Jordan criminalizes Marital Rape

Have they set a precedent for the Middle East?

On the 27^th of April 2017, Jordan decided to revoke an archaic law that directly exploited women of the nation. As changing times call for changing measures, Article 308 of the Jordanian Penal Code which made way for the perpetrator to marry the victim provided she is between 15 and 18 years of age and stay with them for at least three years is now also revoked.

Change after years of lobbying

After years of petitioning and protests, the cabinet pays heed to voices of the activists.

 In October 2016, the establishment of a royal committee by Jordan's King Abdullah II led to a thorough inquiry and review of the entire Penal Code, 1960 and made judiciary reforms where necessary.

However, this step did not work in favour of the women since it only created a loophole which allowed the accused to marry the victim provided she gave her "consent”.

Though the cabinet has approved to scrap out this law completely, people still wait for the verdict of the parliament.  

Analysis

This move by the Jordanian Government has ignited a similar fire elsewhere in the Middle East and subsequently giving the protesters of Lebanon reason to publicly oppose a similar law (Article 522). Activists there were seen hanging wedding dresses along Beirut’s sea front which was symbolic of their suffering over the years under the excuse of protection of dignity and pride.

Governments of France, Peru, Romania, Italy, Costa Rica, Egypt and Morocco have abolished such provisions.

The message sent out by the Jordanian government is directly attacking the alleged misogyny propagated by some Middle Eastern countries.  Similar laws in the middle eastern countries like Libya, Palestine, Syria and African countries like Algeria need to be assessed and reformed if the society is to progress along the lines of women empowerment.

Assessment

This progressive step throws light on the issue on marital rape in the name of conjugal rights.

In India, the continuous ignorance towards marital rape is largely one of the reasons why it is still not a criminal offence. Though we are vocal about our revulsion towards prostitution, acceptance of marital rape as a norm of marriage has caused India girls under the guise of Nikah Mut’ah, to forcefully marry elderly men which can be annulled later with a post-dated divorce certificate signed beforehand.

This clearly shows that growing economies and increasing military strengths cannot be interpreted as the only indicators of development and progress and to this effect, the world needs to change its views.