Jordan MPs exchange kicks and blows in heated debate on women

Far away from home, Jordanians witnessed the people they elected to represent their interests in parliament literally fighting for their rights.

The Members of Parliament for Jordan went physical and traded punches on Tuesday as they were discussing the constitutional amendment that would see Jordanian women enjoy greater rights.

A video clip that captured the legislators engaging in the physical altercation emerged online.

According to first-had witness report, the melee first broke out between two legislators Hassan Ruati and Shadi Udwan following a bitter exchange of insults ‘blasphemous’ remarks.

Other members of the house joined in the melee as they tried to restrain the two fighting MPs.

The debate aimed to change the constitution to address citizens on Jordan in both the masculine and feminine tense.

The house business was also disrupted when several legislators started jeering at a fellow legislator who tried to defend the amendment.

He argued that the amendment does not add new provisions to the constitution and was only meant to create linguistic equality.

Women in Jordan enjoy equal rights in terms of entitlement to health care, education, employment and political involvement.

However, their rights are limited because as far as nationality and citizenship is concerned, women Jordanian women cannot pass their nationality to their children or spouses.

The proposed amendment is part of a raft of changed Jordanian King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein support in a bit to transform Jordan in a new state.

Abdullah’s noble gesture faces fierce opposition from the conservative MPs who look down upon move.

The MPs deem the move untimely and ultimately against morality and motherhood.

Jordanian social conservatives have resisted the idea of granting equal rights to their women for a long time.