Limited access to justice for women

A three-month long rights campaign in Jordan has revealed that women are unable to seek access to justice due to financial burdens and social norms. “Either because of limited financial resources or social stigma, some women abandon their rights,” said Jordanian rights advocate Najah Enab from Mizan, a local NGO which organised the campaign. “It’s not easy to have access to justice when you’re poor. You need a lawyer, and not everyone can afford this.” According to Mizan, lawyers usually charge between 300 and 500 Jordanian dinars (US $375 and US $625) per case. While a 1972 Bar Association Law guarantees the provision of legal aid to low-income citizens, human rights activists say that in practice women are often deprived of it. The campaign, which is to finish on 27 February, was launched by the Ministry of Political Development and Parliamentarian Affairs in cooperation with Mizan. “Our goal was to raise awareness about each person’s legal rights and obligations,” said Rula Haddadin, campaign manager at Mizan, also known as the Law Group for Human Rights. “Since the first days of the campaign, the number of phone calls we’ve received has increased considerably.” In addition to a telephone hotline offering free legal advice, hundreds of billboards, CDs and pocket calendars were distributed in the capital, Amman, and at universities throughout the country aimed at informing citizens of their legal rights as enshrined in the constitution. Newspapers, television and radio spots were also used to spread the message. Mizan is one of a handful of NGOs offering free legal aid, and the only one whose lawyers can legally represent people in court. Between 15 and 20 cases are referred to the NGO per week, mostly related to family issues such as divorce, children’s custody and domestic violence. Earlier this week, women’s rights groups handed a petition with hundreds of signatures to Parliament calling for draft laws to protect women from domestic violence. “We urge parliament to be our partner in this national effort since the House is the legislative body that can support our initiatives,” said Fotouh Younis, project coordinator at the National Forum for Youth and Culture. “It is important to build bridges between civil society and parliament on the issue of domestic violence,” she added. There are many gaps in Jordanian law with regard to women’s rights, according to US-based democracy watchdog, Freedom House (FH). There are no laws specifically defining or criminalising domestic violence and few enforcement mechanisms to ensure gender equality. Gender-discriminatory language can also be found in provisions regulating economic rights, such as retirement and social security, as well as in laws governing the family. Jordan ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 1992, with a number of reservations. These preclude the government from being legally obliged to observe the equal rights of women in a number of areas, including with regard to the nationality of their children, freedom of movement, rights and responsibilities during marriage and at its dissolution, and the right to choose a family name and profession.