The head of a Jordanian civil organisation involved in drafting child protection legislation has rejected criticism that the planned law is “too western” and “subverts Islam”.
Mohammed Mogdadi, secretary general of the National Council for Family Affairs — which aims to ensure a better quality of life for Jordanian families and children — said on Friday that the draft law conforms to a UN convention that Jordan signed up to 16 years ago.
The Children's Rights bill, which the government submitted to Parliament for approval last month streamlines rights and obligations present in existing legislation and does not introduce new ones, Mr Mogdadi told The National.
“In a way, the Children's Rights law is a constitution for children against which future progress can be measured,” Mr Mogdadi said.
Islamist and ultranationalist MPs have criticised the proposed law as subverting Islam and as inspired by western values.
Some Jordanians have also attacked the bill on social media, particularly clauses related to freedom and privacy, which they say undermine religious values.
However, other Jordanians see the legislation as helping modernise the country.
The NCFA was established by royal decree in 2001 and is presided over by Queen Rania. Since 2015, the organisation has been in talks with the government and Parliament to write the new law.
All significant powers in Jordan are with the monarch, King Abdullah II, and passing legislation is mostly a formality, especially when it comes to national politics, security and foreign affairs.
But the 130-member, mostly tribal parliament has some leeway when it comes to social legislation in the mostly conservative country.
In response to criticism from MPs and members of the public, Mr Mogdadi said the law is based on the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Jordan signed the convention in 1991 and ratified it in 2006, after registering reservations on clauses that allow adoption from outside the child’s home country and allow them the choice of religion.
There is nothing in the draft law, which is yet to be debated by parliament, that has not been already put into effect in Jordan, Mr Mogdadi said.
He cited a Jordanian law that ratified the UN convention in 2006 and the wider laws applicable in the kingdom — such as a clause in the constitution guaranteeing personal freedom.
“The constitution guarantees personal freedom to all and did not specify man, woman or child,” he said.
Criticism on social media has focused on a clause in the draft law that says the child “has a right that his or her private life be respected”.
Critics say this undermines the role of parents and religious mores.
The clause also bans subjecting the child “to any oppressive interference or illegal measure in his or her life, family, home or correspondence”.
Mr Mogdadi said such rights are not absolute in Jordan and that the same clause emphasises the application of “the rights and obligations of his or her parents”.
“The draft law refers 11 times to the need to conform to the related laws,” he said.
Those who helped draft the legislation were careful to ensure that clauses they regarded as remotely sensitive were removed before the law went before Parliament, he said.
Mr Mogdadi gave the example of the removal of a clause that would have included kindergarten in compulsory education — which is currently from grades 1 to 10 in Jordan.
Despite removing this, Mr Mogdadi said he is still seeing tweets falsely claiming that small children will now not be able to go to Quran learning centres from an early age, because they would have to go to kindergarten.
“Some people are reading and analysing beyond what the actual clauses say,” he said.
“They don't seem to have read the text.”
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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ROUTE%20TO%20TITLE
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Results
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
HAJJAN
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If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
The Details
Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
What: India v Afghanistan, first Test
When: Starts Thursday
Where: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengalaru
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Everton%20Fixtures
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Virtuzone GCC Sixes
Date and venue Friday and Saturday, ICC Academy, Dubai Sports City
Time Matches start at 9am
Groups
A Blighty Ducks, Darjeeling Colts, Darjeeling Social, Dubai Wombats; B Darjeeling Veterans, Kuwait Casuals, Loose Cannons, Savannah Lions; C Awali Taverners, Darjeeling, Dromedary, Darjeeling Good Eggs
How to turn your property into a holiday home
- Ensure decoration and styling – and portal photography – quality is high to achieve maximum rates.
- Research equivalent Airbnb homes in your location to ensure competitiveness.
- Post on all relevant platforms to reach the widest audience; whether you let personally or via an agency know your potential guest profile – aiming for the wrong demographic may leave your property empty.
- Factor in costs when working out if holiday letting is beneficial. The annual DCTM fee runs from Dh370 for a one-bedroom flat to Dh1,200. Tourism tax is Dh10-15 per bedroom, per night.
- Check your management company has a physical office, a valid DTCM licence and is licencing your property and paying tourism taxes. For transparency, regularly view your booking calendar.
Mane points for safe home colouring
- Natural and grey hair takes colour differently than chemically treated hair
- Taking hair from a dark to a light colour should involve a slow transition through warmer stages of colour
- When choosing a colour (especially a lighter tone), allow for a natural lift of warmth
- Most modern hair colours are technique-based, in that they require a confident hand and taught skills
- If you decide to be brave and go for it, seek professional advice and use a semi-permanent colour
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
THE%20HOLDOVERS
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