'Citizenship for Jordanian women's spouses key to familial tranquility'

By Rana Husseini

AMMAN - Women activists last week said the government must work to resolve the citizenship issue for Jordanian women married to non-Jordanians to provide stability and tranquility for their families.

The call came during a round-table meeting held on Thursday at the EU Delegation headquarters to mark International Human Rights Day on December 10 by discussing "discrimination against Jordanian women married to foreigners".

Activists have long complained that Jordanian women married to non-Jordanians cannot pass on their citizenship to their spouses or children, a right granted to Jordanian men who marry foreign wives.

This has caused many problems for these families because they struggle with obstacles such as those related to obtaining visas and residency permits for their children and husbands.

These families have to shuttle between police stations and health centers every year to obtain security clearances, residency permits and medical reports for their foreign children.

They must obtain residency permits for their children if they wish to enroll them in private or public schools.

“This form of discrimination is creating instability and the feeling of insecurity for Jordanian women and their families,” said Information and Research Center-King Hussein Foundation (IRCKHF) Director Nermeen Murad.

In a study that is being conducted by the IRCKHF, Murad highlighted other discriminations regarding the residency law and education.

Under the Residency Law for 1973, Article 22 B denies the foreign husband of a Jordanian woman residency while it gives this right to the foreign wife of a Jordanian man who receives a five-year residency, after which she can apply for nationality.

In November 2004, then-minister of interior Samir Habashneh stressed during a seminar that the Jordanian government has no intention of offering citizenship to the foreign husbands and children of Jordanian women.

The minister then referred to around 60,000 Jordanian women who are married to Palestinian men, mostly from the Gaza Strip, saying it is not possible for them to give their husbands or children Jordanian citizenship until a settlement is reached regarding the Palestinian conflict.

He explained that if Jordanian women who are married to Palestinian men are allowed to give their nationality to their spouses and offspring, “around half a million refugees will be settled in the country in contradiction with Jordan’s stand on the right of return for Palestinians”.

Habashneh also said at the time that there were around 20,000 Jordanian women who are married to men of other nationalities.

Individuals and entities opposing granting the citizenship to members of Jordanian women, particularly ones with Palestinian nationality, say that such a measure will only work to ensure “Israel’s ultimate plan of creating a substitute homeland for Palestinians in Jordan”.

But Murad challenged these statements saying that the figures “are not necessarily accurate and the figures are magnified to show that this huge number will create a demographic imbalance”.

From a social perspective, Murad said these families are “ostracized because the children are labeled as the sons of a certain Arab or foreign nationality father, which means that women have wed men who are beneath their social status”.

She added that interviews with family members indicated that children are deprived of participating in activities, such as playing for Jordanian national teams because they are not citizens “although they could be the best players in town”.

Murad stressed that the citizenship issue “is not a political issue. This is a human rights and gender issue”.

The EU is funding the IRCKHF to implement several projects including a project on “reversing the gender bias against Jordanian women married to foreigners”.

The endeavor targets civil society, policy makers, legislation and legislative processes, the Ministry of Interior and its different departments, public education and health sectors, labor market and the media.

The project aims to effect changes in policy and legislation with a view to granting long-term or permanent residency as well as civic rights to the foreign families of Jordanian women.

Also during the roundtable discussion, EU Chargé d’Affaires Irène Mingasson said the union decided to hold a dialogue on this subject with female MPs and civil society to raise awareness on “aspects of discrimination which are still going on in Jordan”.

“We can also discuss means of tackling the problems at a legislative level with key actors [including] women suffering from discrimination themselves,” Mingasson told the gathering.

MP Wafaa Bani Mustafa pledged to backup any “justified demands that do not contradict the legislation or the country’s sovereignty”.

Bani Mustafa was the only deputy who attended the meeting out of seven others who had confirmed their attendance.

“We will fight against all the laws that discriminate against women but we need to lobby right in order to ensure positive changes. We should also meet with government officials to explain the suffering of these families,” the deputy said.

Both Murad and Bani Mustafa suggested to “work on the right of the foreign male spouse to obtain the right of residency and work permit easily first, before we move to the bigger demand”.

In a press statement that was circulated last week, the EU reiterated its commitment to the protection and promotion of human rights outside its borders, by stressing the EU’s firm engagement with the prevention and eradication of any form of discrimination around the world.

12 December 2010

Source: The Jordan Times.
Link: http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=32550.