Al-Urdun Al-Jadid Research Center (UJRC)
Civil Society and Governance
Case Study: 2
Women and Political Participation in Jordan:
The Development of Attitudes Towards Allocating a Quota of Parliamentary
Seats for Women
Prepared by Muhammad al-Jraibi
Associate Researcher (UJRC)
Introduction: Women’s Political Participation
The beginnings of Jordanian women’s interest in public work can be traced back to the postWorld War II period when women’s organizations rose for the first time and voiced their
demands for participation, equality and equal opportunities.
But the clear tendency of Jordanian women towards political work became more manifest in
the 1950s. This accompanied the growing national struggle against imperialism, the demand to
terminate the Jordanian-British Treaty of 1948, the Arabization of the Jordanian Army command,
and the emergence of an organized opposition which, in turn, demanded public liberties including
the freedom of parties, professional associations and social organizations. Under these
circumstances a Jordanian Women’s Union was established in 1954 under the leadership of Mrs.
Emily Bisharat, the first Jordanian woman lawyer. It was named the “Arab Women’s Union” and
raised the slogan “Equal Rights and Duties, One Arab Nation” which clearly shows its political
character.
Foremost among the union’s demands were giving the women the right to vote in elections,
amending the Personal Statute Law and the Labor Law, and opening wider opportunities for
women’s education and work. This union, however, was suspended after the imposition of
martial law in April 1957 and the dissolution of political parties. Activists of social and
professional associations were harassed, together with party leaders and cadres, and restrictions
were imposed on trade and professional associations, with the result that the latter could no
longer continue to function under those circumstances.
The political climate which prevailed after the suppression of parties and suspension of their
activities, in addition to predominant pressures and conventions, caused the restriction of
women’s participation in political and party activities. Their participation was confined to only
limited numbers in political party organizations, and thus social and voluntary charitable work
became the main receptacle of women’s membership in voluntary organizations.
After the 1967 war, however, female work became active once more when several women’s
organizations arose, led by female activists from opposition political parties. Furthermore, the
women’s political role emerged through political parties, guerrilla (feddayyeen) organizations
and the “Jordanian National Rally” which included representatives of trade unions, professional
associations, social organizations, and political currents.
Most of the women organizations came to an end once more after the armed and bloody
September 1970 confrontations between the Jordanian Army and the Palestinian armed resistance
1
organizations. Yet a few years later, and specifically in 1974, the right for women to elect and to
run for election was approved. At the same time the Jordanian government permitted the rise of a
Women’s Union which was established entirely through the initiative of women, most of whom
belonged to leftist political parties. The activities of this union had a patently political character
which colored its progress with tension and clashes with the government. Consequently it was
dissolved in 1981 and then restored again after the democratic relaxation in 1990. It came to be
officially called the “Jordanian Women’s Union.”
On the other hand, authorities encouraged the establishment of the General Federation of
Jordanian Women in 1981 which consisted of the voluntary women’s societies that existed in
accordance with the Societies and Social Bodies Law No. 33 for the year 1966.
This federation is still functioning and comprised 70 women’s voluntary societies in the year
1999. The federation is forbidden by law from engaging in openly political activities.
In 1992 the National Committee for Women’s Affairs was established and chaired by Princess
Basmah Bint Talal as a forum for addressing policies related to women. The Committee was
created pursuant to a decision by the Council of Ministers. Comprehensive representation of
governmental and non-governmental women sectors concerned with women affairs was taken
into account. This committee laid down “The National Strategy for Women in Jordan” at a
national conference on women’s affairs held in 1993.
In 1995 the Jordanian National Rally of Women’s Affairs Committees was founded under the
presidency of Princess Basmah, with branches therefore in all governorates of the Kingdom. The
aim of this Rally is to mobilize, organize, and direct the potential of Jordanian women toward the
realization of their aims in terms of improving the conditions of women and activating their role
through application of the “National Strategy for Women in Jordan.” In 1996 the Princess
Basmah Center for Women’s Affairs was also established to provide information and facilities
for governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations concerned with women’s affairs
and with providing training opportunities for women in developmental fields.
