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Article: Fighting honor crimes: Evidence of civil society in Jordan
- Article from:
- The Middle East Journal
- Article date:
- January 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright Middle East Institute Winter 2003. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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During 1999, a group of young Jordanians formed the Campaign to Eliminate So-called Crimes of Honor as a grass-roots signature-collecting effort intent on repealing the law that grants reduced penalties for "honor crimes." Their efforts were ultimately defeated by a Parliament vote and quiet co-optation by the government. The Campaign's experience shows both the possibilities for civil society in the Arab world and the difficulties in raising an autonomous voice for democratic protest under conditions of limited political liberalization.
The academic interest in civil society and its relationship to democratic governance springs from the wave of democratic change in Latin America and ...