Rana Husseini (
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
:رنا الحسيني; born 1969) is a Jordanian
journalist
A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism.
Roles
Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
and
human rights
Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
activist
Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...
who exposed
honour crimes
An honor killing (American English), ''honour killing'' (Commonwealth English), or ''shame killing'' is a type of murder in which a person, usually a woman or girl, is killed by or at the behest of male members of their family or their male ...
in Jordan and campaigned for stronger legal penalties against perpetrators. She became a published author in 2009 with her book, ''Murder in the Name of Honor: The True Story of One Woman's Heroic Fight Against An Unbelievable Crime'' (
Oneworld Publications
Oneworld Publications is a British independent publishing firm founded in 1986 by Novin Doostdar and Juliet Mabey originally to publish accessible non-fiction by experts and academics for the general market. Based in London, it later added a li ...
). In her work, she focused on raising awareness and fighting against social issues that were considered taboo. Following the release of Husseini's book, the National Jordanian Committee to Eliminate the So-called Crimes of Honor was formed in 1998. This committee demanded for the criminals to not be released easily or given a lenient sentence, collecting thousands of signatures along the way.
She also influenced the 2007
fatwa
A fatwa (; ; ; ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (sharia) given by a qualified Islamic jurist ('' faqih'') in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist issuing fatwas is called a ''mufti'', ...
in Jordan stating that honor killings are against religious law.
The government responded to her reports by implanting more serious legal and judicial changes and in 2017 the
Penal Code
A criminal code or penal code is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of, a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain Crime, offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that ...
was amended, improving human rights to women as well as people with disabilities.
Her second book ''Years of Struggle: The Women's Movement in Jordan'' was published in 2021, and she is currently a senior reporter at ''
The Jordan Times
''The Jordan Times'' is an English-language daily newspaper based in Amman, Jordan.
History
Established in 1975, ''The Jordan Times'' is owned by the Jordan Press Foundation, a shareholding company which also runs the Arabic-language daily '' A ...
''.
Biography
Rana Husseini was born in 1969. She has been an active journalist and activist since 1993, when she began working for The Jordan Times.
After hearing the story of a 16 year old girl that was raped, silenced and then killed by her brother for tarnishing her family's honor in 1994, Ranaa Husseini was inspired to write a book about her and many other women that experienced the same fat
She started advocating against
honor killing
An honor killing (American English), ''honour killing'' (Commonwealth English), or ''shame killing'' is a type of murder in which a person, usually a woman or girl, is killed by or at the behest of male members of their family or their male ...
and fought for violence against women to stop specifically in Jordan. She also wanted to shed light on and document the Women's movement and highlight all the sacrifices and the suffering they had to do that was not talked about in history books.
Husseini was an advocate for woman for local and international organizations. She also worked as a consultant and trained reporters and journalism students in workshops about gender, human rights and violence against women. She was a lecturer and panelist in several national and international conferences and was the main speaker at talks held at governmental and non-governmental organisations, high schools, universities and clubs.
She has served as a regional coordinator for the
United Nations Development Fund for Women
The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM, , ) was established in December 1976 originally as the Voluntary Fund for the United Nations Decade for Women in the International Women's Year. Its first director was Margaret C. Snyder. U ...
(UNIFEM) and as an advisor to the U.S. government-funded human rights organization
Freedom House
Freedom House is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. It is best known for political advocacy surrounding issues of democracy, Freedom (political), political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, wi ...
. She is currently a senior reporter at The Jordan Times
and serving in several boards.
''Memberships''
Source:
* Advisory Board Member -
Equality Now
Equality Now is a non-governmental organization founded in 1992 to advocate for the protection and promotion of the human rights of women and girls. Equality Now works through public policy channels to create a just world for women and girls. Th ...
Organisation, since 2015
* Board Member – Jordanian National Committee for Demining and Rehabilitation since 2003
* Member - Judges Panel – Kurt Schork Awards (Journalism) 2010
* Board of Directors Member – Man Up Campaign (USA) since 2010
* Member - Jordan Press Association since 2005
* Board Member – Forefront Organisation (USA) 1999, since 2005
* Member - “Jordanian National Committee to Eliminate so-called Honour Crimes” 1999 - 2003
* Member of Judges Panel – Amnesty International Global Award for Human Rights Journalism since 2001
''Sports Engagements''
Source:
* Board Member - Jordan Football Association (JFA) ''2009 - 2018''
* President of the Women’s Football Committee at the JFA ''2009 - 2018''
* Member - FIFA Committee for Women’s Football and the FIFA Women’s World Cup ''2011- 2016''
* Board Member - Arab Women’s Football Committee ''2011- 2013''
* Board Member - Jordan Basketball Federation ''2003 - 2004''
* Team Captain - Jordanian Women's National Basketball Team ''1995 - 2000''
* Team Member - Jordanian Women’s National Basketball Team ''1983 - 2000''
* Team Member - Jordanian Women’s National Handball Team ''1983 - 1995''
* Team Member - Variety of local and US soccer teams ''1989 - 1996''
* Team Member - University of Oklahoma Rugby Team ''1990- 1991''
Published work
Books:
''Murder in the Name of Honor: The True Story of One Women's Heroic Fight Against an Unbelievable Crime''
Rana Husseini's first book focuses on
honour crimes
An honor killing (American English), ''honour killing'' (Commonwealth English), or ''shame killing'' is a type of murder in which a person, usually a woman or girl, is killed by or at the behest of male members of their family or their male ...
and honor killings, predominantly in Jordan, on a social and religious aspect. It tells the story of her journalism with ''
The Jordan Times
''The Jordan Times'' is an English-language daily newspaper based in Amman, Jordan.
