About Jordan

About Jordan

*Photo Credits: R. Salib

(from the U.S. State Department)

PETRA

GEOGRAPHY

Area: 89,342 sq. km. (34,495 sq. mi.)

Cities: Capital--Amman (pop. 2.5 million) Other cities--az-Zarqa (472,830), Irbid (272,681), al-'Aqaba (107,115).



PEOPLE


Nationality: Noun and adjective--Jordanian(s)


Population (2009): 5.97 million


Religions (2001 census est.): Sunni Muslim 92%, Christian 6%, other 2%.


Languages: Arabic (official), English.


Education (2007, according to Jordan's Department of Statistics): Literacy--92.1%.


Health (2007): Infant mortality rate--20/1,000. Life expectancy--71.6 yrs. male; 74.4 yrs. female.


Ethnic groups: Mostly Arab but small communities of Circassians, Armenians, and Chechens.


Work force (1.8 million, of which 313,000 are registered guest workers): services 34%, manufacturing 20%, public sector 19%, education 12%, health and social services 11%, agriculture 3%.


Unemployment rate (2008): 13% of economically active Jordanians.



GOVERNMENT

Type: Constitutional monarchy

Independence: May 25, 1946


Constitution: January 8, 1952


Branches: Executive--King (chief of state), Prime Minister (head of government), Council of Ministers (cabinet). Legislative--bicameral parliament (appointed upper house known as the Senate, elected lower house). Judicial--civil, religious, special courts.


Suffrage: Universal at 18

Administrative subdivisions: Twelve governorates--Irbid, Jarash, Ajloun, al-'Aqaba, Madaba, al-Mafraq, az-Zarqa, Amman, al-Balqa, al-Karak, at-Tafilah, and Ma'an.



ECONOMY


Nominal GDP (2009): $21.92 billion


Annual real growth rate (2009): 3.2%


Per capita GDP (2009): $4,700

Natural resources: Phosphate, potash


Agriculture (3.01% of GDP in 2009): Products--citrus, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, sheep, poultry, stone fruits, strawberries, melons, dairy. Land--4.5% arable; 2.5% cultivated.


Industry (15.95% of GDP in 2009): Types--clothing, phosphate mining, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, petroleum refining, cement, potash, inorganic chemicals, and light manufacturing.


Trade: Exports (2009)--$7.54 billion: garments, fertilizers, potash, phosphates, pharmaceutical products and vegetables. Major markets--India, U.S., Iraq, Saudi Arabia, EU, U.A.E., Syria, Israel. Imports (2009)--$16.12 billion: crude petroleum and derivatives, machinery and equipment, vehicles, iron, and cereals. Major suppliers--Saudi Arabia (mainly crude oil and derivatives), EU, China, U.S., Egypt, South Korea, Japan, Turkey.

Jordan administered the West Bank, from 1949 to 1967. 

PEOPLE

Jordanians are Arabs, and within Jordan there are smaller communities of Circassians, Armenians, and Chechens.  The official language is Arabic, but English is used in commerce and in government.  Only 6% of Jordan’s population is rural, or nomadic.  There are around 1.7 million registered Palestinian refugees and Iraqis who reside in Jordan.

HISTORY

Jordan is apart of the historic Fertile Crescent region.  In 2000 B.C., Amorites settled around the Jordan River, which was called Canaan.  The land was invaded since by numerous nationalities, but after WWI, the League of Nations awarded the territory comprising of Israel, Jordan, and the West Bank, Gaza, and Jerusalem to the U.K. as the transition for Palestine and Transjordan.  On May 25, 1946, the country became the independent Kingdom of Transjordan, and ended its treaty relationship with the U.K. in 1957, and would be ruled by the Hashemite Prince Abdullah.  In 1950, it was renamed the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, to include sections of Palestine annexed by King Abdullah I. 

Jordan did not participate in the 1990-1992 Gulf War, and agreed in 1991, with Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine to participate in peace negotiations with Israel facilitated by the United States and Russia, and signed a peace treat in 1994 with Israel.  Jordan has remained at peace with all of its neighbors.

