AMMAN — The
Lower House of Parliament on Sunday passed three amended constitutional articles, the
most important of which is a new gender-sensitive title for the Second Chapter
of the Constitution, which has become: "The Rights and Duties of Jordanian
Men and Women" instead of "The Rights and Duties of Jordanians".
A majority of 94 deputies voted in favor of the amendment, while 26 rejected
it, and 10 deputies did not attend the vote, the Jordan News Agency, Petra,
reported.
اضافة اعلان
This amendment is part of
a package sent by the government to the legislature based on the
recommendations of a Royal committee tasked with providing insights to
modernize political life and develop legislation in the Kingdom.
On this occasion,
Minister of Political and Parliamentary Affairs Musa Maaytah said that adding
"Jordanian Women" to the title of Chapter Two of the Constitution
came in "honor and respect of women", rejecting accusations by some
lawmakers that Jordan "bowed to pressures from donor institutions to pass
this amendment". He added that the concerns of some that this amendment
would affect personal status issues were "unjustified", saying that
the Constitution limited the power to rule on these issues to Sharia courts.
Maaytah also said that granting Jordanian citizenship is governed by a law, the
Nationality Law, which he indicated cannot be amended without referring to
Parliament.
Later on Sunday, the
House passed two more amended articles of the Constitution. A majority of 106
deputies voted to amend Paragraph 5 of Article 6 of the Constitution to read as
follows: "The law shall protect the rights of persons with disabilities
and promote their participation and inclusion in various walks of life. It (the
law) shall also protect motherhood, childhood, and the elderly, take care of
young people and prevent abuse and exploitation." Before the amendment,
the text of the paragraph was: "The law shall protect motherhood,
childhood, and the elderly, take care of young people and people with
disabilities, and protect them from abuse and exploitation."
The legislators also
approved the proposal to add paragraphs (6 and 7) to Article 6 of the
Constitution to empower women and youth. The amended paragraph 6 reads as
follows: "The state shall guarantee the empowerment and support of women
to play an active role in building society in a way that guarantees equal
opportunities on the basis of justice and equity and protects them from all
forms of violence and discrimination." Paragraph 7 now reads: "The
state shall guarantee the promotion of the values of citizenship, tolerance and
the rule of law. It (the state) shall also guarantee, within the limits of its
capabilities, empowering young people to participate in political, economic,
social and cultural life, developing their capabilities, and supporting their
creativity and innovations."
Meanwhile, 113 deputies
voted in favor of striking out a provision proposed by the government on
Article 32 of the Constitution, which stated that "the King shall be the
head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Council". The House is
set to vote on 27 more amendments to the Constitution on Monday.
At the onset of Sunday’s
session Speaker Abdel Karim Al-Doghmi offered his apologies to the Jordanian
people and to fellow lawmakers for the chaotic session of last week when a
number of MPs got into a brawl that ended with fistfights apparently over
disagreements regarding the implications of adding “Jordanian women” to title
of chapter two of the Constitution. But complaints filed by other lawmakers
have now been referred to the Legal Committee.
In contrast to last
Tuesday’s session, yesterday’s was well managed where dozens of lawmakers made
their position clear on the suggested amendment in an orderly manner. State Minister
for Legal Affairs Wafaa Bani Mustafa told MPs that the addition of the gender
sensitive “Jordanian women” to the title should not be read separately but
within the framework of the entire Constitution whose articles
complement/preserve each other. Other lawmakers stated that the amendment is a
formality and does not change anything on the ground.
The Lower House will
resume its debate of other constitutional amendments throughout the week.
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