Paper short abstract:

Homosexuality in Jordan was decriminalized in 1951 however, there are still no structures in place to protect people from discrimination based on their sexuality. I ask how queer lives are experienced in relation to state legislation in today's Jordan.

Paper long abstract:

Based on a year-long ethnographic fieldwork among young queer men in Amman, Jordan in 2021 I wish to explore how queer experiences are affected by state legislation. Homosexuality was decriminalized in Jordan after breaking with British Mandate Criminal Code in 1951 however, there are still laws regarding crimes of honour that may put queer citizens in danger. One example is in the Jordanian Penal Code (no.16, 1960). Article 340 regarding crimes of honor which states:

He who catches his wife, or one of his female un-lawfuls committing adultery with

another, and he kills, wounds or injures one or both of them, is excused and benefits

from an exemption from the law.

He who catches his wife, or one of his female ascendants or descendants or sisters with

another in an un-lawful bed, and he kills or wounds or injures one or both of them,

benefits from a reduction of penalty (Abu-Odeh 2010: 913-914).

Another is that one of the only examples of a state official commenting on same-sex relations is the then interior minister saying the following: ”Jordan has not and will never endorse any charter or protocol acknowledging homosexuals – known as the LGBT community – or granting them any rights as it is considered a deviation from Islamic law and Jordanian constitution” (Human Rights Watch 2017).

I ask then; What are queer rights in Jordan? How can we understand them? And how are they experienced by my queer interlocutors on a day-to-day basis?