It's International Women's Day and Jordan is Celebrating Women in the Legal Profession

Today is International Women's Day and to celebrate, Jordan is focusing on highlighting the expanded role of women in the judiciary and legal profession.  Special events were held at the Ministry of Justice to celebrate "Women in the Judiciary Branch and the Legal Professions."

Currently, 48 of the Kingdom's 700 judges and 17% of the Kingdom's lawyers are women.  Asma Khader, Jordanian National Commission for Women Secretary General, would like to see more women appointed as prosecutors and judges.

Among the improvements in women's rights that have occurred in the past few years in Jordan are the following:

*Publication of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), thus eliminating restrictions on freedom of mobility and residency rights and providing the basis for civil law suits for certain discrimination claims.

*New laws have been enacted to add family protections and to stiffen the prohibitions against human trafficking.

*A special tribunal has been created to hear "honor killing" cases, leading to these cases being treated as regular murders carrying stiffer penalties.

*The "Family Reconciliation House" was created to provide help and protection for abused women.

*Women make up 15% of the workforce, compared with 12.3% in 1995.

However, women's rights advocates say more protection is still needed.  In particular, advocates say that the government needs to focus on issues facing women related to the high rate of unemployment, poverty, and lack of education.

The Jordan Times has more on International Women's Day in Jordan.

UPDATE:  The Jordan Times reports here about the International Women's Day Program at the Ministry of Justice:

Appeals Judge Ihsan Barakat, director of the AWLN who also holds the distinction of being the first female chief of court in Jordan and the region, highlighted the role of all women in the field who have achieved “quantitative and qualitative progress”.

“We, in the Jordanian judiciary have adapted to the new reality where women have become an integral part of the human resources that advance the mission of the judiciary,” she said.

Barakat also highlighted the Kingdom’s achievement in backing women’s participation in the public interest.

“Proudly, I can say that our fellow male judges have stood by our side rather than standing in the way… The way forward is to continue to judge human beings objectively based on appreciation for good conduct, accountability and the quality of performance without any discrimination on the basis of gender,” she added.