Women and Political Parties
With regards to the development of women’s participation in political parties, a general survey
of political parties in Jordan prepared by Al-Urdun Al-Jadid Research Center in mid-1993
revealed that the presence of women in the party formations, leadership bodies, and programs
was limited. The survey also showed that ten parties did not mention in their programs or basic
orientations any clauses or provisions related particularly to women, while eight parties have had
one general paragraph about either the necessity of giving women equal rights with men, or
defending women’s social rights and relieving them of injustices, or the removal of obstacles
facing them so that they may perform their task in family raising, society building, work, wages
and promotion. Only two parties had a special paragraph about women’s causes in their
programs, stating their belief in the necessity of changing women’s actual conditions and linking
that to social and economic change throughout the country.
As for women’s presence in the formations and structure of parties in 1992 and 1993, the
following data have emerged (see Table 1):
 Three parties out of 17 had no women in the founding bodies.
 Five parties had founding bodies in which women constitute less than 5%.
 There were three parties where women constitute 5-9% of the founding bodies and
three parties with women constituting 10-14% of the founding bodies.
2



There were two parties in which women comprise 15-19% of the founding bodies.
There was one party where the number of women in its founding body was
unknown.
The ratio of female membership in the founding bodies of all parties put together
amounted to only 5%.
Turning to the issue of leadership, we find that:
 Thirteen parties had no women in their leadership.
 Three parties had one woman in the leadership, and only one party had two
women in its leadership.
In the year 1997 the number of women was monitored in the first leadership bodies of
existing parties. The number of parties amounted to 19, yet no development whatever has taken
place vis-à-vis their previous state.
It also seems that political parties and forces were captured by ready-made ideas,
structures, and traditional concepts. This is most clearly illustrated by the attitude of parties
toward allocating a quota of parliamentary seats for women. Polls carried out by Al-Urdun AlJadid Research Center in 1996 about the attitudes of parties towards the Elections law showed
that 77% of the parties do not support allocation of quota for women, which proves the shakiness
of these parties’ credibility with regard to processes of social change—and particularly towards
women’s participation and rights. The findings also reflect how weak the parties are in reading
the actual situation and identifying the mechanisms required for change.
Surveys also show the low degree of women’s participation in political party
memberships, especially among the party leaderships, where the degree of participation ranged
between 5% and 8.5%. Some sources put women’s participation at about 10%.
3
Table 1
Number of Founding Members and Leadership Bodies of Jordanian Parties by
Gender 1992-1993
Party
Jordanian National Rally
Party
Popular
Unity
Party
(Unionists)
Jordanian
Al-Ahd
(Covenant) Party
Islamic Action Front Party
Al-Mustakbal (The future)
Party
Jordanian Democratic
Progressive Party
Jordanian Communist
Party
Socialist Arab Ba'ath
Party
Jordanian Democratic
People's Party
Progress and Justice Party
Social Democratic Party
Al-Yaqathah (Awakening)
Party
Popular Unity Democratic
Party
Al-Hurriyah (Freedom)
Party
Arab Unionist Party
Islamic Arab Movement
Progressive Arab Ba'athist
Party
Number of
Founder
Members
Persons charged
with Party
Licensing
Procedures
Date of
Licensing
Total
Females
Total
167
0%
5
58
19%
5
1992
19
205
2%
5
1992
8
353
160
1.4%
2.5%
5
5
1992
1992
17
21
96
18%
5
1993
17
70
11%
5
1993
10
72
0%
5
1993
9
100
13%
5
1993
12
175
61
178
4.6%
1.6%
5
5
5
1993
1993
1993
9
9
98
7%
5
1993
7
61
11.5%
5
1993
9
5.5%
6%
0%
5
5
5
182
72
76
Females
First leadership
of the party
Total
Females
14
15
12
3
4
2
1
1
1
As a matter of fact, most parties have an instrumentalist outlook towards women’s political
participation. In other words, they turn to women as an electoral force and are enthusiastic for
their participation only for the purpose of mustering votes for the party’s candidates in
parliamentary as well as professional association elections, and also for occupying limited roles
of the lower and intermediate levels of the organization. This may be explained by the society’s
attitude towards political and party participation of women, which reflects conceptions of
women’s role emanating from her traditional function as wife, mother and housewife.
