Spotlight on Jordan: Leadership in the Middle East on Disability Rights

Jordan is known as one of the most hospitable countries in the world.  It is also relatively accessible to people with disabilities.  Jordan was the first nation in the Middle East to enact disability-specific legislation and introduce building codes aimed at accessibility. The law, "Welfare of People with Disabilities," guarantees total integration and inclusion into the life of the community in a wide variety of areas, including education, employment and health care.

A Fulbright scholar, Ken Rutherford received a faculty appointment at the University of Jordan, where he spent five months teaching international politics and interviewing people with disabilities.  An amputee, Rutherford pursued an academic and personal interest in Jordan’s leading role in promoting disability rights throughout the Middle East.  He plans to return to the Middle East in summer 2006 to complete his research on the progress of the disability rights movement in Jordan.

Jordan is known as one of the most hospitable countries in the world.

“The impetus for my Jordan disability study occurred while I was working with the international disability rights movement at conferences in New York and in the Arab region.  I observed Jordanian representatives as some of the most active and assertive members of the international community in developing and promoting the rights of people with disabilities. 

Jordan is recognized by the international community as leading the Arab world in promoting disability rights. Jordan’s international leadership on disability rights was recognized in 2005 with it being the recipient of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt International Disability Award. The award was presented to King Abdullah II by Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, the U.S. president’s granddaughter, who commended Jordan for putting the disabled 'in the forefront of its national agenda,' and for its inspiration by example for its successful efforts in eliminating obstacles that 'all too often prevent those with disabilities from joining the mainstream of civil society.' Jordan is the first Arab or Islamic state to receive the award.

Why and how did Jordan become a leader in disability rights in the Arab region and the world? I believe that Jordan's leadership is a result of three major factors:

First, the legitimate compassion and courage of Jordan's Royal family toward people with disabilities. Jordan's leadership on Disability Rights was initiated by His Royal Highness Prince Raad, who believed that government should guarantee rights and regulate duties, and protect human dignity and sovereignty.

Jordan’s policy of ‘investing in human beings’ in order to compete with neighboring countries that are larger and/or have more natural resources explains why Jordan is better able to address its disability needs than its neighbors.

I believe that the second factor in explaining Jordan’s leadership role on disability rights is education. Jordan’s policy of ‘investing in human beings’ in order to compete with neighboring countries that are larger and/or have more natural resources explains why Jordan is better able to address its disability needs than its neighbors.

My third explanation is the hospitality and openness to outsiders in Jordanian culture. Due to its location at the intersection of the Middle East, Jordan is a very important transportation and commerce link among states in the region.  Jordan has become a haven for hundreds of thousands of Arab and Muslim refugees, who, in turn, contribute to the diversity and tolerance of foreign ideas and traditions.”