gisw13_chapters

jordanICTs help ex-Jordanian MP fight corruption and cancerAlarab AlyawmYahia Shukkeirwww.alarabalyawm.netIntroductionThroughout the last half-century, the world haswitnessed an expansion in female participationin politics and civil society. This trend has notyet emerged in the Middle East and North Africa(MENA) region. 1Many countries in MENA, including Jordan, areundergoing a profound transformation. Popularmovements in what has been named the Arab Springhave called for reforms to make governments moreinclusive and more accountable for their performances,to extend social and economic freedoms,and to increase employment opportunities.Information and communications technologies(ICTs) have been used extensively to mobilise themasses to take part in shaping the new history oftheir countries. Arab women who have been deprivedof their rights to participate in decisionmaking took this unique opportunity to take part inexpressing their own views in the streets and themain squares in Arab capitals and others cites, fromTunisia to Yemen. Arab women became active indemonstrations.Jordan was not an exception. ICTs gave a spaceto many Jordanian women to participate in politicaldebates, and offered them a new and cheapmedium to communicate on social, economic andcultural issues. It created a valuable platform and aloudspeaker for the voiceless.Participation: Access, economic and politicalThe most recent survey on ICTs showed that Jordanianshad nine million mobiles at the end of 2012,which means 120% of Jordanians have mobilephones. More than half of Jordanians have accessto the internet. 2 There is also an increasing demandfor social media: there were 2.653 million Facebookaccounts opened by Jordanian users by the end ofthe same year, which makes Jordan number 57 bycountry in the ranking of all Facebook users. Thisamounts to 41% of the population. The number ofFacebook users also grew by nearly 170,000 in thelast six months. The largest user age group is currently18-24, accounting for 40% of users, followedby the 25-34 age group; 58% of all Facebook usersin Jordan are male and 42% are female. 3Jordan has adopted the National Strategy forJordanian Women (2012-2015) 4 in order to increasewomen’s participation in development. While Jordanianwomen achieve higher grades than men at alleducational levels, the participation of women inthe economic field does not exceed 15%, and unemploymentamongst women (24%) is double thatamongst men. 5 Females account for only 5% of ministerialpositions, 13% of judiciary positions, and12% of legislative positions.While the government makes a point of emphasisingits desire to push women forward in eachsector, the experience on the ground is quite different.Jordanian women received their right to vote in1974, but it took almost 20 years for a woman to becomea member of parliament: Tujan Faisal was thefirst woman to be elected, in 1993. In a patriarchalsociety, which considers women as being inferior tomen, Faisal reversed the traditional stereotype.Who is Tujan Faisal?After the democratisation process started in Jordanin 1989, Tujan Faisal, a prominent TV anchor,an unveiled blonde woman from the Circassiancommunity, decided to run for office. In an Islamicand conservative country, Faisal became a victimof a smear campaign engineered by Islamists opposedto any participation by women in Jordanianpublic life. These activities were especially hostileto Faisal, who was an outspoken feminist and hadpublished a newspaper article refuting Islamist interpretationsof women’s rights in Islam. A fatwa 6declared her apostate, despite her devout Muslimbeliefs, and Islamist activists tried to have hermarriage rescinded. She was forced to stand trial,1 World Bank (2013) Opening Doors: Gender Equality andDevelopment in the Middle East and North Africa, p. 52.2 www.trc.gov.jo/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2335&lang=arabic3 www.alghad.com/index.php/article/613718.html4 docs.amanjordan.org/laws/jordan/rights_31/3531.html5 www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GenderGap_Report_2012.pdf6 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatwa156 / Global Information Society Watch