 

Principal Government Officials


Chief of State--King Abdullah II ibn Al-Hussein


Prime Minister--Marouf Bakhit


Minister of Defense--Marouf Bakhit


Foreign Minister--Nasser Judeh


Ambassador to the U.S.--Alia Bouran


Ambassador to the UN--Zeid Al-Hussein

ECONOMY

Jordan has limited natural resources, and has very poor water resources.  It depends on outside resources for its energy requirements also.  In the 1990’s, its petroleum resources were supplied by Iraq.  In 2007, Jordan developed a new strategy to develop more renewable energy sources, which includes oil shale, nuclear energy, wind, and solar power.  King Abdullah has developed programs of economic reform, including eliminating fuel and agricultural subsidies, enacting legislation targeted at corruption, and instituted tax reforms.  In 2001, Jordan signed the first bilateral free trade agreement with the U.S., and with an Arab country, which would include elimination of tariffs by 2010. The country has emphasized the information technology, pharmaceuticals, and tourism arenas as promising growth areas.  Also in 1996, the U.S. and Jordan signed a civil aviation agreement that provided for “open skies” between the two countries.   The World Bank classifies Jordan as a “lower middle income country.” In 2008, 13% of the Jordanian population was unemployed, although unofficial statistics say it is more around 30% unemployment.  Education and literacy percentages are high compared to other countries.  Since the region can be volatile, the economic growth in the area may stay below the potential. The tourism and real estate sectors experienced a heavy slowdown, after the 2009 economic downturn.

FOREIGN POLICY

Jordan has traditionally always had close relations with the United States, and followed a pro-Western philosophy.  This was damaged slightly during the Gulf War in 1990, although the government of Jordan stated its opposition to the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait. Since 2003, Jordan has played a vital role in the restoration of stability to Iraq, by training over 50,000 Iraqi police and officers at an Amman facility, and has addressed Iraqi humanitarian needs, and even appointed a Jordanian Ambassador to Iraq in 2008.  Jordan also belongs to the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, and the World Health Organization, among others, including the IMF and the World Bank.

U.S. policy tries to reinforce Jordan’s commitment to peace.  The U.S. has helped Jordan maintain its prosperity through close cooperation, and with economic and military assistance, along with development assistance totaling $6 billion dollars.  This aid, through grants and loans has included focuses on education, water access, resource allocations, youth and poverty programs, child health, macroeconomics, work development, and in being competitive.   

Women's Empowerment & Sex Trafficking

Sex Trafficking

*Jordan Photo Credits: by R. Salib

Jordan has a lack of natural resources, environmental issues, along with economic and social issues, and has the challenge of immigrants and refugees.  The trafficking of Iraqi women is expressly prevalent within Jordan.  It is also a destination country for women from Southeast Asia for the purpose of labor.  Jordan is a destination for women from Eastern Europe and Morocco for the purpose of prostitution. Women come from other countries with the promise to work as domestic servants, and then become victims of forced labor, and due to Jordanian labor laws, withholding of passports, non-paid wages, and sexual abuse occurs.

The Jordanian government does not comply completely with the basic standards for the elimination of trafficking, but has shown improvement.  The country was placed on the Tier 2 Watch List for the failure to provide evidence of efforts to combat trafficking.  Although improvements have been made, the government has not made significant improvements in criminally prosecuting and punishing traffickers.  There is also a lack of protection services, for victims of trafficking according to the trafficking report.

In 1929, Jordan prohibited slavery through its Anti-Slavery Law; but neither sex trafficking nor forced labor is expressly prohibited.   The government does not provide any facilities, shelters, or protection mechanisms for trafficking victims, so some victims of trafficking are often prosecuted and put into jail.   There are no campaigns against child sex trafficking in Jordan, but according to the U.S. State Department Jordan is not a destination for child sex trafficking.

