Jordan: Government pledges to amend discriminatory laws

August 12, 2007 - (Jordan Times) Women activists on Saturday said the government had promised to work on amending all laws that discriminate against women within the next two years.

"We received positive assurances from Jordanian government officials in New York City last week that they will amend discriminatory laws affecting Jordanian women's lives and also draft a special law to address domestic violence," Arab Women Organisation (AWO) programme director Layla Naffa announced yesterday.

Naffa was part of a delegation of local NGOs that went to the US last week to deliver the first-ever "shadow report" for Jordan at the 39th session of the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) committee meetings.

The Kingdom signed the convention in July 1992 and submitted an initial report covering the year following the convention's entry into force in the country.

But the government made three reservations on the convention, which are related to clauses in the Personal Status Law, citizenship, housing and women's mobility.

At the session, the government presented its report on compliance with CEDAW, Naffa told a press conference at AWO headquarters, and officials pledged to examine the possibility of increasing Lower House seats for women.

The "shadow report", which detailed the government's areas of noncompliance, recommends policies to improve protection of women's legal rights and safety from violence.

The prevalence of violence against women represents one of the greatest challenges to the government today and that is why the report focused on this aspect, according to Afaf Jabiri, Karama Network coordinator in Jordan.

Fatima Dabbas, head of the women's committee at the Arab Human Rights Organisation and lawyer Nour Emam, a member of the Arab Women Media Centre, also helped to compile the report.

Emam said the "shadow report" called on the government to lift the reservations it made on CEDAW.

From:http://www.jordantimes.com/index.php?news=1408&searchFor=Gov%92t%20pledges