write a book about this.
I hope you read it some day. Instead of being so knee-jerk combative about this issue, you should feel proud of your people. I just happen to think your leaders are lagging behind the people on this issue. There is so much more they could be doing. Talk isn’t what’s needed, “dialogue” and “public awareness” (as Queen Rania says) aren’t what’s needed. Those are delay tactics. Action and leadership are what’s needed. And that is basically what I was trying to encourage the leadership to do.
I don’t need to read all your references because I am already so familiar with Queen Rania’s positions on things and her love of all things WEF. There isn’t much that is new to me, at this point. I have been immersed in it for yonks and very, very exposed.
Murad, thanks for posting the blog excerpts. This description rings very accurate for me. Very.
Murad,
It seems the 3 years you’ve spent in Jordan weren’t enough for you to realise that in most cases of honour crimes, families drop charges against their son who killed his own sister!!,they wait for him impatiently to get out of prison to celebrate his “heroic” act of reclaiming ” the honour of the family”!, for that there is nothing that can be done to those families other than raising awareness!, there is nothing that can be done-in my opinion- to stop people from killing their own flesh and blood other than convincing them that it’s wrong and by no means supported by religion!
And ask any sociologist or anthropologist and they will tell you how much it takes to change cultural norms within a society, it doesn’t take years , it takes generations!
And for the article you posted!..well, we don’t claim here that we’re perfect!, but our leadership has made major steps in political and economic reforms, one good example was the establishment of a ministry dedicated entirely to raising political awareness and developing practical methods to implement real democracy in the kingdom called the Ministry of Political Development, tell me, where else in the Arab world did the government implement such a project??
Since its establishment, the kingdom has embraced the Islamic movements like no other country in the region ever did!, they integrated well into our social and political structure, which ultimately helped moederate they’re policies and agendas, something most countries in the region have failed to achieve.
Even though I’m not a big fan!-as even though I’m indeed a muslim, I support the form of governance that wouldn’t differentiate between me and fellow christian Jordanians or followers of other religions for that matter- the Islamic movement in Jordan is probably the most moderate and progressive in the entire world!
Also since its establishment, the kingdom believed in women empowerment, in the country from which you come from Murad, women were not allowed to vote until last year, women in Jordan have been granted that right since the 50s of the past century!!
And what the article referred to as “western friendliness”, we view it as a balance of relations between the east and west, something Jordan has done brilliantly, while maintaining good relations with the west and world’s economic power houses, we kept good relations with most of te Arab countries, something that helped Jordan being stable and progressive country amidst turbulence and turmoil, something, we Jordanians take much pride in, as Beirut is referred to in some media circles as “Paris” of Middle East due to the French influence in the infrastructure of the city that apparent in the 20s, 30s, and 40s of the past century, Jordan is referred to as the “Switzerland” of the Mideast , to its safety and stability and progressiveness.
We in Jordan are different in how think of democracy and politics , yet something that we have in common is that we are all Jordan,we love this country and hold deep respect to its wise leadership.
ERS,
I sincerely was thinking of looking up your book and buying it,but your attitude kind of repelled me…
Our country is not impoverished, it’s a country in transition , Jordan is middle-income country, we are progressing, our leadership is forward looking and is implementing various development projects for both the infrastructure and the cultural structure of society, we are embracing modernity but are maintaining our moderate Islamic tradition and heritage.
Blue, this was not an honest response. It’s outright denial and a poor excuse for what people in your magical country get away with.
What a lazy, backwards attitude. It doesn’t take generations to implement and influence change. It takes good leadership, and that is precisely what your country is lacking. But it’s great to see that they excel in marketing and PR. The Switzerland of the Mideast? Thanks a lot for the laugh!
You are so utterly naive it’s almost sickening. I’m revolted.
Perhaps this article will enlighten you. Don’t think that you are speaking for your people, because I personally know and have lived with too many Jordanians who feel like what you’re about to read:
From the Arab Times, an open letter to Rice: Jordanians Under Absolute Monarchical Siege -
Oh but it does not stop there!
And finally…
Dr. Ahmad Oweidi Al-Abbadi (Chairman), Former Member of Parliament (Two Terms) Amman-Jordan.
http://www.arabtimes.net/AAAA/A2006/october/88.html
And just when I thought I was done.. I come across this blog by a young Jordanian, who like most other students I’ve met in the country, does not fall for insipid propaganda:
http://me-in-jordan.blogspot.com/
And to follow up on what I mentioned earlier about Al-Abbadi:
(Link)
Here’s an editorial, with an accurate perception nonetheless:
(Link)
Spare us the nationalist propaganda. We all live it and know it too well when we see it.
