Womens Participation in the Parliamentary Elections in Jordan 2003:A Socio-Political Study in Greater Amman Area

Despite the fact that half the voters in the last four parliamentary elections in Jordan were women, and that there were no legislation or legal obstacles on their way to win the parliament's election, yet their achievement in this domain remained very poor. Elections' records show that no single woman won in those elections on the basis of free competition with men. However, one woman made it to the parliament in 1993 and six others succeeded in 2003 as a result of the quota system for women and racial minorities. Results show that women's behavior and voting priorities are influenced by their husbands' opinion and families' relationships and that their voting and participation behavior are influenced by their age, level of education and place of residence. Results show that the older and more educated women are more willing to vote, to run for parliament, and to participate in the elections' campaign and meetings than the younger women.