A 1994 study about the political participation of Jordanian women conducted by the
University of Jordan Strategic Studies Center revealed that men and women in Jordan still look at
the woman’s role through the expectations of traditional gender roles. Most of them believe that
women’s capacities are inferior to those of men, especially in field of political work and making
important decisions; they also believe that men are more rational than women.
Of course there is a significant percentage believe that women are capable of political work,
but there is still a element to be reckoned with that finds the new roles of women to be in conflict
with their traditional gender role of taking care of the children and the husband and running the
affairs of the house.
Other important findings from the study indicated that a considerable number of the
researched population were not against women’s participation in political life. The majority,
however, chose supplementary or ancillary and not basic and significant roles. For example, the
majority believed that women should participate in elections through voting, donating money,
and participating in the candidates electoral campaigns. A lesser ratio have no objection to
women nominating themselves as candidates for the parliament, members of political parties, or
as participants in unconventional forms of politics.
While democracy means voluntary political participation without being exposed to any
pressures or coercion, we find that over one third of the women who took part in 1989 elections
did not enjoy a free choice in participation or in choosing the candidates as they liked, nor were
they immune to men’s impact on their decisions.
The aforementioned Strategic Study Center data indicate that quite a good number of both
men and women believe that Jordanian women suffer from a number of problems and that there
is a number of issues that concern women only, to the exclusion of men. Such issues include the
lower educational levels of women as compared with those of men; societal refusal of women’s
work and participation in public life outside the home in general; inequality between women and
men that reflects a great deal of discrimination against women; and finally what the researched
population called the persecution of women and the restrictions imposed on their personal
freedom by men and society as a whole. These issues reflect what the researched population sees
as a reality which Jordanian women live.
In surveying the obstacles which restrict women’s capacity to actively participate in the
political life of Jordanian society, we notice that these obstacles were primarily cultural, while
others were linked to institutions that were directly related to political work. Major cultural
hindrances mentioned above include the objection by men and society as a whole to women’s
participation, the absence of women’s encouragement of one another, and the lack of women’s
self-motivation. Other significant constraints linked with institutions directly related to women
arise from a governmental and parliamentary abstention from encouraging women and paying
due attention to their causes. In addition, political parties do not sufficiently care for integrating
women’s issues within their programs or for involving women themselves in political and party
work.
5
Finally, the findings of this study demonstrated that the social status of women in general is
directly related to their level of education, their position in work, and people’s attitudes toward
women’s political role and participation. A positive correlation was found between a woman’s
income, work and educational level on one side and her participation in political work and the
effectiveness of such participation on the other. Analyses point out, for example, that higher
incomes, education, and jobs for women are linked to greater independence they enjoy in making
decisions related to the participation and choice of candidates, and the more likely that their
actual participation will be independent from male models. Findings emphasize the importance of
economic resources for women’s political participation. For work, income and education are
among the most important resources available to a woman. If she enjoys a good deal of these
resources, this will have a positive role in augmenting her experience, self-confidence, and ability
to participate actively in political work.
Women in the State Branches of Power
1970 may be regarded as a starting point in Jordanian women’s participation in high public
offices, for that is the year when Ms. Laurice Hlas was appointed Deputy Permanent
Representative of the Jordanian Mission at the United Nations Organization.
This was followed in 1974 by women’s acquisition of the right to run for and vote in the
membership of the Lower House of Parliament and municipal councils.
In 1978 three women were appointed as members of the Consultative National Council that
was set up during the period between 1978 and 1982 as a substitute for freezing the constitutional
parliamentary life. This offered women the opportunity to take part in an activity that had a
legislative character, and it was a beginning for more female participation. In 1980 four women
were appointed to the membership of the Consultative National council; another four ladies were
appointed in 1982.
With regards to women’s participation in the executive branch of government, it goes back to
1979 when Mrs. Ena'm al-Mufti was appointed Minister of Social Development. In 1984 Mrs.
Laila Sharaf was appointed Minister of Information. Dr. Reema Khalaf became Minister of
Industry and Trade in 1993, and Dr. Reema Khalaf and Mr. Salwa al-Masri became Minister of
Planning and Minister of Social Development respectively in 1994. From 1996 to 2000, Dr.
