US embassy cable - 02AMMAN3114

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 003114 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/11/2012 
TAGS: PHUM, JO 
SUBJECT: STATE OF DIVORCE LAW IN JORDAN:  MILD IMPROVEMENT 
 
 
Classified By: A/DCM DOUGLAS A. SILLIMAN.  REASONS: 1.5 (B) and (D) 
 
1.  (SBU) SUMMARY.  The Government of Jordan issued a cabinet 
decree in December 2001 that allows certain Muslim women, 
within a narrow legal framework, to bring a divorce action in 
Sharia Court.  To date, over 500 women have filed for divorce 
under the new law; so far the court has granted divorces in 2 
of these cases.  While this law has not been formally 
approved by the parliament and is narrowly tailored, it 
appears to be a step towards a more accommodative Sharia 
legal apparatus for Jordanian women in insufferable 
marriages.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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BACKGROUND 
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2. (SBU)   Previously, a woman could not file for divorce 
absent the consent of her husband.  The husband could grant 
such consent expressly in the original marriage contract or 
any time thereafter.  However, a woman could, under 
extraordinary circumstances, convince a Sharia judge to grant 
a divorce on her behalf.  Under the old law, there were four 
grounds through which such a divorce could be granted: 
proof  (to an extremely high degree of certainty) that her 
husband had physically abused her, abandonment or 
imprisonment of the husband for one year or more, refusal to 
pay living expense, and 'ongoing disputes' between the 
couple.  Such divorces were granted sparingly on behalf of 
women in extreme cases of physical abuse or abandonment, and 
the legal process often took years at exorbitant cost. 
 
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CABINET DECREE'S GENESIS IN THE HADITH, EGYPT 
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3. (C) The cabinet decree is based on a passage in the 
Hadith, where the Prophet Mohammad granted a divorce to a 
woman, provided that she returned her dowry (in that case a 
garden) to her husband.  In this passage, the woman told 
Mohammad that, although her husband was a good man, she did 
not want to perform her womanly duties with him.  She was 
allowed to divorce her husband.  Using this passage as a 
precedent, Nora Sadat (wife of the late Egyptian President) 
succeeded in her longstanding effort to establish the right 
for women to divorce in Egyptian Sharia Court.  In a 
conversation with POLOFF, human rights activist Saeda Kilani 
said that, although the Islamists in Egypt were miffed about 
the law, they grudgingly accepted it.  The Jordanian decree 
is based upon the Egyptian law, and allows for a woman to 
bring a divorce action if she is able to repay her dowry and 
cede all financial benefits from the marriage. 
 
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FASTER DIVORCES FOR SOME WOMEN 
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4.  (C) The new law allows for women to bring an action 
independent of her husband or a Sharia judge, and affords 
them greater expediency.    However, as currently construed, 
the law does not allow a large percentage of women to bring a 
divorce action.  Women from wealthier families (who are 
willing to live with the social stigma of a divorced 
daughter) may provide the financial backing their daughters 
need to go forward with a divorce action, but the majority of 
women do not have such a luxury.  If a woman does get past 
the financial issue, she still must convince a Sharia judge 
that she has legitimate grounds for a divorce.  There are no 
codified grounds through which a divorce may be granted. 
However, according to Zarqa social worker Nadia Bushnaq, 
Sharia Courts are most likely to grant divorces under the new 
law in cases of life-threatening physical abuse or 
abandonment.  (NOTE:  One of the two women who have been 
granted a divorce under the decree told a local newspaper 
that she had suffered physical abuse by her husband for 13 
years).  As for child custody, young children are more likely 
to be granted to the mother, whereas older children (girls 
who have begun to menstruate and boys who are 12 years of 
age) are almost always put in the custody of the father or 
his family. 
 
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LAW DOES NOT COVER CHRISTIAN WOMEN 
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5.  (C)    Jordan does not grant civil marriages or divorces, 
so Christian women must get a divorce via their church's 
legal apparatus, and may not avail themselves of a Sharia 
Court.  These courts adjudicate divorce actions in accordance 
with church law.  In a meeting with POLOFF, a Roman Catholic 
woman claimed that, despite years of severe physical abuse, 
her church would not grant her a divorce.  At the same time, 
her family forbids her from filing criminal action against 
her husband because it would besmirch the family name. 
 
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 COMMENT 
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6.  (C)  While this new law is a cabinet decree that could 
potentially be dismissed when parliament returns, there is 
reasoned optimism among human rights activists that it will 
become permanent.  As the law is rooted in the Hadith and a 
similar law has passed muster in Egypt (and other Muslim 
countries), Jordanian Islamists will have a harder time 
challenging its legitimacy.  Currently, judges are only 
allowing women in worst-case situations to obtain a divorce, 
but, human rights activists hope, a more liberal 
interpretation could develop over time.  In light of 
Jordanian traditions and cultural norms, progress is likely 
to be slow.  Nevertheless, this is a tangible step forward in 
the development of legal options for abandoned or severely 
abused Jordanian Muslim wives. 
Gnehm