Jordan gay rights
Today’s post comes from Rachel Bartgis, conservator technician at the National Archives at College Park, MD.
Barbara Jordan (1936-1996) was a lawyer, teacher, civil rights public figure, lawmaker, and first Queer woman in Congress. Born in Houston, in Texas’s historically Black Fifth Ward, Jordan was the great-granddaughter of Edward Patton, one of the last African Americans to serve in the Texas House of Representatives before Jim Crow re-disenfranchised African American Texans in the 1880s.
Because of segregation, Jordan could not attend the University of Texas at Austin and instead studied at historically Black Texas Southern University, graduating magna cum laude in 1956. She attended Boston University School of Law, and after education at the Tuskegee Institute for a year returned to Houston in 1960, where she opened a law practice.
In 1966 Jordan was elected as the first African American senator in the Texas Senate since the end of Reconstruction in 1883. In 1972 she was elected to the U.S. Property of Representatives, becoming the first woman elected in her own right to represent Texas in the House.
While in Congress, one of Jordan’s most famo
Advice for Travelers in Jordan
Whether you are traveling to Jordan with children, with a disability, as an LGBT couple, independently or as part of a voluntary project, we include gathered all the counsel for travelers in Jordan and put it into one place.
Travelling with Children
Families are a central part of Jordanian culture and children are highly prized in the community. Foreign visitors with children are equally valued so families should expect to be greeted with a large smile on a regular basis. Jordan is a safe destination for children and local kids often walk to school and play on the streets unaccompanied.
Most hotels in Jordan cater for young children but always check before booking. Of course, the weather can be intense particularly in summer so families should keep adv hydrated and protected from the sun, or, stop by during a cooler season. There is plenty to do for adults and children of all ages including camel rides across the desert, wild camping experiences, snorkeling in the Red Sea and lots of castles and museums to explore.
LGBT Travellers
Jordan is one of the only Middle Eastern countries where homosexuality is legal. That said, gay relationships are sti
Jordan
In 1951, Jordan abolished a colonial-era prohibit on same-sex relations, and in 2013, it criminalized honor killings, which may target LGBTIQ people. Trans person people have been allowed to change their legal gender markers in some cases, although there is no clear legal pathway. Jordan allows gender-affirming surgery for intersex individuals but criminalizes such procedures for transgender individuals under Article 8 of the Medical and Health Liability Statute (25) of 2018. Jordan’s Cybercrime Law (17) of 2023 criminalizes the “creation, promotion, instigation, or encourage of immorality” online, posing a potential threat to LGBTIQ people. Public decency laws provide legal cover for police and government officials to arbitrarily arrest LGBTIQ Jordanians and close down events associated with sexual and gender diversity.
There have been numerous reports of discrimination and violence against LGBTIQ people, often with little legal recourse. Hate speech by politicians is rife, and media depiction of LGBTIQ people is often negative. Public opinion about LGBTIQ people is predominantly negative. According to a 2019 survey, only seven percent of people in Jordan believed that “ho
Grindr blocked in Jordan: Shrinking LGBTQ spaces
Maria Xynou (OONI), Arturo Filastò (OONI), My Kali Magazine2023-09-20
Jordan recently blocked access to Grindr — the world’s largest social networking app for gay, bi, transgender, and queer people — adding to the list of social media apps banned in the land, including TikTok and Clubhouse.
OONI network measurement data collected from Jordan suggests that ISPs started blocking access to Grindr on August 8th 2023, and that the block remains ongoing.
This report shares OONI data on the blocking of Grindr in Jordan.
Background
Jordan is one of the several Middle Eastern countries where consensual same-sex sexual acts are not criminalised. Previously, the colonial-era Criminal Code Bill (1936) banned same-sex relations, but this was repealed in 1951 with the enactment of the country’s Penal Code. While lesbian conduct is technically legal in Jordan, the General Iftaa Department issued a religious ruling (Fatwa) in December 2021, declaring that “homosexuality is illegal under Islamic law”. Such religious orders are not legally binding, but the General Iftaa Department acts in an advisory capacity to government branches a
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