Amman accused by Islamists of "destroying the family"

AMMAN- The Jordanian authorities are facing a hardening of the Islamists, who accuse them of having seriously damaged the families of the country in recognizing new rights to women, including freedom of movement.

•     To these Islamists, a wife is at home instead, with her husband or his family members, and any attempt to change this situation constitutes a flagrant violation of family values.
  
      The government decision approved by King Abdullah II, to lift its reservations on paragraph 4 of Article 15 of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, has had therefore the effect of a thunderclap.
  
      This paragraph, taken from a text signed by Jordan in 1980 and ratified in 1992, stipulates that "States Parties shall accord to men and women the same rights with regard to legislation on the right of movement and the freedom to choose their residence and domicile".
  
      By removing its reservations on this point, "the government has violated the constitution and the country's religion, Islam. It should be fired", denounced to the AFP Chief of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hammam Said.
  
      "Giving a woman the right to leave the domicile of her husband and move where she wants, will destroy their families," he tried.
  
      The Board of fatwas of Jordan, an authority that issues religious rulings, has also expressed its disapproval.
  
      "Anything that contradicts the Sharia in the Convention (UN) is prohibited. A woman should not live and work as she wants because this would eliminate the sense of the word family, according to the Sharia," he said in a statement.
  
      For the government, there is no turning back.
  
      "We do not intend to cancel this decision. It was taken after careful consideration (text) and the assurance that it did not contravene the Sharia", has defended the Minister of Information Nabil Sharif.
  
      "We want to ensure that government decisions are in harmony with the teachings of Islam and society," he further stressed.
  
      But these remarks have worsened the situation.
  
      The Muslim Brotherhood and their powerful political wing, the Front of the Islamic Action (ISPs) have sent a letter to Prime Minister Nader Dahabi, finding "catastrophic" the words of Mr Sharif.
  
      "The government bowed to foreign pressure seeking to destroy our values and our identity under the pretext of defending the rights of women," said MP Hamzeh Mansour, who leads the parliamentary bloc of the FAI (six seats out of 110).
  
      "The government violated the constitution which stipulates that Islam is the religion of the state, has ignored the majority of the society and listened to some who seek to promote secularism," he says in the letter. 
  
      Human Rights Defenders have welcomed the governmental approaches.
  
      "The Jordanian women have made significant progress and it makes no sense to keep such reservations, especially insofar as the constitution and laws are clear about protecting the rights of women," said Secretary General of the National Commission of Women, Asma Khader, a lawyer.
  
      "This step should have been passed long ago," she added, calling on her country to do more to eliminate other forms of discrimination against women as "crimes of honour".
  
      Between 15 and 20 women are killed every year by men who want to "wash the family honour."
  
      The murderers face the death penalty, but in such cases, courts often show leniency.
  
      
  Ennaharonline/ M. O.