Ridicule of female MP ‘lessens voices of women leaders’— advocacy group

AMMAN – Remarks by MP Zeinab Zbeid about Ahmad Daqamseh, a soldier convicted of killing seven Israeli schoolgirls in 1997 and released Sunday after 20 years imprisonment, have been ridiculed by some, which a women’s advocacy group says “reflects a mindset that is against young, leading women”.

A video went viral on social media on Monday, showing the MP speaking of the release of Daqamseh from an Israeli prison, rather than the Jordanian one he was held in with some online users mocking Zbeid, who represents the Northern Badia, for this apparent mistake. 

The Jordan Times could not reach Zbeid for comment despite several attempts, but she told local media websites that the video did not show her full remarks.

“The remarks were taken out of context. I said that Israel first demanded that Daqamseh go on trial in Israel, but that Jordan refused to hand him over to Israeli authorities,” she said. 

Zbeid added that she is trying to contact the reporter who interviewed her so that the full video can be shown.

In response to the incident, the Sisterhood Is Global Institute (SIGI) defended the deputy — the youngest in the Lower House — reiterating that the video “did not show the whole truth”.

“Zbeid, who is 30 years old, was ten when Daqamseh was arrested. This is in no way a justification for what happened, but we sense that there is a desire to lessen the voices of young, leading women who are in dire need of support,” said SIGI in a statement received by The Jordan Times on Monday. 

The group said that failing to publish the full video was intended to send a message that women leaders are still unable to take responsibility in many fields that are deemed “male-dominated”, especially politics. 

“A positive view of women would have led the person who conducted the interview to rectify his mistake, but the stereotypical way of perceiving women in leading positions puts them on the frontline when any mistake is made,” said SIGI. 

The group added that society tends to ignore mistakes made by men in leading positions.