JORDAN NOMINATES RANA HUSSEINI FOR WOMEN OF

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 AMMAN 002578 SIPDIS STATE FOR S/WGI FROM AMBASSADOR BEECROFT E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KWMN PREL KPAO PHUM JO SUBJECT: JORDAN NOMINATES RANA HUSSEINI FOR WOMEN OF COURAGE AWARD REF: A. STATE 111471 ¶B. AMMAN 2324 ¶C. AMMAN 2307 ¶D. AMMAN 1885 ¶E. AMMAN 1884 ¶F. AMMAN 1821 ¶G. AMMAN 1673 ¶H. AMMAN 1618 ¶I. AMMAN 1558 ¶J. AMMAN 1509 ¶K. AMMAN 1397 ¶L. AMMAN 1318 ¶M. AMMAN 471 ¶N. 08 AMMAN 3280 ¶O. 08 AMMAN 3123 ¶P. 05 AMMAN 1783 ¶Q. 04 AMMAN 10217 ¶R. 04 AMMAN 181 ¶S. 03 AMMAN 6027 ¶1. Summary: It is an honor to nominate and strongly recommend Rana Husseini for the 2009 Women of Courage Award. Ms. Husseini is the definition of courage. Ms. Husseini's work single-handedly broke the silence of honor killings in Jordan and her 15-year crusade has resulted in greater justice for victims of these terrible crimes and produced a national dialogue on the issue. End Summary. ¶2. Background: Activists characterize so-called "honor crimes" as the murder of women committed by brothers, fathers, or other male family members who kill to "cleanse their family's honor." "Justifications" for murder have ranged from seeing the victim wear make-up, being told the victim was talking to a man, or the victim's absence from home for several hours to allegations of infidelity and premarital sex. In some instances, neighborhood rumors are enough to prompt the killings. There have been twenty reported honor crimes in Jordan from January - October 2009. The number of killings in Jordan have ranged between 15 - 25 per year over the past decade. However, activists believe the number is higher due to unreported honor crimes in rural areas or crimes covered up as suicides or accidents. The United Nations estimates that over 5,000 women are victims of honor crimes around the world each year, and it is believed that honor crimes are reported more in Jordan than in most Middle Eastern countries. End Background. ¶3. In 1994, as a 26-year-old crime reporter fresh out of college, Ms. Husseini stood alone in Jordan to raise awareness on the killing of women to cleanse family honor. Rana's campaign started while covering the murder of a sixteen-year-old girl. The young girl was killed as a result of a series of events which began when she was raped by her brother. A pregnancy resulted, forcing the girl to tell her family. They arranged for an abortion and then quickly married her off to a man fifty years her senior. When he divorced her six months later, she was murdered. Ms. Husseini ventured into the extremely conservative East Amman neighborhood, whose citizens openly criticized her presence, to uncover the truth. The girl's family, during the interviews, justified the murder because she was a "bad girl." Ms. Husseini's resolve was set. She knew it would not be easy but was determined to change mindsets. Over the 15 years she has worked tirelessly to uncover and tell the story of every honor crime victim in Jordan and to highlight each injustice as courts handed down lenient sentence after lenient sentence. ¶4. As Ms. Husseini started to investigate and report on honor crime after honor crime for the Jordan Times, a daily English language paper, she was met with a wall of resistance. Family members and communities refused to speak with her and often excused the murders. The police and prosecutors, many of whom were sympathetic to the perpetrator, were not cooperative. Ms. Husseini was also banned from visiting Jordan's sole woman's prison, where she tried to tell the story of women jailed for their own "protection." In the face of the resistance, Ms. Husseini showed courage and determination. She learned the art of investigative journalism, in which she now trains fellow journalists, and found openings within the system to obtain information. Slowly Ms. Husseini cultivated relationships in the police, judiciary, and throughout the Jordanian government. Through these relationships, she began to establish support from officials. Slowly the silence was being lifted, slowly public awareness among decision makers increased, and slowly the call for action grew. ¶5. Ms. Husseini's fight for justice carried great personal risk. Still today, she is personally assailed for her work; AMMAN 00002578 002 OF 003 from those who believe condone the crimes to those who feel she is tarnishing the image of Jordan. Additionally, others argue she is promoting pre-marital sex and other immortal acts and, therefore, her work must be stopped. She has received death threats with gruesome claims. Yet through it all, Ms. Husseini states that these threats have the opposite of the intended effect; they do not deter her but make her more determined than ever to carry on speaking for the victims of these atrocious crimes. Ms. Husseini has reported on hundreds of crimes over the past 15 years and has spoken out against these crimes in any fora possible. Her cause has been endorsed by numerous non-governmental organizations, activists, journalists, and many others. ¶6. How is the situation after 15 years of diligently reporting murder after murder in the face of adversity and threats? Ms. Husseini no longer stands alone. Today, when an honor crime occurs in Jordan, it is widely covered by the local Arabic-language