JT journalist’s recent book narrates history of women’s rights in Jordan

AMMAN — The Jordan Times journalist, Rana Husseini, released her eleven-chapter book, “Years of Struggle: The Women’s Movement in Jordan”, on Thursday. The book’s publication is supported by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s Jordan office. 

Husseini is a feminist, human rights defender and senior reporter at The Jordan Times.

Husseini’s dedication to women’s rights and social issues for over 25 years has helped raise awareness for unjustified practices against women in Jordan and abroad.

This will be her second book after “Murder in the Name of Honor”, published in 2009.

“I felt the need to document the changes that occurred in Jordan with regards to women’s rights over the past 20 years,” Rana Husseini told The Jordan Times.

Husseini said that the book is available as a reference for younger generations, because “they need to know our history, told by Jordanians”.

“During my 25 years as a journalist, I have sensed major changes in the attitudes towards women’s issues in Jordan, from both the society and the government,” Husseini said.

Husseini added that one of the most important achievements for women in Jordan was changing the discriminatory laws; a change witnessed in women’s ascension to senior and even leadership positions in multiple sectors.

However, Husseini said: “I have noticed during my research that historians, academics and activists who wrote books about our country rarely mentioned women. However, women have always worked towards national and women’s causes”.

“I truly believe that understanding our history, political developments, as well as the sacrifices made by many women and men over the years, is crucial for anyone who wants to learn about this country, its people and how things moved forward or backwards,” she noted.