Jordanian woman speaks out over ‘family abuse’ in coronavirus lockdown

The plight of a Jordanian woman who claims she was abused during a Covid-19 lockdown with her family went viral on Sunday, sparking a renewed debate about domestic violence in the kingdom.

In a nearly 20-minute long Facebook Live broadcast, Eman Al-Khateeb, 36, tearfully alleged that she was subject to physical and emotional abuse by her mother and brother.

Al-Khateeb said she is divorced with a 13-year-old son, having lost her retail job amid Jordan’s novel coronavirus outbreak. Her ex-husband, she said, lives abroad and does not pay alimony.

Despite Jordan’s lockdown, Al-Khateeb said her brother Ayman kicked her and her son out of their home, without money or their personal belongings.

She said she was told never to return to the home unless she brought cash with her, and alleged that her brother threatened to kill her.

Al-Khateeb decried gender-based violence and stigma against divorced women in Jordan, adding that her two sisters married and moved to Dubai to escape their family.