The Independent Commission for Human Rights
pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy during the proceedings of her case, placed in
Mihwar Center for the Protection and Empowerment of Women and Families in order to
guarantee her own security and the security of her child.
The Public Prosecution considered that her failure to defending herself against the sexual
assaults by her father-in-law and brother-in-law and filing a complaint against them was
an indication of her consent. It also considered their knowledge of affinity with her
an indication of the elements of the crime of incest according to Article (285) of the
Jordanian Penal Code No. 16 of 1960. Thus, the court refused to consider the woman
representative’s argument that her failure to file a complaint and remaining silent was
due to her weakness and fear from scandal, even though she was living under difficult
conditions in an isolated and backward environment and was being exploited due to the
absence of her husband. At the time, she was caring for six children and working as a
servant for the family of her husband, who was languishing in an Israeli prison.
This case can be considered as example of how the judicial system handles the crime
of incest. The Public Prosecution and the court considered her silence as consent and
acceptance of the act of incest, and refused to take into consideration the fact that she
was living under the defendants’ control with her free will stolen. The lawsuit was finally
dropped, the accused were released and free to go, and the woman continued to remain
at Mihwar Center to protect her life and the life of her child from the threats to her life
from her family.
Clarifying the reason why men assault women and women keep silent as per the above
mentioned case, Bahri & Ktishat take the view in their research on domestic violence
that the socialization of males and females in the different societies give them certain
behaviors with regard to violence. It teaches them that they are stronger than females and
have the right to lead and control the family, express their opinion, take decisions, solve
problems and be glorified and appreciated as the masters of the family. They also learn
that they are responsible for monitoring and disciplining the behavior of the woman and
punishing her when need be. It also has the effect of developing a feeling in girls that they
are soft and weak. Furthermore, it conditions or trains them to accept submission and
restrict their lives to satisfy their man and not to express themselves64.
Maha Sabagh65 states that ‘most sexual assaults taking place in the family are committed
by the father-in-law against his daughter-in-law, exploiting his control over her and over
his son (husband) and his social and sometimes ‘economic’ status- as the center of the
family, so no one dares to accuse him’. Murad Amre66 reveals the nature of the families
where females are subjected to acts of incest, saying that the mothers in these families are
always too weak to ensure protection for her daughters. Sabagh confirms this, saying ‘in
most of the cases she handled, the mother was aware of sexual assaults committed by the
father against his daughter, but their role was passive; they connived at such acts being
afraid of the husband’s threats or of getting divorced, and so facing the consequences
of that on the social level’. Amre and Sabagh both believe that the main cause of incest
64 Bahri&Ktishat, 2011. Domestic Violence (Amman; Dar al-Safa’ for publishing and distribution.), p. 55.
65 Social councilor and psychiatrist, Childhood Programs Organization, 37 years experience. Interviewed in
her house in Ramallah, November 28, 2012;
66 Interview with Psychiatrist Murad Omar, Director of Clinical Unit at Psycho-Social Counselling Centre
in Ramallah, 11-27-2012.
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