Musawah Overview Table On Muslim Family Laws And Practices .

Musawah Overview Table on Muslim Family Laws and Practices:Jordan66th CEDAW SessionGeneva, SwitzerlandFebruary 2017MusawahNo. 4, Lorong 11/8E, 46200 Petaling JayaSelangor, MalaysiaTel: 603 7960 5121Fax: 603 7960 8737Email: musawah@musawah.orgWebsite: http://www.musawah.org

JORDANOVERVIEW OF MUSLIM FAMILY LAWS & PRACTICESSubmitted by Musawah, the global movement for equality and justice in the Muslim Familythto the 66 CEDAW Session, February 2017Family Law MatterEquality of spouses in marriageIs there a Constitutional provisionon equality and are there exceptions? Are there specific laws thatrecognize marriage as a partnership of equals i.e. are family lawsand/or other laws relating to marriage and the family codified oruncodified? If codified, what arethe titles of all the applicablelaws? If codified, do these lawsapply to all citizens irrespective ofreligion? If not, do these laws apply to all Muslims or are there different codified laws for differentsects within Islam? If uncodified,or if codified laws do not sufficiently address a particular issue,how is the issue addressed e.g.what Muslim school of law is applicable? Do these laws explicitlystate gender-stereotypical rolesbetween husbands and wives e.g.the husband is the head of thehousehold or the wife is the primary caregiver?123Legislative FrameworkArticle 6(i) of the JordanianConstitution states that Jordanians shall be equal before thelaw and that there shall be nodiscrimination between them inrights and duties on grounds of1race, language, or religion.Gender equality is not mentioned.Article 6(v) of the Constitutionprovides that the law protectsmotherhood, childhood and theelderly and cares for youth andthe disabled and protects them2from offense and exploitation.The Jordanian Personal StatusLaw is the main legislation thatgoverns matters relating to marriage and family relations ofMuslims in Jordan. In caseswhere a particular matter of personal status for Muslims is notaddressed specifically in thelaw, generally the rules of Hanafijurisprudence (fiqh) would ap3ply.Case LawDescriptionPolicyJordan made reservations to Article 9(2) andArticles 16(1)(c), (d)10and (g) of CEDAW.The Government ofJordan explained tothe CEDAW Committee in its 2006 reportthat under Jordanianlaw, marriage is notbased on equality ofrights and duties forhusband and wife, buton reciprocity of suchrights and duties. Assuch, “the concept ofequality betweenspouses cannot bemade to fit into the ex11isting legal system.”ProcedurePracticeIn 2016, Jordan ranked134 out of 144 countries on the WorldEconomic Forum’sGlobal Gender Gap13Index.Since Muslims andChristians are governed by distinct personal status laws andthere is no concept ofcivil marriage in Jordan, Christian womenwho marry Muslimmen often find it difficult to exercise somerights, such as obtain14ing a divorce.In its 2015 report to theCEDAW Committee,the Government ofJordan stated that given the current declinein support for women’sConstitution of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, art. 6(i), http://www.constitutionnet.org/files/2011 constitution - jordan english final.pdfConstitution of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, art. 6(v), http://www.constitutionnet.org/files/2011 constitution - jordan english final.pdfCommittee on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, “Consideration of Reports submitted by State Parties under Article 18 of the Convention: Combined Thirdand Fourth Reports of Jordan”, 10 March 2006, para. 243, index.aspx1

Applicable CEDAW ProvisionArticle 16(1)(c)General Recommendation 21The Personal Status Law doesnot address the differences between Muslim sects, nor does itprovide for specific rulings thatwould apply to different minoritysects such as Alawites andShi’a. Such diversity within theMuslim community in Jordan isrelatively new to Jordan due tothe influx of refugees from countries such as Iraq, Syria, Sudan,4and Yemen. Christians aregoverned by their own ecclesiastical courts in matters of per5sonal status.rights in many states inthe Middle East andNorth Africa, includingin Jordan, “the issue oflifting reservations hasto be dealt with verysensitively and gradually” and “in a mannerthat balances the promotion of women’shuman rights with theobligation to rejectwhatever contradictsthe provisions of Islam12ic Shari’ah.”The Personal Status Law doesnot guarantee equality of rightsand duties between the husband6and wife in marriage. Theequality guarantee under Article6 of the Constitution does notapply to Muslim personal statusmatters. Article 103(ii) of theConstitution provides that wherethe parties are Muslim, mattersof personal status fall within the10111314456“United Nations Treaty Collection: Convention on Elimination of Discrimination Against .aspx?src TREATY&mtdsg no IV-8&chapter 4&clang enCommittee on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, “Consideration of Reports submitted by State Parties under Article 18 of the Convention: Combined Thirdand Fourth Reports of Jordan”, 10 March 2006, para. 248, index.aspxWorld Economic Forum, “Global Gender Gap Index 2016”, Table 3, pp. 10-11 http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GGGR16/WEF Global Gender Gap Report 2016.pdfInformation obtained from Jordanian advocate, February, 2017. It is also relevant to note that under art. 28(b) of Personal Status Law No. 36 of 2010, Muslim womenare not allowed to marry non-Muslims, http://www.farrajlawyer.com/viewTopic.php?topicId 153Information obtained from Jordanian advocate, February 2017Committee on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, “Consideration of Reports submitted by State Parties under Article 18 of the Convention: Combined Thirdand Fourth Reports of Jordan”, 10 March 2006, para. 243, index.aspxCommittee on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, “Consideration of Reports submitted by State Parties under Article 18 of the Convention: Combined Thirdand Fourth Reports of Jordan”, 10 March 2006, para. 248, index.aspx2