Reema Khalaf kept her portfolio in the executive branch as Minister of Planning until she
resigned early in March, 2000.
The limited participation of women in legislative power, on the other hand, is illustrated by the
parliamentary elections of 1989 when 12 women campaigned but none of them won. In the 1993
elections only three female candidates took part. Only one of them won: Mrs. Toujan Faisal,
who ran for a seat allocated for Circassians and Chechens. Seventeen female candidates
participated in the general elections of 1997. Mrs. Toujan Faisal lost her seat, and none of the
other candidates were successful—despite the interesting and outstanding record of Toujan Faisal
as MP and the widespread interest, both local and international, in supporting women’s political
participation and the interest shown by the civil society institutions in general, and women
organizations, in particular in supporting female candidates.
Now let us move to women’s participation in the Upper House of Parliament, the chamber
whose members are appointed by the King. It must be noted here that the number of members in
the Upper House is half of that in the Lower House. Since the restoration of Parliamentary life in
1989, one woman was appointed to the membership of the Upper House. In 1993 two women
were appointed, and in 1997 three became members, indicating the political leadership’s
intention to support women’s political participation.
6
With regard to municipal councils, there was no female participation until the year 1995 when
99 women were appointed members of the municipal committees charged for the first time with
preparations for holding municipal elections on the same day for all the municipalities in the
country.
The appointment came in response to an in initiative by Princess Basmah Bint Talal, thereby
opening the door for women to participate directly in municipal councils. This served as an
incentive for female participation in the municipal elections of the year 1995 when there were
twenty candidates; nine women won while Miss Eiman Ftaymat became a mayor. This was
followed by the Council of Minister’s appointment of 19 women to municipal councils.
Forty-three women ran in the municipal elections of 1999. Only eight of them succeeded in
becoming members of municipal councils while 25 others were appointed as members of
municipal councils by the Council of Ministers.
In the judicial branch of government the first female appointment to the office of a judge was
in 1996 to be followed by two others later.
Introduction to the Case
The general parliamentary elections of 1989 were the first milestone in the history of the
Jordanian Parliament in which Jordanian women took part as candidates and as voters, thus
experiencing for the first time the competition for parliamentary seats. Although the number of
women supposed to go to the polls is quite close to the number of male voters, only twelve
female candidates ran for the election. None of them succeeded, yet Jordanian women did not
lose hope to win in forthcoming rounds especially as some of the unsuccessful candidates
achieved good results all the same.
The amendment of the Election Law in 1993 from the open list system to the one-vote system
contributed to weakening women’s chances of getting into the parliament and enhanced the
men’s opportunities which enjoy tribal support. This led to women’s diminishing enthusiasm for
competing in comparison with the elections of 1989. Only three women candidates participated,
and both official and popular circles were surprised at the success achieved by one of the three,
Mrs. Toujan Faisal. She won the seat allocated for Circassians and Chechens in the Third
Constituency of Amman. Mrs. Faisal certainly benefited from the minorities quota system. In this
regard, it must be said that Mrs. Faisal had a daring performance at the Lower House of
Parliament, which attracted attention to her and raised the hopes pinned on women’s ability to
assert themselves in the election campaigns and in the Parliament itself.
In the last elections held in 1997, which were boycotted on a large scale by political parties
and independent individual figures, there was a striking female enthusiasm to run for seats and to
vote. Seventeen women ran for parliamentary membership. Another noticeable feature was the
greater interest shown by a number of civil society institutions, women’s organizations, and
research centers in supporting female candidature and election campaigns. Particularly active in
this direction was the Jordan National Rally of Women’s Committees presided over by Princess
Basmah Bint Talal, King Hussein’s sister. The Rally nominated a number of its members to run
for these elections, while the national Committee for Women’s Affairs hastened to support the
female candidates and to cover the expenses of election propaganda for them on television: It was
widely believed during those elections that success opportunities were high for women, that
women were gaining a wide governmental as well as non-governmental acceptance, and that the
time was opportune for more than one woman’s entry to the Parliament. The results, however,
proved disappointing, for none of the female candidates succeeded, and even Mrs. Toujan Faisal,
the only female parliamentarian, lost her seat.
