Jordanian women march against sex' legislation

Women march for their rights Amman – Osama el Rantisi Around 200 feminist activists organised a human chain in the Jordanian Capital Amman, to express their rejection of individual practices and legislation that go against the rights of women.  The stunt came in response to feminist campaigns like,‘No Honour in the Crime’, ‘Not Clever’, ‘My Mother is Jordanian and My Nationality is My Right’ and ‘Article 308 Crime'.  The participants raised banners containing implicit short messages, in their effort to get the message to a large number of people.
The messages dealt with topics like sexual harassment and the verbal abuse against women, as well as Article 308 of the Jordanian penal code that allows a man to marry his rape victim, without any penalty, as well as other honour-related crimes, and the plight of Jordanian women married to foreigners.
Toulin Touk, one of the organizers of the event, said the idea of the chain was spontaneous and started with a small group of organisers who, at first, intended to draw the public attention to whata they called 'legal discrimination', such as harassment to honour related crimes.
Touk also added that the chain’s aims were to deliver the demands of women to wider society, hoping that their voices will reach the Government.
The general coordinator of the progressive national movement, Khaled Ramadan, described the human chain as “definitive proof of Jordan’s progress towards real freedom, and represents a reflection of the concept of the Civil State demanding Justice and equality.”