Repealing Jordan’s article 308 on rape
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The controversy surrounding the 2017 repeal of article 308 of Jordan’s penal code—also known as the marital rape law—invites us to undertake a critical assessment of women’s activism in the kingdom. Female activists, who saw the law as a violation of human rights and a reward for rapists rather than a punishment, were countered by critics who demanded that the marriage provisions within the law be retained. In their view, these provisions resolved problems regarding the legitimacy of children and above all reduced the threat of honor killings. Their objections challenged the female activists’ claims to female emancipation, by emphasizing their failure to consider that, as a result of repeal rather than amendment, certain women, particularly poorer women, could be worse off. This argument renewed the enduring criticism of class bias in the women’s movement. Liberation projects inspired by the interests of middle-class women are different from and even opposed to those of working-class women, leading this campaign to be yet another missed opportunity for women’s liberation.
Réseaux sociaux