7
These results strongly highlighted the difficulties and stumbling blocks that exist in improving
the chances of women’s political participation with a reasonable number of seats in the Lower
chamber of the Parliament. In fact there are social and political forces that realized these
hardships for which the society, with its patriarchal culture, is mainly responsible. These forces
are also well aware that the positive attitude of the Palace towards women’s political
partnership—which the Palace clearly expressed through the appointment of women as cabinet
ministers and as members of the Upper House of Parliament—is not sufficient for creating an
essential change in public opinion in favor of women’s representation in the Lower chamber,
especially as the One-Vote Election Law does not provide a suitable setting for that. Therefore
the pioneering forces in society concluded early enough that there is no alternative to allocating a
quota of the Lower House seats for women, at least for a transitional period, because this would
give them an ample opportunity to run for Lower House seats and guarantee equal opportunities
for women to participate in the elections on the free elections basis. A quota would make it easier
to elect the best and most efficient female candidates and to consecrate women’s presence in
Parliament, a course which this study attempts to follow in order to have an idea about the
progress attained for quality initiatives espoused by some civil society forces or institutions in
Jordan.
Development of the Case
The first initiative that aimed at highlighting the importance of allocating a quota of Lower
house seats for women was the symposium held in July 1993 by Al-Urdun Al-Jadid Research
Center in cooperation with the Royal Cultural Center on the event of the 1993 elections, titled
“Jordanian Women and Political Action.”
The symposium discussed in depth the actual situation of the women’s movement in Jordan
and the obstacles facing the enhancement of women’s participation in public and general action,
particularly women’s participation in elections and their chances to get into the Parliament and all
the decision-making centers. The symposium revealed that the support for a female quota is
modest, while the anti-quota trends claimed that women should prove their worthiness through
free competition with men, that they should not be treated as a minority because they constitute
half of the society, and that a female quota would add another defect to the Election Law which is
already teeming with deficiencies.
In June 1995 Al-Urdun Al-Jadid Research Center held another symposium on “Election
Legislation: the Foundation stone of Democracy.” Within the framework of preparations for this
symposium, one of the Center researchers carried out an investigative study about the attitudes of
Jordanian Parties towards the Election Law and their suggestions for its amendment. The results
of this study, to which 20 parties of the then existing 23 responded, showed that only five parties
supported allocation of a quota (ranging from 10% to 25%) of the Lower House’s seats for
women, while 13 parties opposed the idea. This indicates that the search for practical solutions to
guarantee the political participation of women does not constitute a priority for most parties, who
deal with the woman’s cause only as an instrument for supporting their candidates.
The 1995 symposium gave special attention to exploring the ways and means leading to
women’s arrival in Parliament. In its concluding statement, the symposium emphasized the
participants’ unanimity on the necessity of supporting women, backing their role in political life
and parliamentary participation, and searching for suitable mechanisms to achieve this objective.
In February 1996 there were signs that positive amendments were likely to be introduced to
the Election Law with the advent of Mr. Abdul-Kareem al-Kabariti’s government which was
well-disposed towards the female quota idea. A new draft election law leaked out to the press
8
without identifying its source. The draft allotted 17 from 80 to 100, which revived national
dialogues about female representation even if the government did not sponsor the draft law.
Under these circumstances Al-Urdun Al-Jadid Research Center hastened to hold a seminar on
“Jordanian Women and the Election Law” on the anniversary of the Woman’s International Day
in March 1996. A wide range of the leadership and representatives of women’s organizations and
activists took part in the seminar.
This seminar listened to and discussed interventions and research papers that surveyed the
female representation experiment in a large number of world parliaments and showed the
importance of positive discrimination in favor of women as provided for in the Agreement on
resisting all forms of discrimination against women.
The atmosphere of discussions reflected growing support to female quota, especially as the
seminar listened to a number of testimonies made by women and men who have come to side
with the female quota as a stopgap solution indispensable for securing women’s parliamentary
representation, whereas they previously had opposed the suggestion. The seminar concluded its
proceedings with a roundtable aimed at developing a work plan for supporting women’s chances
to get into the Parliament. The roundtable resulted in the establishment of a committee charged
with devising a work plan and the mechanisms suitable for its execution.
