Ammon News - Jordan Times - Seventy per cent of Jordanian women accept at least one reason as a justification for wife beating, according to the 2012 National Population and Family Health Survey.

The report, a copy of which was sent to The Jordan Times, said that 65 per cent of women are most likely to agree that “if a woman has affairs with other men, it justifies wife beating,” while 2 per cent believe that a man has the right to beat his wife if she burns the food and 6 per cent if she argues with him.

According to the survey, conducted by the Department of Statistics, 38 per cent of women agree that it is justified for a husband to beat his wife if she insults him, and 25 per cent believe that wife beating is warranted if a woman does not feed her husband.

In order to assess women’s attitudes towards wife beating, 11,352 women were asked whether they thought that a husband is justified in beating his wife for each of these reasons: if she burns the food, argues with him, insults him, goes out without his permission, neglects the children, does not feed him, or has affairs with other men.

The study showed that 93 per cent of married women aged between 15 and 49 do not own a house, while the same percentage does not own land.

Three per cent of married women are sole owners of a house or land, with property ownership increasing with age and wealth, according to the study.

“Urban married women, those from the central region, Amman, and non-badia and non-refugee camp areas are more likely to own a house alone than rural women and women in other regions and areas,” the report indicated.

In contrast, married women living in non-camp areas, the northern and southern regions and in Maan Governorate are more likely to be sole owners of land than women in other regions and areas, according to the study.

Moreover, married women with higher education degrees are more likely to own land or a house.