History
Established in 1975, ''The Jordan Times'' is owned by the Jordan Press Foundation, a shareholding company which also runs the Arabic-language daily '' A ...
'', and her articles shedding light on the problem of honour killings. She discusses the story of a sixteen-year-old girl who was raped by her brother in Jordan in 1994, and then killed by her other sibling, explaining that it was this case that made her want to concentrate her reporting on violence against women.
The books was translated to English, Arabic, Dutch, and Finnish.
The book was published in 2009 by Oneworld Publications and is distributed in the United States by
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...
.
''Reviews on the book:''
BBCDemocracyNOWPBSHuffingtonPostThe Guardian
''Years of Struggle: The Women's Movement in Jordan''
Rana Husseini's second book focuses on the
women's movement
The feminist movement, also known as the women's movement, refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for radical and liberal reforms on women's issues created by inequality between men and women. Such issues are women's ...
in
Jordan
Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
. It begins with a history of the development of women's political activity in the twentieth century from the 1940s to the 1990s. The book includes a discussion of the impact of
the Arab Spring on the Jordanian Women's Movement, as well as chapters on disabled women, women's education and the
Syrian refugee crisis. The author stated that her book was designed for younger generations because "they need to know our history, told by Jordanians". The publication of the book was supported by the
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
The Friedrich Ebert Foundation (''German: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung e.V.; Abbreviation: FES'') is a German political party foundation associated with, but independent from, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Established in 1925 as t ...
Jordan Office, and the book is available open access online.
''Reviews on the book:''
DAWN MENAAlarabyJordanTimesAlbawabaRaseef22ALGhadALRaiPetra News
Other publications
Source:
She contributed chapters in:
* The "Abraham’s Children: Liberty and Tolerance in an Age of Religious Conflict” book.
* The "Honour, Violence, Women and Islam" book.
* The "Freedom House's Survey of Women's Rights in the Middle East and North Africa" report.
* The “A Modern Narrative for Muslim Women in the Middle East.” report.
She was also featured and mentioned in four books:
* “Leap of Faith…Memories of an Unexpected Life,” by Her Majesty Queen Noor.
* “Speak Truth to Power” by Kerry Kennedy.
* “That Takes Ovaries… Bold Females and their Brazen Acts” edited by Rivka Solomon.
* "Notable Muslims: Profiles of Muslim Builders of World Civilization and Culture" by Natana J. Delong-Bas
Recognition
She has received multiple local and international awards including: a medal from Jordan's King Abdullah II in 2007, the Ida B. Wells award for Bravery in Journalism in 2003, the Human Rights Watch Award in 2000, the
Reebok Human Rights Award
The Reebok Human Rights Award honoured activists under the age of thirty who fought for human rights through non-violent means. Each year, the award was given to four or five individuals. Each received a grant of US $50,000 that was to be used to ...
in 1998, and the MEDNEWS prize award for best article in 1995. She is also featured in
Kerry Kennedy
Mary Kerry Kennedy (born September 8, 1959) is an American lawyer, author, and human rights activist. Kennedy is a daughter of former United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy, and a niece of former U.S. President John F. Kenned ...
's book ''Speak Truth to Power: Human Rights Defenders Who Are Changing Our World''.
''Awards''
Source:
* The London Arabia Organisation Arab Women of the Year Awards for Social Impact — 2019
* The Moves Magazine’s Seventh Annual Power Women Award for the dedication, drive in the chosen sphere, and for the inspiration to so many women and making a difference in real lives — 2010
* Al Hussein Decoration for Distinguished Contribution, Second Order, bestowed by His Majesty King Abdullah II for activism in the human rights field and defending women causes in Jordan — 2007
* Distinguished Alumna Award from the Oklahoma City University Alumni Association for the significant contribution made in the profession and community — 2007
* Spanish Ciutat de L'Hospitalet Award for the Defence of Human Rights and Peaceful Coexistence for work on championing women's rights issues in Jordan — 2005
* Marie Claire Top Ten Women of the World Award for bringing attention to honor crimes against women in Jordan — 2004
* The Ida B. Wells Award for Bravery in Journalism – 2003
* Human Rights Watch Award granted for the overall reporting and activism against violence against women in Jordan – 2000
* Reebok Human Rights Award granted for reporting on violence against women in Jordan – 1998
* MEDNEWS (Med-Media Programme, European Union) prize award for best article: "Murder in the name of honour" – 1995
Other recognitions
Source:
* Chosen as one of 500 most influential Muslims by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre of Jordan – 2010
* Chosen as one of 50 Visionaries Who are Changing Your World by Utne Reader - 2009
* The Silent Witness Initiative to honor her life’s work of using her voice for others unable to speak out – 2006
* The Roger Williams University Women’s Centre for her outstanding contribution towards raising global awareness of the issue of
o-calledHonour Killings and sharing her message with the Roger Williams University community – 2006
* Equality Now Organization to honor her for being the first journalist to break the silence on so-called crimes of honor – 2005
* One of Women’s eNews 21 Leaders for the 21st Century for her remarkable work and achievements in a variety of ways to improve women’s lives - 2003
* Feminist Majority Foundation for her unique contribution to the historic struggle for women’s equality and human rights - 2000
References
External links
Rana Husseini's web siteRana Husseini on "Murder in the Name of Honor"- video report by ''
Democracy Now!
''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long TV, radio, and Internet news program based in Manhattan and hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live ...
''
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt7UpcAGnSE
* https://twitter.com/AsfariInstitute/status/1484078195762769928
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuJ2QBA9q9Q
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9S1zySNsAU
{{DEFAULTSORT:Husseini, Rana
Jordanian journalists
Jordanian women journalists
Jordanian activists
Jordanian women activists
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)