LGBT rights in Jordan

The British Mandate Criminal Code Ordinance criminalized homosexuality with up to 10 years in prison, until 1951 when Jordan adopted its own penal code that did not criminalize homosexuality.[3] In 1951, a revision of the Jordanian Criminal Code legalized private, adult, non-commercial, and consensual sodomy, with the age of consent set at 16.[4]

The Jordanian penal code no longer permits family members to beat or kill a member of their own family whose "illicit" sexuality is interpreted as bringing "dishonor" to the entire family.[5] As of 2013, the newly revised Penal Code makes honor killings, as a legal justification for murder, illegal.[6]

The Jordanian penal code gives the police discretion when it comes to protecting the public peace, which has sometimes been used against gay people organizing social events.[7]

In 2014, Jordan's Cassation Court, the highest court in Jordan, allowed a transgender woman to change her legal name and sex to female after she brought forth medical reports from Australia. The head of the Jordanian Department of Civil Status and Passports stated that two to three cases of change of sex reach the Department annually, all based on medical reports and court orders.[13]

In April 2018, the Jordanian Parliament passed the advanced medical responsibility law that defines "sex change" and "sex reassignment" making the first illegal and punishable with fine and jail time for any doctor who performs such operation for a patient whose physical appearance does not conflict with an individual's biological makeup.[14][15]

District courts are responsible for looking at cases of legal sex change in Jordan. The decision is ultimately left to the judge. Normally, the court assigns a medical committee to examine the claimant before making a decision on the case.[16]

The Media Commission regulates the commercial exhibition and distribution of films and television shows in Jordan. In 2016, the Media Commission ruled that the film The Danish Girl could not be shown publicly because it "encouraged" deviance and public disorder.[17] Printed media is regulated by the Press and Publication law.

The Press and Publication Law was amended in 1998 and 2004. The initial document prohibited the depiction or endorsement of "sexual perversion", which may have included homosexuality.[18] The revised edition in 2004 has a few provisions of direct impact on LGBT rights. First, the content ban on "sexual perversion" has been replaced with a general requirement that the press "respect the values of ... the Arab and Islamic nation" and that the press must also avoid encroaching into people's private lives.[19]

In 2007, the first LGBT-themed Jordanian publication My.Kali was launched. A year later, My.Kali[20] started publication online, named after openly gay model Khalid Abdel-Hadi,[21] making major headlines, as it is the first LGBT publication to ever exist in the MENA region, with one of the only faces in the pan-Arab region.[22][23]

In an article for Al Jazeera English titled 'Pushing for Sexual Equality in Jordan'[25] stated: "Earlier this year, they published the magazine’s 50th issue, and celebrated the magazine’s seven-year anniversary. Kali is on the cover, hugging a sculpture head, his naked torso covered in white dust. The headline reads: “Tell Me Little White Secrets!”" the article was soon removed by the official site, and pasted on blogs and pages instead, due to the huge stir the article caused at the time. "... an AJ foreign journalist wrote a favourable article two years ago on Jordan's only LGBTI magazine My.Kali Magazine but a day later the article was removed from its website and the journalist severely reprimanded." Journalist Dan Littauer writes on his official Facebook page, regarding Qatar's attempts of hushing local medias, and freedom of the press. The magazine regularly features non-LGBT artists on their covers to promote acceptance among other communities and was the first publication to give many underground and regional artists their first covers like Yasmine Hamdan,[26] lead singer of the band Mashrou' Leila, Hamed Sinno,[27] Alaa Wardi,[28] Zahed Sultan[29] and many more. "Jordan is a very traditional country, and we're considered controversial in Jordan for simply breaking the stereotype and stepping out of norm," Khalid told Egypt Independent.[30]

Events were held in the Jordanian capital Amman on the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia in 2014 and 2015, for educational purposes and for the purpose of raising voice for the community and discussing challenges. Many activists and members of the LGBT community and LGBT allies in Jordan attended the events. in the second event held in 2015 American ambassador in Jordan Alice Wells was one of the speakers. the event held in 2015 was published in almost all local media outlets.

According to a 2019 survey by the Arab Barometer, 93% of Jordanians answers no, 7% answered yes, on question: "Should Society Accept Homosexuality?" Another poll was conducted later in 2019, on question "Should LGBT people be protected and have their own rights", 78% answered no, with a minority who answered yes 22%.[24]

• Human rights in Jordan
• LGBT in the Middle East