Jordanian Mothers Demand the Return of Their Children Amid Coronavirus Crisis

As Jordan welcomes back about 10k students, who are studying abroad after a government decision to reopen the Amman airport specifically to facilitate their return from COVID-19 epicenters, Jordanian mothers who are not married to Jordanian men struggle to bring back their kids.

Translation: "Children of Jordanian mothers should have the equal right to return home same as their peers with the Jordanian ID. It's their right. They too were born in Jordan and have no other home country to return to."

For years, Jordanian women have protested Jordanian laws that don't allow women to pass their citizenship to their kids who are born to non-citizen fathers, even if born and raised in the country.

Jordanian families, whose children were denied the right to citizenship despite living in the country with Jordanian mothers, are calling on Jordanian authorities to include their children, who study in different countries across the world, in the recent plans to bring students back to the country.

As school years approach an end worldwide, Jordan's airport will be open briefly so about 10k students with the Jordanian nationality, who wish to return home in the wake of the coronavirus global crisis can come back.

Translation: "Airplanes carrying Jordanian students stuck aboard have started to arrive according to plans to bring back the first group of 3049 students over three days"

Despite the fact that Jordanian fathers can grant their citizenship to their kids born to non-citizen mothers immediately even if the family didn't reside in the country, women have not yet been able to enjoy this right in Jordan. 

The "My Nationality is the Right of my Family" coalition has long advocated, for Jordanian women's right to grant their nationality to their kids. Especially since the Jordanian constitution states that both men and women in the country shall enjoy the same rights, and that children of Jordanian mothers living in the country are taxed just as Jordanians are.

As soon as requests by students, born to Jordanian mothers who reside in the country, to be included in the new plan were rejected, social media platforms were flooded with stories of students stuck abroad away from their families, only because they weren't granted the Jordanian citizenship.

Translation: "My sister is Jordanian and is separated from her non-Jordanian husband. Her daughter was born and raised in Jordan until she graduated high school. She only left to study in Canada at 18 years old. Her dorm is closed and she can't wait to return home to Jordan. She has no place to stay and needs to be with her mother."

Translation: "Layan is a 20-years old student in London born to a Jordanian mother. Recently she was diagnosed with MS which affects her immune system. Her dormitory is closed meaning she has to keep moving to other places even though she's vulnerable to the coronavirus. Her mother has tried to register her for a flight home but not having the Jordanian nationality caused her attempt to fail."

According to Jordanian emergency rules, students returning to the country will have to spend 17 days in quarantine at hotels or in caravans prepared by the government, before they spend another 14 days in home-stays, so as to prevent a new wave of coronavirus in the country.

Jordan has recorded 0 new cases for 8 consecutive days so far.