User:VaninaBarbour/Rana Husseini

Rana Husseini (1969) is a Jordanian journalist and human rights activist. She reported violence against women and honor killing specifically in Jordan. In her work, she focused on raising awareness and fighting against social issues that were considered taboo. 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. They also influenced the 2007 fatwa in Jordan to fight against the non religiously approved honor killings. 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.

Biography
Rana Husseini was born in 1969. She began working as a journalist for The Jordan Times and became an activist in 1993.

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, Rana Husseini was inspired to write a book about her and many other women that experienced the same fate. 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.

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.

She is currently a senior reporter at The Jordan Times and serving in several boards.

Memberships

 * Advisory Board Member - Equality Now Organsation since 2015
 * Board Member – Jordanian National Committee for Demining and Rehabilitation since 2003
 * Member - Judges Panel – Kurt Schork Awards (Journalism) 2010
 * Board of Directors Member – Man Up Campaign (USA) since 2010
 * Member - Jordan Press Association since 2005
 * Board Member – Forefront Organisation (USA) 1999 since 2005
 * Member - “Jordanian National Committee to Eliminate so-called Honour Crimes” 1999 - 2003
 * Member of Judges Panel – Amnesty International Global Award for Human Rights Journalism since 2001

Sports Engagements

 * Board Member - Jordan Football Association (JFA) 2009 - 2018
 * President of the Women’s Football Committee at the JFA 2009 - 2018
 * Member - FIFA Committee for Women’s Football and the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011- 2016
 * Board Member - Arab Women’s Football Committee 2011- 2013
 * Board Member - Jordan Basketball Federation 2003 - 2004
 * Team Captain - Jordanian Women's National Basketball Team 1995 - 2000
 * Team Member - Jordanian Women’s National Basketball Team 1983 - 2000
 * Team Member - Jordanian Women’s National Handball Team 1983 - 1995
 * Team Member - Variety of local and US soccer teams 1989 - 1996
 * Team Member - University of Oklahoma Rugby Team 1990- 1991

Books:
Murder in the Name of Honour

Translated to English, Arabic, Dutch, and Finnish

Rana Husseini's first book explores honor crimes and honor killing specifically in Jordan on a social and religious aspect. The honor killing of a 16 year old girl by her brother after she was raped by her other brother inspired her to write her story in this book and continue reporting other violence against women. The book was published in 2009 by Oneworld Publications and is distributed in the United States by Simon & Schuster.

Reviews on the book:


 * BBC
 * DemocracyNOW
 * PBS
 * SMH
 * HuffingtonPost
 * The Guardian

Years of Struggle – the Women’s Movement in Jordan

Rana Husseini's second book documents the women's movement in Jordan and women's political activity from the 1940s to the 1990s. In this book, the author discusses several issues inculding disabled women, women's education and the Syrian refugee crisis. Husseini also explains how the Arab Spring impacted the Jordanian Women's Movement. The publication of the book was supported by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Jordan Office, and the book is available open access online.

Reviews on the book:


 * DAWN MENA
 * Alaraby
 * JordanTimes
 * Albawaba
 * Raseef22
 * ALGhad
 * ALRai
 * Petra News

Other publications:
She contributed chapters in:


 * The "Abraham’s Children: Liberty and Tolerance in an Age of Religious Conflict” book.
 * The "Honour, Violence, Women and Islam" book.
 * The "Freedom House's Survey of Women's Rights in the Middle East and North Africa" report.
 * The “A Modern Narrative for Muslim Women in the Middle East.” report.

She was also featured and mentioned in four books:


 * “Leap of Faith…Memories of an Unexpected Life,” by Her Majesty Queen Noor.
 * “Speak Truth to Power” by Kerry Kennedy.
 * “That Takes Ovaries… Bold Females and their Brazen Acts” edited by Rivka Solomon.
 * "Notable Muslims: Profiles of Muslim Builders of World Civilization and Culture" by Natana J. Delong-Bas

Awards:

 * The London Arabia Organisation Arab Women of the Year Awards for Social Impact — 2019
 * The Moves Magazine’s Seventh Annual Power Women Award for the dedication, drive in the chosen sphere, and for the inspiration to so many women and making a difference in real lives — 2010
 * Al Hussein Decoration for Distinguished Contribution, Second Order, bestowed by His Majesty King Abdullah II for activism in the human rights field and defending women causes in Jordan — 2007
 * Distinguished Alumna Award from the Oklahoma City University Alumni Association for the significant contribution made in the profession and community — 2007
 * Spanish Ciutat de L'Hospitalet Award for the Defence of Human Rights and Peaceful Coexistence for work on championing women's rights issues in Jordan — 2005
 * Marie Claire Top Ten Women of the World Award for bringing attention to honor crimes against women in Jordan — 2004
 * The Ida B. Wells Award for Bravery in Journalism – 2003
 * Human Rights Watch Award granted for the overall reporting and activism against violence against women in Jordan – 2000
 * Reebok Human Rights Award granted for reporting on violence against women in Jordan – 1998
 * MEDNEWS (Med-Media Programme, European Union) prize award for best article: "Murder in the name of honour" – 1995

Other recognitions:

 * Chosen as one of 500 most influential Muslims by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre of Jordan – 2010
 * Chosen as one of 50 Visionaries Who are Changing Your World by Utne Reader - 2009
 * The Silent Witness Initiative to honor her life’s work of using her voice for others unable to speak out – 2006


 * The Roger Williams University Women’s Centre for her outstanding contribution towards raising global awareness of the issue of [so-called] Honour Killings and sharing her message with the Roger Williams University community – 2006


 * Equality Now Organization to honor her for being the first journalist to break the silence on so-called crimes of honor – 2005


 * One of Women’s eNews 21 Leaders for the 21st Century for her remarkable work and achievements in a variety of ways to improve women’s lives - 2003


 * Feminist Majority Foundation for her unique contribution to the historic struggle for women’s equality and human rights - 2000