Even as the world moves forward and keeps raising the glass - TopicsExpress

Even as the world moves forward and keeps raising the glass ceiling where women are concerned, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan left the world in a shock last week when a court ruled that a woman who does not wear the Islamic hijab should be considered a slut. In its ruling, the court said that it agreed with one lawyers statement which was based on a fatwa that said that a woman who does not cover up or wear a hijab is considered a slut and shouldnt be allowed to testify in court. This ruling has left the Jordanian Womens Union fuming. In a statement, the Union described the courts ruling as discrimination against women and a violation of the Jordanian Constitution, which considers all Jordanian men and women as equals. In its statement, the Jordanian Womens Union said: The Amman Sharia Court of Appeal has accepted the lawyers objection to a female witness from testifying for not wearing the hijab, which the court said would affect the fairness and honesty in her testimony from 3/2/2014. According to the fatwa, which the courts decision was based on, women who arent covered up are sluts, and that gives those women a bad name. Furthermore, the court was unable to support this fatwa apart from with something written in the introduction of a book by Egyptian Islamic Theologian Sheikh Yusuf Al Qaradawi. Seeing as this decision violates the provisions of the Jordanian Constitution which calls for equality between all Jordanians, and which protects their personal freedoms, we are demanding all the concerned parties to reconsider the mentioned decision above. Meanwhile we stress the following: 1. Womens attire is a personal choice and no one should challenge it as long as theyre not breaking the law and stepping out of line. An attack on those freedoms is considered a crime and explicitly violates Article VII of the Constitution. 2. The courts decision is an attack on women and their honesty and dignity, especially that the decision was made by the highest court in the religious judiciary. 3. The Personal status Law is unconstitutional as it affects the principle of equality as between men and women. 4. Making room for jurisprudence in courts is dangerous, and gives the judge the opportunity to rule according to his own beliefs. The Womens Union therefore demands the following: 1. Going back on the courts decision to consider those who arent wearing the hijab as not fit or honest to testify in court. 2. We stress the importance of revising the Personal Status Law as it still discriminates against women.