Activists to lobby MPs for amendment to Article 12

AMMAN — Activists on Thursday said they plan to lobby the Labour Committee at the Lower House of Parliament to amend Article 12 of the Labour Law to exempt children of Jordanian women married to non-Jordanians from obtaining work permits.

Activists said they will also demand the removal of any restriction facing these groups in the job market and to offer them to be treated as full Jordanian citizens.

As it stands now, families of Jordanian women married to non-Jordanians have to obtain special permission in order for their children to be able to work in Jordan.

"We call on the deputies to amend Article 12 of the labour Law in order to remove all the barriers that are preventing children of Jordanian women married to non-Jordanians good living conditions and standards,” said activist Noor Imam. 

The Jordanian government “has no consideration to grant families of Jordanian women the citizenship. The least they could do is granting them full citizenship until they decide to grant them the Jordanian citizenship”, Imam told The Jordan Times.     

The Labour Committee at the Lower House is expected to meet next week to discuss provisions in the draft Labour Law that will later be discussed under the Dome.

These families also suffer from difficulties when it comes to obtaining driver licences, or enrolling in private schools and universities. 

SADAQA executive board member and activists Sahar Aloul said such exemptions fall in line with the privileges granted to children by the government in recent years.

“We aspire for these families to be regarded as Jordanian citizens with full rights and that falls in line with our demands for Jordanian women to pass on their nationality to their families just like men,” Aloul told The Jordan Times.

Last month, activist voiced their outrage at a government decision to grant investors Jordanian citizenship or permanent residency, claiming that the decision was discriminatory and ignored their long-time demands to allow Jordanian women married to non-Jordanians to pass on their citizenship to their spouses and children.

Government officials defended the decision saying it aimed to encourage investment in the Kingdom and boost the national economy, which will eventually benefit everyone, including Jordanian women married to non-Jordanians and their children. 

In 2014, the government pledged to ensure the proper application of the “privileges” the government had granted to children of Jordanian women, provided that their mothers had been living in Jordan for a minimum of five years, for at least 180 days per year.

These included providing residency permits, the ability to apply for driving licences and real-estate ownership, as well as the availing of benefits in the educational, health, labour and investment sectors.
However, activists and campaign organisers continued to voice concerns that the government did not fully respect its promises, claiming they are still suffering on many fronts from discrimination and complicated governmental procedures when it comes to issuing the documents as promised.