Progress Amid Resistance

JORDAN 207presented by a group of activists in 2007, gender-based violence plays arole in undermining a woman’s ability to participate in the economy. 16Women’s economic competitiveness is also hindered by a legal frameworkthat reinforces their traditional financial dependence on male relatives, af -fecting areas including inheritance, salary, and retirement benefits. Whilethe laws and social norms place certain restrictions on women’s workinghours and job types, they have been slowly expanding into new categoriesof employment and increasing their overall presence in the workforce overthe last several years.Jordanian women have the right to own property and enter into businesscontracts, and do not require their husband’s or guardian’s approvalfor such activities. Nevertheless, according to a 2008 government report,only 15.1 of women own land and 19.4 percent of women over the age of15 own apartments. 17 Patriarchal attitudes, especially in rural areas, hinderwomen’s ability to obtain economic resources, particularly for land ownershipand finance.There are no legal restrictions on the rights of women to enjoy theirin come and assets independently. However, it is the accepted norm for singleworking women, who represent the highest percentage of economicallyactive women, to contribute to the family income by giving their salariesto their families. Working wives, on the other hand, often use their salaries topay for family expenses directly.Women are guaranteed the right to inheritance under Shari‘a as appliedin Jordan, but in many situations the woman is entitled to half the share ofa male heir. This reflects the Shari‘a requirement that, while a woman mayuse her inheritance for her sole benefit, a man also must use his inheritanceto support all dependent members of his family. In addition, real assets areoften transferred to male family members prior to the owner’s death so asto circumvent inheritance rules. This is justified in part by the perceivedneed to keep property within the family and prevent women from takingtheir portions to other families when they marry. If a father dies beforemaking such a legal transfer, no laws can prevent a daughter from receivingher share as calculated under Shari‘a, but even in these cases women arepressured to waive their portions in favor of their brothers or other malefamily members. There are no legal procedures in place to protect womenfrom such pressure, and many women in rural areas may not be aware thatthey can refuse to waive their inheritance or know how to defend theirrights in court.