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State Sponsored Liberal Feminism In Jordan, Andrew Pragacz

Sociology Honors Projects

The Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW), established in 1996, is the first expression of a state sponsored liberal feminist organization in Jordan. The JNCW, however, is not a manifestation of a transcendent 'Liberal Feminism,' as some would contend, but is a particular embodiment of it, with its own language, goals, and practical usages. Following this logic, this work contends that the JNCW (1) developed through contingent discursive movements made by the regime and (2) by accepting Jordanian nationalism and development logic as its own the JNCW promotes state desires and goals rather than, necessarily, the 'betterment of Jordanian women.'