Women’s movement prepares for lobbying effort after House rejects PSL amendments

AMMAN — The women’s movement on Tuesday said it will hold several events to express its rejection of a recent decision by the Lower House to maintain the legal age of marriage exceptions for boys and girls at 15 years old.

The next step, the Jordanian National Commission for Women’s secretary general, Salma Nims, told The Jordan Times is to collaborate with all the women’s groups in Jordan “to plan our future activities and lobbying in preparation for the next joint session”.

In December, the Senate’s Legal Committee made amendments to the personal status draft law, increasing the age of marriage for women in exceptional cases to 16 years old.

The Legal Committee also amended an article related to the “mandated will” or “wasiya wajiba”, by giving inheritance rights to the grandchildren of female children, as well as male children, a right that was previously only given to male grandchildren.

On Monday, however, the Lower House rejected the Senate Legal Committee’s amendments and insisted on its previous decision on December 11. The draft law will now be sent back to senators for a vote, and if they insist on their previous decision, then the draft law will be discussed in a joint session.

The 2010 temporary personal status law (PSL) allowed marriage exceptions for minors who had completed the age of 15, while the amended version allows those who “turned 16” to tie the knot. A change in terminology which meant that, in reality, turning 16 means that the law can be applied only one day after the completion of age 15, critics have said.

The legal age of marriage in Jordan is 18 for men and women, but the law allowed for several exceptions for girls aged 15 and above, if a judge deemed it in their best interests.

Nims said there is a need for the women’s movement to act collectively, and to get its message through to the legislative body that “these changes are crucial”.

“The two amendments made by the Senate [Legal Committee] are very important and they are in accordance with the Islamic Sharia and work for betterment of the society,” Nims said.

According to the Chief Islamic Justice Department’s official statistics, there were 77,700 marriage contracts issued in 2017, of which 10,434 (around 30 a day) involved marriages in which the wife was under the age of 18.

“What happened yesterday was a real disappointment, because we were hopeful that the Lower House would adopt these two important amendments,” said Sisterhood is Global Institute’s Executive Director Asma Khader.

Khader told The Jordan Times that she is still hopeful that the legislators of both Houses “would come to the realisation that it is against the children’s interests to marry them at the age of 15”.

“The laws of various countries call for protecting the rights of children to be able to experience their childhood... and entitle them to continue their education,” Khader explained.

Khader, a former minster, also criticised the fact that “the legislators stipulated the [need for the] child’s approval before tying the knot”.

“I find it very hard to see a girl who is 15 years of age having the required knowledge and experience to make a major decision in her life such as this one,” Khader said.

Government statistics indicate that divorce cases among individuals under 18 amounted to 5,335 in 2017, of which, 413 cases involved wives under the age of 18.