A Jordanian politician attacked a woman for talking about her sexual assault

The case of a Jordanian woman who went public with her story of sexual harassment on a televised debate show, only to be attacked by a politician who was in attendance, is sparking outrage across the Arab world. 

The woman shared her story during this week's episode of Deutsche Welle's (DW) Shabab Talk, which was centered around women's rights in Jordan. 

During one of the episode's segments, the unidentified woman, who's a victim of sexual assault, said that when she tried to report her case to authorities in the country, she was harassed by the police officer who was interviewing her.  

Angered by her statement, one of the show’s attendees, former parliament member and lawyer Mahmoud al-Kharabsha offensively protested against her claims. 

However, he was powerfully shut down by the show's host, Jaafar Abdul Karim, who called him out for his derogatory comments, asking him to leave the set. 

Soon after the episode aired, a video of the incident went viral, sparking outrage on social media. 

Amid the backlash, several media reports stated that Jordan's Media Commission has filed a lawsuit against Deutsche Welle (DW) claiming the channel and its production partner in Jordan, Ro'ya TV, recorded the episode in a public place without obtaining a license.

However, speaking to StepFeed, Christoph Jumpelt, Head of Corporate Communications and official spokesperson for DW said the channel had not received any official legal notice. 

"We are very surprised that we are learning about this through the media and I can confirm that we have not yet received any official legal notice from Jordan's Media Commission," he said.

Jumpelt also explained that he reached out to the Jordanian Media Commission seeking clarification on the matter. 

"I called the director general of Jordan's Media Commission, Mr. Mohammad Qteishat. He said that because of a recent change in the country's media law, the episode we produced required a license separate to the one we and Ro'ya TV had already obtained. However, he did not mention any details on whether the commission will be taking legal action against us," he explained. 

"This is not the first time DW produces an episode in Jordan. We have collaborated with Ro'ya TV on several other episodes before and trust that their management team is well aware of licenses required for filming. I can only assume that they certainly did not think a separate permit/license was required for the production of this episode," he added. 

When asked about his thoughts on people's reactions to the episode and the fact that it has gone viral online, Jumpelt said: 

"With programs like Shabab Talk and several others that we're currently producing, we aim to tackle subjects that matter to people across the region and that can make a difference. I am not shocked by the reactions, I find them understandable, given the topic discussed." 

Shabab Talk's episode on women's rights in Jordan continues to make the rounds online and has opened up debate on several important issues that are often neglected. 

Other than addressing sexual harassment, the episode raised important questions about equality, the role of women in society and their struggle to change unjust inheritance and nationality laws. 

"What are these new programs that help demonize people and what are their aims? Sexual harassment, freedom, women's rights... where do you think you're going with this?" 

"Jordanian women do not experience sexual harassment. Even if it exists, only 1 percent of women face it."  

"As a Jordanian woman, I can say that this is the first TV program that truly represents all Jordanian women, especially when it comes to raising issues that are often labeled taboo. These include rape, sexual harassment, and domestic violence. You were and still are the best and most credible. All our respect to Shabab Talk." 

"Such an honorable move from Jaafar Abdul Karim. He stood up for the woman who was attacked by the former parliamentarian, who threatened to use his power against him and his talk show." 

"National ego is super inflated in the Arab world. Some people are willing to destroy their nation on the inside, in order to keep its image intact."