http://www.hrw.org/reports/2004/jordan0404/5.htmV. BETRAYING THE VICTIMS: THE OFFICIAL RESPONSE
The Police: Traditional Sympathies and Virginity Examinations
Jordanian police are known for mistreating criminal suspects. Prosecutor General Rawashdeh, for example, told Human Rights Watch that the police routinely beat detainees to obtain evidence: “ accused are beaten for evidence—I sent them to the forensic doctor—I would not take their confession.”75 These same police are also known for sympathizing with “honor” killers. As Asma Khader, minister of state and government spokesperson, has said, when “honor” killers turn themselves in to the police, the police “try to calm them down, give them a cigarette. The culture deals with them as heroes.”76
Added to the bias in favor of men who commit “honor” crimes is the virtual absence of training to deal with domestic violence. Currently, only fifteen to twenty police officers per year receive any training on domestic violence, according to Colonel al-Humoud, coordinator of the Family Protection Unit (FPU) within the Directorate of Public Security. The training lasts only a few days, too brief to be serious, and within the program there is no material dealing specifically with “honor” crimes.77
Police frequently require threatened women to be examined by a forensic doctor to determine whether their hymens are intact. Virginity exams reflect the presumption that families, communities, and the state have a legitimate interest in a woman’s sexual conduct. They involve pain, humiliation, and intimidation.78 These exams constitute cruel and inhuman treatment and are a violation of women's rights to physical integrity, sexual autonomy, and privacy. The practice was common in Jordan through the end of the 1990s when even a hint of suspicion had been aroused. Dr. Mu’men Hadidi, the nation’s chief medical examiner, told Human Rights Watch that police routinely sent girls and women for virginity examinations upon their families’ request without any evidence of sexual indiscretion. As he put it: “The easiest way to answer him was to have the exam and show that she did not have sex, to put the issue to rest.”79
Now, according to Dr. Hadidi, the protocol has changed and there must be evidence of a crime before a virginity exam can be required. This assertion was echoed by FPU Coordinator Al-Humoud, who spoke of the need for “strong evidence” to trigger the exam.80
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http://quickstart.clari.net/qs_se/webnews/wed/at/Qjordan-parliament-laws.RFwU_Da4.html
Jordan parliament quashes laws on female divorce and "honour crimes"
AMMAN, Aug 4 (AFP) - Jordan's newly-elected parliament threw out temporary laws allowing women the right to divorce their husbands and providing harsher punishments for those guilty of so-called honour crimes, parliamentary sources said Monday.
Islamist and conservative deputies mounted a coalition to reject the laws passed by the cabinet in the two years since the previous parliament was dissolved, despite a vigorous defence from Jordanian Prime Minister Ali Abu Ragheb, who stressed they did not violate religious traditions.
Although welcomed by liberal deputies as a "positive development", Islamists said allowing women the right to divorce without their husband's consent would "destroy families".
Conservatives pointed to the "harm" it would inflict on homes and the "negative reaction" in parts of Jordan to its enforcement.
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