• Download the Jordan section of Home Truths: A Global Report on Equality in the Muslim Family in English or Arabic.

• View the Jordanian Family Rights Law No. 92, 1951 in Arabic.

• View the Jordanian Personal Status Law 1976 in Arabic.

The personal status law in Jordan is based on the Islamic Shari‘ah as the sole source of legislation. Special religious courts exist with regards to family matters, and Jordanians use these according to their religion and sect. Therefore, there is a multitude of mechanisms and legal references, which can create problems for different populations.

The Personal Status Law discriminates against women in various issues. The underlying basis for this discrimination is the perception that men are the leaders of the family and consequently the guardians over their wives and daughters.

• Guardianship (wilaya): Guardianship is exercised over a woman who was not previously married until she reaches the age of 40, despite the fact that the age of majority is 18 years regardless of the gender. For women, this regulation of guardianship is a direct obstacle to their independence in making decisions related to their personal life such as education, marriage, living independently and choice of dress. If a woman acts outside the accepted norms and traditions of the family and, for example, tries to live independently, the guardian might request the authorities to bring her back.
   
• Trusteeship (wisaya): The law has given the grandfather the right of trusteeship over the children of his deceased son. Judges can still grant the mother trusteeship if she requests it but she has to prove she is qualified and that the original trustee is not competent for the trusteeship.
   
• Custody: Custody remains with the mother until the children reach the age of puberty, however the father has the right to refuse the child's registration to a school chosen by the mother if he disagrees with that choice and has the right to stop paying a girl child's alimony during custody if she is perceived as rebellious by the law.
   
• Polygamy: Seven per cent of marriages in Jordan are polygamous marriages. Recent amendments require the first wife to be informed of subsequent marriages, but this can happen after the marriage has already taken place.
   
• Property rights and inheritance: Even though the law and Muslim jurisprudence provide for the right of women to keep their finances separate from their husbands, many women still pass their inheritance to their brothers. It has also become tradition to accord the family property to the husband, leaving women unable to retain their shares in the case of divorce or the husband’s death.
   
• Domestic violence: Violence practiced by husbands against their wives commonly goes unpunished. In a study on domestic violence conducted by the National Council for Family Affairs, 50.5 per cent of the female interviewees stated that they do not report violence against them because they feel that institutions such as the police and the court system do not take domestic violence seriously and procedures are uncertain, unfair and do not prevent further abuse from occurring.
   
• Choice of domicile: The law stipulates that a woman must live in her husband's domicile and accompany him if he changes domicile. A woman has the right to insert an exemption from this requirement in her marriage contract, but the law does not guarantee such an exemption for all women. This punishes women victims of violence in particular by binding them to abusive marriages, imposing the threat of re-location away from family and community support, and depriving them of alimony if they choose separation.
   
• Honour Crimes: If the family of a woman finds out that she was involved in an illegitimate relationship, whether she was married or not, a person from the family is chosen to kill her. The law protects this offender if the forensic medicine proves that she indeed was involved in a relationship with a man. The woman alone carries all the consequences of this act; her partner’s role in the relationship is considered only if there was a child and paternity can be ascertained.

• According to the Jordanian constitution, men and women are equal in rights and duties, though this has not been translated into de jure and de facto equality in Jordanian society.
   
• Not all Jordanian legislation is based on the Shari‘ah. For instance, the penal code does not incorporate the forms of punishments stated in the Qur’an, but is based on foreign and international jurisprudence. The practice of using other jurisprudence can also be applied to the personal status law, which should be in harmony with other laws and evolving with them.
   
• Jordanian women are able to access jobs with decision-making powers, such as positions as ministers, mayors or members of Parliament, but their husbands can still forbid them to leave the house. This aspect of the law must be amended to keep pace with the reality of women’s roles in the public sphere.
   
• The government is responsive to women’s organisations with respect to amendments to the personal status law, yet there is still resistance from the traditional tribal-dominated Parliament and society more broadly.
   
• In 2007, the Jordanian Women's Union initiated the formation of a coalition of women’s rights organisations that work to examine and advocate for their amendment of articles that discriminate against women, especially in the personal status law for Muslim and Christian women. A campaign was launched that calls for the reform of the personal status law in a form that does not contradict the basic principles of religion, with international conventions, the Jordanian constitution and liberal enlightened fiqh interpretations as its reference.
   
• The Arab Women Organization of Jordan recently conducted a survey to understand the current situation among women’s NGOs with regard to legal reform, especially related to sensitive areas that are being claimed by conservative Islamist groups.
   
• Women’s NGOs are involved in a national and regional campaign to lift reservations to CEDAW, including those placed on articles relating to the family, nationality, freedom of movement and choice of residence. A local network called Mosawah has been established to call for the implementation of CEDAW; 82 women’s NGOs are now part of the network.