In the light of the roundtable’s recommendations, what came to be known as “Women
Alliance”1 was formed in the middle of 1996 consisting of female representatives of nongovernmental bodies and women societies, civil society organizations concerned with women’s
affairs, and independent female figures. Its purpose was to coordinate efforts and create a
pressure group to seek ways and means for augmentation and development of a correct and
equitable participation of Jordanian women in the forthcoming elections.
The Alliance started its activities by inviting all women’s organizations and figures for
consultation and approval of the work program which demanded the allotment of 20% of
parliamentary seats for women. It then turned towards addressing the decision makers in the
legislative and executive branches and finally to arranging for an audience with the King. A
meeting was held with the speakers of the Lower and Upper Houses of Parliament, who
expressed readiness for cooperation but asked for more clarification of the quota concept and
clear-cut suggestions for its implementation. The alliance’s memorandum was also handed over
to the Prime Minister.
At that time the Alliance held a series of meetings at the early stages of which many women’s
federations and organizations and independent figures participated. The Alliance also addressed
concerned circles for funding its activities. A committee composed of chairwomen from the
women’s federations was formed to meet the prime minister for this purpose, but the committee
did not perform this task.
This was followed by differences which erupted within the women’s movement about the
position and status of the “Women’s Alliance,” especially because the Alliance did not represent
a licensed legal framework, thus exposing it to interventions by some government agencies that
were not very sympathetic with its agenda. This incapacitated the Women’s Alliance and
prevented it from going on with its activities, and it consequently ceased to exist.2 (2)
The feminist arena at that time was witnessing another development that contributed to the
1
A broad and flexible national women's coalition to muster active female capacities and talents in female
organizations and civil society bodies concerned with women's issues in addition to female celebrities.
2
Personal interview with Mrs. Khadijeh Habashneh, member of the women's Alliance Committee on October 7,
1999.
9
enhancement of awareness of boosting women’s political participation: namely, the appointment
of a wide range of women to municipal committees on the eve of the municipal elections of 1995,
which took place for the first time in all municipalities on the same day. Following an initiative
taken by Princess Basmah, local authorities agreed to the appointment of 99 women within the
municipal committees that were set up to prepare for the elections of municipal councils and
mayors. This step came within the context of paying more local attention to feminist issues
during the Peking conference and Princess Basmah’s establishment of a women’s rally called the
“Jordanian National Rally of Women’s Committees” which extended to cover all governorates in
the Kingdom.
In this new political climate, twenty women ran for the municipal elections which took place
in July. One of them became a mayor while nine others earned membership on a number of
municipal councils. Furthermore, as the Municipalities Law allows the Council of Ministers to
appoint two additional members over and above those elected to the municipal councils, the
Council of Ministers complied with Princess Basmah’s request to appoint 23 women to a number
of municipal councils.
This practical experience encouraged more women to run for the municipal elections which
were held in July 1999. There were 43 female candidates, but only eight of them were elected to
the membership of these councils.
It can be concluded from all that has been said above that the idea of allocating a quota of the
Lower House’s seats for free competition among female candidates has acquired new
protagonists, and more and more female organizations and societies have adopted the idea as part
and parcel of their agendas. It can also be noticed that the issue of female quota has become a
major topic and theme of all symposia and colloquia that discuss women’s issues or the Election
Law.
The findings of two polls addressing the issue of women can be cited here: the first was
organized by the Jordanian Studies Center at Yarmouk University in October 1997, covering a
national sample of 82,811 persons in an endeavor to reveal individual attitudes towards the
general parliamentary elections of 1997 and to see to what extent they agree to the establishment
of a female quota. The poll revealed that 45.4% of the sample supported this quota while 44%
were against it. A second poll was conducted by Al-Arab al-Youm newspaper in July 1999. It
appeared that 62.7% of the sample supported female quota for an interim period.
