Progress Amid Resistance

JORDAN 211benefits out of fear of losing their jobs. Some employers are also reluctantto hire women because of the high cost associated with these benefits.Sexual harassment in the workplace is not explicitly defined or prohibitedby law, although under amendments made in July 2008, the LaborLaw now addresses sexual assault. Specifically, Article 29 of the amended lawallows victims to prematurely end their employment contract while retainingtheir end-of-service rights and the right to compensation for damages,but most women are unaware of this provision or the channels throughwhich they can file complaints.Foreign female workers, who are employed primarily as domestic helpers,receive few legal protections from gender-based discrimination. Theyoften suffer cruel and inhuman treatment at the hands of their employers.Some are forced to work long hours without days off, are locked in theiremployers’ homes, and suffer from physical and sexual abuse. They areof ten not paid the salary promised to them, if they are paid at all, andmany have their passports confiscated by employers to prevent them fromleaving the country. Women who escape or ask the authorities for help areoften detained because their employers have not properly registered themor have filed retaliatory complaints against them, such as theft. Out ofdesperation, some female domestic workers have attempted to escape theiremployers’ homes by jumping from windows or balconies, and some havecommitted suicide. 26Before July 2008, the protections of the Labor Law had not extendedto domestic workers, farm workers, and cooks, the majority of whom arewomen. Although the amended law now covers these particularly vulnerablecategories of employees and imposes a 1,000 dinar (US$1,410) fine on em -ployers who coerce a person to work, including by withholding passports, 27it is unclear to what extent these measures have been enforced in practice.Women’s groups continue to advocate for greater economic participationby women and are lobbying for amendments to the Civil ServiceOr di nance and the Social Security Laws that would guarantee greaterrights for retired women and their families. Women’s organizations andother community development programs also run income-generationprojects that are aimed at women. The Jordanian Forum for Business andProfessional Women, for example, encourages female entrepreneurshipthrough training and the provision of enterprise incubators. In the publicsector, the JNCW has worked with the Civil Service Commission to movetoward gender equality among state employees.