The concept of wilaya (guardianship over women) is key to discrimination against women. Debates over different interpretations of guardianship under Muslim law ultimately fail to address the key premises underlying hegemonic notions of masculinity and femininity and the institutions that propagate
Our columnist attends a conference and can see why Gandhi suggested that humans are best organized in the small compounds he called “Swadeshi”.
The outcome of the Syrian crisis, no matter what that might be, will delimit the new Middle East in a way that will affect the entire world—not just Syria and the region
Jordan acts as a buffer with other Arab nations while they are being destroyed as in the case of Syria (and historically Iraq and Palestine) and takes in refugees from those nations so that they are not stranded at the Israeli border.
Predicting the future is a notoriously risky endeavour. My intention here is simply to challenge people to envision one potential future for Jordan (and the entire Middle East) that maybe could come true.
Firmly in the “solar belt”, the area of the world with ideal conditions for solar power, Jordan should strive to become the poster child for renewable energy.
Many Syrian refugees have every intention of going home. Meanwhile, others don’t have homes to return to; their families have been all but obliterated.
In Jordan, the people with the lowest scores are the ones put in positions of tremendous privilege as Imams or Sheikhs of Mosques whom people turn to for guidance on extremely sensitive personal issues like sexuality, faith, and ethics.
The Shari’a is largely irrelevant to most important issues of policy and administration in the economy and in government. Its historical and symbolic locus is on family and sexuality: patriarchal rights, segregation of the sexes, enforced female modesty.
Jordan’s parliamentary elections were far from perfect, but a process has commenced that places an important first building block in the reform process.
Jordan’s elections do not signal a shift towards a more open political system. They may provide a platform for opposition groups or usher in a weak government.
