Zreiqat: Male domination of society is biggest challenge

The human rights activist Nisreen Zreiqat told Arabstoday that she has witnessed a significant decline in the level of freedom, offset by development in prisoners rights, explaining that Jordan has contributed towards the emergence  of "role model prisons" and the building of new ones in addition to providing "quality health care to prisoners.” Zreiqat, who works in the penal reform field, said: “I face many difficulties in my work, the most significant being the male domination of our society"  adding that  males in Arab societies believe that a woman's ability is limited, and they are incapable of performing difficult tasks. Describing her role in the prison systems she said that "visiting reform and rehabilitation centres is difficult in itself. It requires strength and experience, and the ability to deal with inmates.” Nisreen Zreiqat is the first Jordanian female to enter prisons to prepare periodic reports on the conditions  of prisoners in Jordan. In this role, she has had to overcome many social challenges. Zreiqat emphasised that: “Persistence, steadiness and rising to challenges are the most important factors to a woman’s success.” AT: How did you begin working in human rights, and what are the difficulties you faced? NZ: My introduction to human rights began when I was a student, then crytallised  when I started  working for the National Centre for Human Rights. The difficulties I faced were many. The same difficulties that face defenders who work on human rights issues, who used to be neglected and marginilised. This is because the issues of human rights are either in areas of dispute and disagreement, or challenging the prevailing social standards, or regarded as a threat to the religious, economic, or cultural systems. AT: What is your assessment for the status of the human rights in Jordan? NZ: I cannot assess the entire human rights situation in Jordan, as this requires objective and specialised study and that assessment would have to address all the civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights, in addition to the rights of development. However what I can say is that the status of human rights in Jordan varies from one type of right to another. For example, I think that the level of rights in Jordan has witnessed significant decline, offset by the development of certain rights, such as prisoners' rights, and there are many other examples.   AT: What do you think of the statement issued by the Public Security Directorate of Jordan about the stabbing of the activist Enas Musallam? NZ: This statement breached a basic and important rule of law, which is the secrecy under which investigations are carried out and publicity of the trial. It over-rode the law, and the investigation requirements, as well as guarantees for a fair trial. This statement caused  moral, psychological and personal harm to the family as it defamed the activist, and diverted the public's focus from the key issue, which was whether the incident occurred because of her political views. It diverted attention towards another issue, which is whether the incident happened for personal reasons. I do not want to predict the result,  that is for the judiciary to decide, but in any case, defamation of  an activist is not acceptable, and the law should be respected. I hope the result of this criminal action will not intimidate other political and human rights activists in Jordan. AT: Are Jordanian women in particular, and Arab women in general,  qualified to work in reform centres? NZ: Sure. They can through their self-belief and their ability to do it fairly. AT: After working for eight years in reform centres, how  were you able to make changes in the inmates’ situation? NZ: I was able to do it  through monitoring the centres, and providing solutions that serve the government's approach to the selection of development strategies.  We contributed towards the existence of role model prisons in Jordan, and to the construction of new prisons. We also participated in helping the authorities concerned to provide quality healthcare to prisoners. AT: What are the difficulties you experience being a woman when you visit reform centres? NZ: The first of these difficulties is the male domination of our society which rejects that a woman should be in such a place, as  the attitude of males in Arab societies is that women's abilities are limited, and they are unable to perform difficult tasks, so men, in their view, are the leaders. Also the image of women is usually directed towards focussing on human rights related to children and women, not to penal justice. This attitude exposed me to some harassment at the beginning of my career. In addition, visiting reform centres is difficult in itself; it requires strength and experience, and the ability to deal with inmates. AT: What is your assessment of the popular uprising in Jordan? NZ: It is like other popular uprisings which have taken place in other Arab countries, it sought to achieve democratic goals, political reform, and to fight corruption. They are disorganised due to the weakness of the political parties, and as the political elites are far from organising them, they are considered as spontaneous movements which gather a number of youths who  have differences in their visions, trends, demands and also objectives. This caused these uprisings to lose their credibility at times. However, I think it is important to pressure for political reform, to some extent. AT: Does working in this field affect your social life, particularly, marriage? BZ: Of course, Eastern men do not usually want to get married to women who work in masculine fields, and who have independent and strong personalities!