The sexual trafficking of specifically Iraqi women is a problem in Jordan.   There are currently 50,000 Iraqi and Syrian women who are trapped in sex trafficking in Jordan, which is believed to be caused by the instability of the Iraq War. The government does not recognize Iraqi refugees and does not grant the right to work.  Being unable to support their families, these women who are displaced are prime targets for sex traffickers in the country.  They are often times forced to work as cabaret dancers, and then forced into prostitution, while others are kidnapped from the streets and sex trafficked. This can occur for women as young as 11 years old, by Iraqi family members who use the girls to pay debts, and are even forced into temporary marriages where the girl’s family may receive a dowry for her, which becomes a short term prostitution agreement.  Once the women find themselves in the new home of their husbands, they are sexually exploited and never able to return home.  This problem has increased as a result of the displacement of Iraqis after the war.  Greater pressure by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees needs to occur on the government to address the resettlement groups and make it a priority to protect trafficked women.  American intervention and support would greatly help the indifference towards these women.  Jordan recently completed an anti-trafficking action plan, but the U.S. State Department states that the plan is “inadequate” and noted that the issue still exists that there is no mechanism for shelters for trafficking victims.  These women may also be deported from Jordan if arrested, and are considered criminals back in Iraq, where they are killed to preserve any family honor.

Honour Killings

In Jordan, “honour” killings are legal.  Article 340 of the Criminal Code, states that “A husband or a close blood relative who kills a woman caught in a situation highly suspicious of adultery will be totally exempt from sentence.”  One man, Hussein Suleiman, was accused of driving over his 6-month pregnant unmarried sister three times in a truck, even though she denied any immoral behavior.  It is said that honour killings as a combination of Egyptian ancient custom and the Napoleonic Code from 1810.  The Jordan Times in 1994, reported the killing of an 18-year-old girl who had served six months in jail for being pregnant out of wedlock, and was then killed by her 17-year-old brother, stating that the family was relaxed and satisfied after announcing this news of her killing.  The girl was shot four times at close range in the back of the head, and once in the forehead.  Her brother was put in jail, but was likely to only serve a few months.  Anywhere between 28-60 Jordanian women died from “honour” killings in 1994, according to Rana Husseini, a journalist with The Jordan Times.   It could be possible, that this number is in the hundreds though.  King Abdullah II has shown staunch opposition to this practice, and has initiated legislation that would dictate honour killings in-line with murders and has rallied public support for this.  This action, has allowed for humanitarian groups to more actively speak out against the practice also. This change in Jordanian society has been a challenge though, given that in 2000, the Jordanian parliament rejected a draft law that would call for the cancellation of Article 340, in which they stated would, “destroy our Islamic, social and family values by stripping the man from his humanity, and not allowing him to get angry when he is surprised by his wife committing adultery.”  Due to this, 5,000 protestors flooded the streets of Amman requesting a repeal to the code.  Involved in the protest was King Abdullah’s brother, Prince Ali.  This practice is leaving Middle Eastern women to fight for their rights, with over 5,000 women in the Middle East according to the UN, being killed due to this practice.  

Women’s Empowerment

*Jordan Photo Credits: R. Salib                                                                                                                                

Due to the unfair treatment of women in the Arab world, my focus in Jordan will be within the area of sex trafficking and women’s empowerment/aid to women and girls.  There is much education that has been occurring within Jordan, and that still must occur within society to bring about improved conditions for women and girls, while ensuring full access to education so that they are viewed as successful and contributing members to society, allowing for   personal power, accomplishment, and protection.                                          

Many humanitarian and aid organizations have women’s assistance programs in Jordan, and have even started to setup women’s social enterprises, so that women are empowered in Jordan, like the programs at the Jordan River Foundation (see: http://www.jordanriver.jo/Program_Community.asp?Language=E). 

A 24 year old Jordanian woman’s view:

http://outernationalist.net/?p=2203

“Educate a woman and you educate her family. Educate a girl and you change the future.” 

~ Queen Rania of Jordan

Reference:

Case Study: Honour Killings & Blood Fueds:

http://www.gendercide.org/case_honour.html