exclusive jurisdiction of the Sha7ri’ah Courts.The Personal Status Law provides for certain reciprocalrights, including kind treatment,mutual respect, attending toeach other’s physical needs,and caring for one another and8for the interests of the family.Specifically, it requires the wifeto obey her husband and provides that a husband’s duty offinancial maintenance is conditional upon the wife’s duty tomove to the husband’s maritalhome, not leave it without permission or valid excuse, and notprevent the husband from enter9ing the home.Minimum and equal age of marriageIs there a minimum age of marriage? Are there exceptions to theminimum age (e.g. min. age at 18,with exceptions to 16)? Is therean absolute minimum age withoutexceptions? Is there equality inthe minimum age of marriage? Is1278915The minimum age for marriageis 18 for men and women, asper Article 10 of the PersonalStatus Law. However, a judgemay permit girls and boys asyoung as 15 to marry if it isdeemed to be within their inter15est.A judge may not permit the mar-When considering whether toallow a girl underthe age of 18 toget married, theincome of theprospective husband is often themain determiningfactor consideredThe Government ofJordan in its 2015 report to the CEDAWCommittee laid outspecific measures toprevent child andforced marriageamong Syrian refugees. These includesetting up a Shari’ahThe judge confirms theage of both parties atthe time of contractingthe marriage; in addition, marriage registration requires that bothparties present proof oftheir identity (whichincludes age) for verifi21cation.According to a 2012statistical report by theSupreme Judge’s Department, 12.6% ofmarriages registeredwith the Shari’ahcourts involve girls un22der the age of 18.According to UNICEF’sCommittee on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, “Consideration of Reports submitted by State Parties under Article 18 of the Convention: Sixth PeriodicReport of Jordan”, 25 June 2015, para. 108, index.aspxConstitution of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, art. 103(ii), http://www.constitutionnet.org/files/2011 constitution - jordan english final.pdf. See also arts. 105 and106Personal Status Law No. 36 of 2010, art. 77, http://www.farrajlawyer.com/viewTopic.php?topicId 153. See also Committee on Elimination of Discrimination AgainstWomen, “Consideration of Reports submitted by State Parties under Article 18 of the Convention: Combined Third and Fourth Reports of Jordan”, 10 March 2006, para.248, index.aspxPersonal Status Law No. 36 of 2010, arts. 60-62, 78 http://www.farrajlawyer.com/viewTopic.php?topicId 153Personal Status Law No. 36 of 2010, art. 10, http://www.farrajlawyer.com/viewTopic.php?topicId 1533

there a minimum age verificationprocess before the marriage isconcluded?Applicable CEDAW ProvisionArticle 16(2)General Recommendation 21riage of boys and girls under the16age of 15. However, in extremely rare cases (such aspregnancy), a judge may authorize the marriage of boys andgirls below the age of 15, inwhich case, the registration ofthe marriage is put on hold till17the girl turns 15.Article 279 of the Penal Codecriminalizes violating any of theprovisions of the Personal Status Law with respect to contracting a marriage; a prison penaltythat ranges between 1-6 monthsapplies to the marriage officer as18well as parties to the marriage.by the judge.19court in the Zaatarirefugee camp and theopening of an office ofthe Mafraq Shari’ahCourt in the camp todocument marriagecontracts in order toconfirm marriage andrelationship and avoidexploitation of wom20en.State of the World’sChildren 2016 report,8% of girls in Jordanare married by the age23of 18.Recent reports indicatethat Jordanians aregetting married at alater age due to theincreasing cost of marriage and the stagnant24job market.It is reported that earlymarriage among theSyrian refugee community in Jordan isbecoming increasingly25common, with reportsindicating that: There are instancesof Syrian refugeegirls contracted into21221617181920232425“Supreme Judge Department”, http://www.sjd.gov.jo; “Civil Status Department Marriage Registration px?PageId 186&MenuId 120Committee on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, “Consideration of Reports submitted by State Parties under Article 18 of the Convention: Sixth PeriodicReport of Jordan”, 25 June 2015, para. 110, index.aspxCommittee on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, “Consideration of Reports submitted by State Parties under Article 18 of the Convention: Sixth PeriodicReport of Jordan”, 25 June 2015, para. 109, index.aspxUNICEF, “A Study on Early Marriage in Jordan 2014”, p. 6, https://www.unicef.org/jordan/UNICEFJordan EarlyMarriageStudy2014-E COPY .pdfPenal Code No. 16 of 1960 (as amended), art. 279, ar.pdfInformation obtained from Jordanian advocate, February 2017Committee on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, “Consideration of Reports submitted by State Parties under Article 18 of the Convention: Sixth PeriodicReport of Jordan”, 25 June 2015, para. 13, index.aspx“Child marriages around the world: Jordan”, Girls Not Brides, n/Nadine Ajaka, “Waiting longer to marry in Jordan, Al Jazeera, 2 May 2014, ana F. Sweis, “In Jordan, ever younger Syrian brides”, New York Times, 13 September 2014, /in-jordan-everyounger-syrian-brides.html? r 04