Rana Husseini ( Arabic:رنا الحسيني; born 1969) is a Jordanian journalist and human rights activist who exposed honour crimes in Jordan and campaigned for stronger legal penalties against perpetrators. [1] 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). [2] In her work, she focused on raising awareness and fighting against social issues that were considered taboo. [3] 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. [4] She also influenced the 2007 fatwa in Jordan stating that honor killings are against religious law. [5] [6] The government responded to her reports by implanting more serious legal and judicial changes and in 2017 the Penal Code was amended, improving human rights to women as well as people with disabilities. [4] [7] Her second book Years of Struggle: The Women's Movement in Jordan was published in 2021, [8] and she is currently a senior reporter at The Jordan Times.
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 fate [1]. She started advocating against honor killing 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. [4]
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. [9] She has served as a regional coordinator for the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and as an advisor to the U.S. government-funded human rights organization Freedom House. [10] She is currently a senior reporter at The Jordan Times [11] and serving in several boards. [12]
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 and honor killings, predominantly in Jordan, on a social and religious aspect. [13] It tells the story of her journalism with The Jordan Times, and her articles shedding light on the problem of honour killings. [14] 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. [15] [6] 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. [16]
Reviews on the book: [17]
Years of Struggle: The Women's Movement in Jordan
Rana Husseini's second book focuses on the women's movement in Jordan. It begins with a history of the development of women's political activity in the twentieth century from the 1940s to the 1990s. [18] 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". [19] The publication of the book was supported by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Jordan Office, and the book is available open access online. [20]
Reviews on the book: [17]
She contributed chapters in:
She was also featured and mentioned in four books:
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 in 1998, and the MEDNEWS prize award for best article in 1995. [21] She is also featured in Kerry Kennedy's book Speak Truth to Power: Human Rights Defenders Who Are Changing Our World. [22]
Rana Husseini ( Arabic:رنا الحسيني; born 1969) is a Jordanian journalist and human rights activist who exposed honour crimes in Jordan and campaigned for stronger legal penalties against perpetrators. [1] 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). [2] In her work, she focused on raising awareness and fighting against social issues that were considered taboo. [3] 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. [4] She also influenced the 2007 fatwa in Jordan stating that honor killings are against religious law. [5] [6] The government responded to her reports by implanting more serious legal and judicial changes and in 2017 the Penal Code was amended, improving human rights to women as well as people with disabilities. [4] [7] Her second book Years of Struggle: The Women's Movement in Jordan was published in 2021, [8] and she is currently a senior reporter at The Jordan Times.
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 fate [1]. She started advocating against honor killing 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. [4]
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. [9] She has served as a regional coordinator for the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and as an advisor to the U.S. government-funded human rights organization Freedom House. [10] She is currently a senior reporter at The Jordan Times [11] and serving in several boards. [12]
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 and honor killings, predominantly in Jordan, on a social and religious aspect. [13] It tells the story of her journalism with The Jordan Times, and her articles shedding light on the problem of honour killings. [14] 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. [15] [6] 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. [16]
Reviews on the book: [17]
Years of Struggle: The Women's Movement in Jordan
Rana Husseini's second book focuses on the women's movement in Jordan. It begins with a history of the development of women's political activity in the twentieth century from the 1940s to the 1990s. [18] 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". [19] The publication of the book was supported by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Jordan Office, and the book is available open access online. [20]
Reviews on the book: [17]
She contributed chapters in:
She was also featured and mentioned in four books:
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 in 1998, and the MEDNEWS prize award for best article in 1995. [21] She is also featured in Kerry Kennedy's book Speak Truth to Power: Human Rights Defenders Who Are Changing Our World. [22]