Considering Different Cultures and Customs

While I was researching for our presentation on the Jordanian system of education, I was struck by the complex ways that gender is perceived and divided in society. After corresponding with a friend from high school who spent a year at King’s Academy, she reinforced some of the information that I had found for our presentation.

Initially, I was researching laws and legal affairs in Jordan. I found that many laws in Jordan are based in the Koran and Hadith—the Islamic sacred book and the collection of sayings from the prophet Muhammad. These laws are referred to and enforced in religious courts in Jordan titled “Sharia Courts,” which deal with interpersonal matters. However, at this point in my research, I stumbled upon certain laws as well as aspects of society that are determined by social understandings rooted in the Koran and Hadith. Despite the shifting conversations about gender and sexual identity in the United States, I found that chastity is demanded of all single women in Jordan. The belief of chastity as necessary in any single woman is grounded in the Hadith. I did not understand the gravity of this notion until I read about an incident where a female who lost her virginity before marriage had a male relative feel the need to murder her in order to maintain the honor behind their family name. After reading this, I felt my perception of Jordan and Jordanian society begin to shift.

As I continued to dig into the ways Sharia law affects Jordanian society, I found out how Sharia Courts handle situations like the case I read before. I found that in the case of crimes related to chastity or gender, many of the charges end up dropped or the murderer is sentenced for a short period of time. Compiling this information, I continued to feel more frustrated as I allowed my life in the U.S. to normalize my experience and reject Jordanian laws, culture, and society due only to a lack of familiarity. I uncovered more information about Jordanian society and the gender divide embedded into their lifestyles. Many public schools are not co-ed and many restaurants force men and women to eat separately unless they are married or related to each other. Looking back, I found that my anger and frustration with discovering these realities in Jordan was only due to my projection of the shifting of normative gender roles here in the United States. I forced myself to look back at many history courses and conversations with my father and mother. I had heard stories from family members or teachers that mirrored the same sentiments in these Jordanian laws and customs despite them being rooted in different religious, social, and historical contexts.

Ultimately, I researched the crime rate and safety rate in Jordan as I reconciled my own preconceptions of gender norms in relation to respective cultures. It was hard for me to understand how, subconsciously, my own experience living and going to school in the U.S. could wire my mindset to perceive our way of discussing gender roles as the only and best way. As of 2018, Jordan’s crime rate has been confirmed as “Low” relative to other countries and their safety at night and day has been deemed “High.” This experience researching Jordan taught me a lot about the country and myself. I realized that I cannot impose my own customs and perspectives of what is “normal” or “right” on another country’s or people’s culture because I live hoping that others from different locations and backgrounds will give me a chance to show the validity behind my westernized habits, lifestyle, and identity. If I expect to truly “see” someone else then I must be open to looking at life and society from a perspective far removed from my own.