Jordan Times
Monday, November 8, 2004
Citizenship Law changes
considered 'for humanitarian reasons' — official
By Rana Husseini
AMMAN — A senior official on Saturday said the government is leaning towards
granting Jordanian citizenship to children of divorced, widowed or abandoned
Jordanian women married to non-Jordanians.
“The concerned authorities plan to give Jordanian citizenship to children of
Jordanian women for humanitarian reasons and to ease their burden,” the
government official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“Women (married to non-Jordanians) who fit into one of these three categories,
and who apply for citizenship for their children, will be granted the
citizenship,” the official source added.
The official explained that only those women abandoned by their husbands for
five years or more would benefit from the decision.
The Interior Ministry and the Cabinet have the authority to grant Jordanian
citizenship to any individual as stipulated in the current Jordanian Citizenship
Law, according to the official.
Jordanian women married to non-Jordanians have repeatedly complained of
discriminatory clauses in the Citizenship Law, which barred them from passing on
their citizenship to their children.
Jordanian women have been denied the right to pass on the citizenship to their
children or husbands, while Jordanian men had full privileges to do both.
Families of Jordanian women have been facing many obstacles as a result,
including having to bear heavy financial burdens for their children and
husbands' visas and residency permits.
These families have to travel between police stations and health institutions
annually to obtain security clearances, residency permits and medical reports
for their foreign children. They are also unable to enrol their children in
private and public schools before obtaining a residency permit.
Meanwhile, Government Spokesperson Asma Khader welcomed the “highest ratings” so
far, on activating women's role in social and political development, released on
Saturday in a local opinion poll.
“The poll results are a clear indication of the government's positive
accomplishments in activating women's participation in the social and political
spheres,” Khader, also minister of culture, said.
The Centre for Strategic Studies (CSS) conducted the national poll to evaluate
the government's performance for the past year.
The CSS poll, which was conducted on two samples, opinion leaders and a national
sample, measures the public's evaluation of the government's performance one
year after its formation.
The national sample rated the government's initiation of work on enhancing the
role of women in social and political development at 68.9, while opinion leaders
rated it at 79.4.
The polls are conducted periodically upon the formation of the government, every
100 days, 200 days and one year into their tenure.