Blue, I am amazed that you think your country is not impoverished. Or do you really just not know better? Have you ever been able to travel to the wealthier parts of the world? If the aid stopped flowing to Jordan today, the whole thing would collapse pretty quickly. Jordan lives on other peoples’ money. . .and far beyond its own limited means. And most people there don’t earn enough to be able to live without worrying about how they are going eat. Last winter, quite a few people died there because they couldn’t afford to purchase proper heating to stay warm. So they used those dangerous space heaters that are cheap to operate, but that often emit carbon monoxide, and the poor folks died, usually in their sleep, without even knowing what hit them. I call that poverty. Most international organizations and reasonable people do. It is not an attack or a pejorative. . .it is an expression of concern and profound empathy for peoples’ plight and also one of the reasons so much aid flows to your country. I happen to think people deserve better. Any human being does.
How can you be so narrow as to take offense with that?
I didn’t use that phrase to offend you, but you seem intent on taking everything that is posted in the most hateful and negative of ways. Something is really wrong with your attitude and your heart. We are trying to be kind and patient with you, but you insist on being as difficult, hard headed, and unreasonable as can be.
You are exactly the kind of person who should be reading more widely. Obviously, you are very selective, but not in a good way, about what you will let enter your head. I find it a pity that someone so young has already closed his mind and isn’t open to better information that more closely dovetails with objective reality.
Murad, maybe you already know. . .The Arab Times’ Web site is blocked/censored in Jordan, though creative Jordanians have found ways around that. It may be that Blue is not aware of what Al-Abbadi actually wrote, though Jordanians have had access to the legal repercussions for him, since that is an important weapon the state uses to keep others from getting any ideas about criticizing the leadership or striving for anything better within a more accelerated time frame.
Like you, I know a lot of Jordanians who share sentiments such as those you’ve posted. One of the smarter men I know there told me early on, Ellen, go ahead and read the JT, but then, if you want to know the truth, it’s probably exactly the opposite of what is published. I thought that was such a sad commentary about free press and veracity in Jordan.
Here are some links to global economic data by country:
1. http://www.finfacts.com/biz10/globalworldincomepercapita.htm
There are 2005 per capita gross national income data from the World Bank:
Switzerland’s–US$54,930 (ranks 3rd globally)
Jordan’s–US$2,500 (ranks 93rd globally)
2. http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/eco_gro_nat_inc_percap-gross-national-income-per-capita
Or, from a site called NationMaster, which obviously uses a different equation to calculate per capita gross national income:
Switzerland’s–US$36,666.11 (ranks 1st globally)
Jordan’s–US$1,451.29 (ranks 89th globally)
Weighted average of all countries–US$5,510.35
3. http://www.ccc.nps.navy.mil/si/may03/middleEast5.asp
Or, this from an Ph.D. in economics in 2003:
“A lot of potential unemployment and underemployment has been absorbed by the informal sectors of many Arabs states. One wonders how much more it can absorb without pushing real earnings down even further. Unless there are significant changes in the way things are being done in places like Egypt, Algeria, Jordan, Morocco and Yemen, we may be looking at an economic catastrophe sometime within the next 15 or so years.”
“Poverty seems to be on the increase in the region. Many studies point to increases in poverty in Morocco, Jordan, Yemen, Egypt and Algeria over the past decade. These are potentially brittle countries, and potentially pivotal countries for extremism and violence. Again, it is important to look at definitions. Extreme poverty in the region is often defined as living on $1 or less a day. Just plain poverty is defined as living on $2 or less a day. Now that may seem extreme for an American, but for many Arabs that is the way life is. About 100 million Arabs are significantly impoverished.” [Emphasis mine.]
This is not selective research. . .I simply plucked three links from Google and this is what they had to say about the situation in Jordan. But if anyone wants to live in a fool’s paradise and believe otherwise. . .
It is horrifying to imagine that the only way these women can be protected is to be placed in prison. Thank you for writing about such an important issue, Ahmad.
Dialogue and public awareness will not bring about immediate change for these women; however, they will help to inspire gradual cultural changes. The fact that some of these women feel that prison is where they are safest is of most concern. Women’s shelters or safe houses would be a much more comfortable option if they could be set up to maintain anonymity for the women for protection.