Marriage statistical report title angers women’s rights activists

AMMAN —  Around 2.7 million citizens old enough to marry are single in Jordan, according to a report published by the Sisterhood Is Global Institute.

The report is based on a 2018 survey of marital status by the Department of Statistics.

Despite the institute’s publicity and them persistently voicing their objections to the marriage age in Jordan, those of 15 years or older were still considered of “marrying age”, given the law in Jordan.

Of the 2.7 million singles, around 1.1 million were women and 1.6 million were men.

On social media, the phrasing of words, both in the report and news websites, reading “One Million Unmarried Women in Jordan”, angered activists.

“Why is the media talking about unmarried women, even though according to the report they may be no more than 15 years, as spinsters? Why is the title not ‘1.6 Million Unmarried Men in Jordan’?” asked Alaa Saadi, a member of the He for She campaign.

Maram Salloum, an active university student in the field of women empowerment, also questioned the phrasing of the media headlines by saying: “Shouldn’t the media be using this report to talk about the reasons why women and men are not able to get married, such as the difficult economic situation Jordan is in, instead of using it to spread sexism and backwards mentality?”

Balqa had the highest number of single males and females with around 36 per cent of females and 48 per cent of males being single, according to the report.

Jerash, on the other hand, had the lowest percentage of single females, while Aqaba had the lowest rate of single males.

Activists condemned the use of the word “spinster” when referring to unmarried women, calling it “offensive” and “degrading”.