Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Tuesday, Sep 30, 2025

Jordanian lawmakers trade punches in Parliament amid heated discussion on women's rights

Jordanian lawmakers trade punches in Parliament amid heated discussion on women's rights

Chaos erupted in Jordan's Parliament on Tuesday, with lawmakers throwing punches at each other after a discussion on a constitutional amendment that would afford greater rights to women got heated.
Video of the event shows a handful of lawmakers in a physical altercation, fighting and hurling threats and insults at each other. Even the speaker of Parliament resorted to angry outbursts to manage the commotion.

The fight broke out between conservative lawmakers Hassan Riati and Shadi Udwan after insults were exchanged and blasphemous remarks were made, according a source who saw events unfold first-hand. Several other MPs subsequently got caught up in the pushing and shoving.

The fracas unfolded as lawmakers were preparing to debate a change to the constitution to address Jordanian citizens in both the feminine and masculine tense. Jordanian women currently enjoy equal rights with respect to their entitlement to health care, education, political participation and employment, but are not afforded the same rights when it comes to nationality and citizenship as men. For example, women cannot pass on their nationality to children or spouses -- but men can.

The proposed amendment, part of a series of changes backed by King Abdullah II aimed at modernizing Jordan, was met with fierce opposition from conservative parliamentarians who view the change with disdain. One of those parliamentarians, Mohammad Al Fayez, said the proposed changes were ultimately "against morality and motherhood."

Parliamentary proceedings were stopped after several lawmakers began yelling at lawmaker Abdulmunim Oddat, who was trying to defend the amendment by arguing it adds no new provisions to the constitution and was only meant to create "linguistic equality."

Reem Abu Hassan, an attorney who served on a royal committee tasked with modernizing the constitution, told CNN that the language in the current constitution reflects the norms of written Arabic in the 1950s, when groups of people were referred to by masculine terms.

"We thought that it was time that the constitution of the country should refer to a woman in a very clear manner," she said.

Abu Hassan explained that while some lawmakers fear the amendment will override the terms of inheritance or citizenship law, the main objective of the amendment is to ensure that women have a more active role in public life. Inheritance laws in the country, which are based on Sharia law, often sees a man's share double that of a woman's.

Gender equality is a contentious topic among social conservatives in Jordan, who have long resisted granting equal rights to women.

Salma Nims, secretary-general of the Jordanian National Commission for Women, told CNN that Jordan's extreme right-wing and Islamic movements equate the fight for women's equality as a stain on women's morality and open the door to further freedoms.

"To them, equality of women means women will get to enjoy freedom over their bodies, and that changes the morality of society and the unity of the family," Nims said.

"Every time the women's movement gets closer to achieving something, closer to living in dignity in this country there is a fear coming from the patriarchal system that this will mean a change in the power relations within society," she said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×