media. Ms. Husseini continues to conduct trainings for fellow journalists on how to report on crimes against women and women's issue because the crusade is not over. ¶7. Ms. Husseini's work has led to more than a change in public attitudes and media coverage, which in of itself is hugely significant. She was a founding member of a national campaign to combat honor crimes, established over 10 years ago, which called upon the government to cancel laws that allow perpetrators to receive lenient sentences. They collected over 15,000 signatures from local citizens and received support from the Queen, members of the royal family, and high-ranking government officials. The campaign had an impact. In 2003, the government proposed amendments to the penal code that deal specifically with honor crimes. However, the tribally conservative parliament voted down the amendments. Ms. Husseini and her growing number of supporters continue to push for change. The government has once again drafted penal code amendments to address lenient sentencing and will again submit them to parliament. In this version of amendments, sympathetic judges would no longer be able to hand down six-month sentences to perpetrators by stating they acted in a "fit of rage" after hearing an "immoral" act had been committed by a female relative. ¶8. Ms. Husseini's work is producing tangible results on a number of fronts. She successfully fought for changes to the judicial handling of honor crime cases and worked closely with reformers to implement the changes. In July 2009, the judiciary announced a new honor crime tribunal. This tribunal, in its first verdict, set precedent by sentencing the perpetrator to a full 15-year sentence for murder without reducing the sentence for mitigating circumstances. This marked the first time in memory that a honor crime murderer did not receive a reduced sentence. She is also on the advisory committee of a project conducting a public awareness campaign against honor crimes. This project includes well known religious, tribal, media, government, and other leaders. Other organizations are stepping up to take on the cause, including a student group conducting an awareness caravan in their home communities and an organization that protects at-risk women. ¶9. What started as an effort to cover one murder in East Amman has turned into a world wide effort to raise awareness and to discover ways to combat honor crimes. Ms. Husseini has spoken on the issue in Venezuela, Egypt, Belgium, Norway, Qatar, Switzerland, Egypt, Spain, and the United States, among other countries. She is acknowledged by international organizations, governments, and non-governmental bodies around the world as a leading expert on honor killings. ¶10. Ms. Husseini recently completed her first book, "Murder in the Name of Honor." The book examines the issue of honor crimes in Jordan and societies around the world, including Europe and the U.S. She continues to tell the stories of victims and fight for legislative, judicial, and societal changes that are needed to prevent future murders. Public attitudes have started to shift in Jordan and elsewhere. This shift could have only been initiated through the acts of courageous individuals, who like Ms. Husseini, stood up and called these crimes what they are - murders. ¶11. Ms. Husseini is as warm and interesting as she is courageous. Her favorite mode of transportation is a scooter, which she still uses to travel around the streets of Jordan covering stories. Contacts state that after only a few minutes with Ms. Husseini you feel as if you have been friends forever. Joanne Clark at the Meridian International Center recently programmed a VOLVIS for Ms. Husseini to discuss her work with organizations in Washington DC. After AMMAN 00002578 003 OF 003 the program, Joanne remarked to Post "she is one of the most impressive visitors I have had the pleasure of working with in my 24 years as a programmer." Ms. Husseini is also active in many other areas and numerous causes, including the National Committee for Demining and Rehabilitation. She was the team captain of the Jordanian Women's National basketball team from 1995-2000 and continues to work with the team. Ms. Husseini received a Bachelors in Mass Communications and a Masters in Liberal Arts from Oklahoma City University. Nomination Details -------------- ¶12. As requested, here are the personal details of the nominee. Rana Ahmed Husseini is a Senior Jordan Times Reporter, author, and women's rights activist. Ms. Husseini was born on June 2, 1967 in Amman, Jordan and maintains Jordanian and Canadian citizenship. Her passport number is I989664. Ms. Husseini is fluent in Arabic and English. Her e-mail address is honorcrimes@ranahusseini.com and phone number is 962-79-554-5776. ¶13. Ms. Husseini has been notified of the nomination and will accept the award, if chosen. ¶14. The eighteen reftel cables either mention the work of Ms. Husseini specifically or discuss the issue of honor crimes in Jordan. Post regularly meets with her, and she is instrumental in informing Post engagement on the issue. ¶15. (U) Embassy point of contact for the nomination is Political Officer Garret Harries; work phone number 962-6-590-6597, work fax number 962-6-592-0159, cell phone number 962-79-732-0508, and e-mail harriesgj@state.gov. Beecroft