Ammon News - Jordan Times — Husbands and children of Jordanian women married to non-Jordanians will be granted full civil rights, a lawmaker said on Sunday.

The decision came as part of a deal between the government and 25 MPs who launched an initiative dubbed “Mubadara”.

According to Mustafa Hamarneh (Madaba, 1st District), leader of Mubadara, the decision will end decades of suffering for the families of more than 84,000 Jordanian women who are married to foreigners.

Under the Citizenship Law, Jordanian women cannot pass on their nationality to their children and spouses, a right that only Jordanian men enjoy.

These women face various difficulties, such as obtaining visas and residency permits for their husbands and children, who need them to enrol in private or public schools, shuttling between police stations and health centres every year to get security clearances and medical reports.

Having civil rights will allow the husbands and children of these women access to public services.

They will be able to obtain driving licences and jobs without the hassle of getting work permits, according to Hamarneh, who described such a move as “unprecedented”.

Last week, the Interior Ministry announced that a total of 84,711 Jordanian women are married to foreigners.

A statement issued by the ministry in response to a question by a lawmaker said these women have 338,000 children.

“Mubadara” is a coalition of independent parliamentary blocs that has recently proposed an initiative to engage in the decision-making process and set the ground for “concrete economic and political reforms” in the country, giving the Lower House a greater role in running the country’s affairs by evolving into a shadow government.