In July 2007, Jordan officially ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). While Jordanian human rights and women’s organizations embraced this final step, religious groups remain critical. Ibrahim Zeid al-Kilani, the top legal scholar of the Islamic Action Front party, said that CEDAW threatens Jordanian national and religious values. He referred to the Convention, which seeks to grant equal rights to women, as part of the “American and Zionist” plot to secularize Middle Eastern societies.
In the final signing of the Convention, the Jordanian government voiced concern about the sections that address Jordan’s personal status law, citizenship, housing and the free movement of women. The leader of the Islamist party was dissatisfied that the government did not express reservations on the clause that grants women the same rights as men concerning legal guardianship of children.
Compiled from: "Jordan Islamists Slam Women's Rights Pact," The Daily Star, 6 August 2007.