While these figures appear fairly high, they at least reflect the growing support for a female
quota as a stepping stone for overcoming the difficulties facing women’s parliamentary
representation—even for a limited period of time until women’s presence in the Parliament
becomes and acceptable fait accompli to Jordanian society
Conclusions
1. The female candidates for the Jordanian parliamentary elections of 1997 received significant
support from the committees and centers that come under Princess Basmah’s supervision and
also from a number of women’s organizations and research centers. Numerous donor
institutions provided financial support to back the training programs and election campaigns of
female candidates, which afforded reasonable opportunities for the success of a number of
these candidates. However, the climate of political boycotting during elections has cut down
the number of capable female candidates and consequently has had an adverse effect on the
actual chances of success. Yet it should be noted that two women candidates achieved good
results: the first was Toujan Faisal, the former parliamentarian who ranked fourteenth in the
country in terms of the ratio of the votes she got to the total number of voters in her
10
constituency. The second was Emily Bisharat, a member of the Jordanian Communist Party
leadership, who came within the highest votes obtained by the first 80 candidates by the same
standard.
2. The pioneering civil society forces which championed the campaign for allotting a quota of the
Lower House’s seats to women made a great achievement within a six-year period by making
the quota idea acceptable to a wide sector of society. And, despite some traditional forms of
rivalry among women’s federations and societies regarding to their respective role within the
feminist movement in Jordan, it can be said that the female quota is embodying one of the
slogans which help in massing the work of the feminist movement after it had discovered in
three successive election rounds the difficulty of getting women into parliament under the
combined current legal conditions and circumstances. The staking made by some female elites
on the Palace’s political will to support female quotas may be one of the factors that weaken
the attempt made by the feminist movement and civil society organizations concerned with
women’s causes to work regularly as a harmonious pressure group.
This is due to the fact that the conservative forces of the state which hold the keys of authority
constitute a major obstacle to a female quota. This in turn may dissuade the Palace from taking
the hoped-for step so that it may avoid the provocation of conservative forces. The journey of
consolidating political representation by woman is still long and hard and requires continuous
efforts and adequate mobilization of public opinion from the starting point that women’s
participation in politics is essentially a matter that comes within the core of comprehensive
national development and that it is a matter of concern to men as much as it is to women.
3. There are legal obstacles that obstruct the approximately 70 women’s societies registered at the
Ministry of Social Development from becoming involved in a substantial effort conducive to
the development of women’s political participation, because such an activity is viewed as
banned political work, particularly during election campaigns where these societies are not
allowed to organize election symposiums or election propaganda on behalf of female
candidates. This means that the feminist movement is seriously concerned with the
modification of the Societies and Social Bodies Law of 1960, according to which the
movement is governed insofar as it remains concerned with working for the approval of a
female quota.
4. Political parties in Jordan find it very difficult to secure victory for their candidates in the
parliamentary elections because of the backwardness of the Election Law and the marginal
place they occupy in political life. Thus, they cannot provide sufficient chances for women to
be sent to parliament.
If the Islamic Movement does not face the same obstacles in terms of securing a victory for
their candidates which enables them to win a tangible number of the Lower House seats, getting
women into Parliament does pose as a priority for the Movement, although it won twenty three
out of eighty seats in the 1989 elections and sixteen in 1993. This proves that women’s
acquisition of a suitable number of parliamentary seats is within the foreseeable future,
depending on the approval of an amendment to the Election Law which allocates a quota of seats
for exclusive competition among women alone.
11
Sources
N.B. Unless otherwise indicated, all sources are in Arabic.
1- Jordanian Women and Political Work, Ahmad Arafat (ed.), Dar Sindbad Publication House,
Amman, 1993.
2- Jordanian Women and the Election Law, Hussein Abu Rumman (ed.), Dar Sindbad
Publication House, Amman, 1996 .
3- Findings of the Study of Women’s Participation in Women’s Elections of 1997 “Voters and
candidates,” Princess Basmah Center for Women’s Affairs.
4- Jordanian Women: Past and present, Princess Basmah Center for Women’s Affairs.
5- Jordanian Woman’s Guide in Public and Political Life, Al-Kutbi Center for Research and
Training, Amman, 1999.
6- Waleed Hammad; A Working Paper: The Jordanian Woman and the 1997 Elections, Arab
Electoral Studies Workshop 1998, Al-Urdun al-Jadid Research Center, Amman.
7- Nadir Sai'd, Palestinian Women and Elections, a Citizen. Palestinian Institution for
Democratic Studies 1999 .
8- An interview with Mrs. Khadijeh Habashneh, Member of the Women’s Alliance Committee,
Amman October 7, 1999 .
12