Jana Ababneh (NYU GSAS) | Save the Children Jordan| Amman, Jordan
I have found working with Save the Children Jordan to be fulfilling and enriching, as I have been able to build on my existing skills to serve my community. Before pursuing my MA in Near Eastern Studies at NYU, I worked as a Development Officer for two years and gained experience writing grant proposals. I’m currently leveraging those skills to be able to best serve the organization I’m volunteering with in my capacity as a Gallatin Fellow.
One of my current tasks includes developing a concept note on murdered children in Jordan, fleshing out a previous draft, and translating it from Arabic to English to be able to share it with international donors and hopefully obtain funding for a more in-depth research project. In the medium to long term, this will serve as the base for a research-led initiative to intervene in cases where children’s lives may be in danger. Most children who are murdered in Jordan are killed by someone they know, often a family member. I learned that a 2022 report has indicated that familial murders have increased by 94% in Jordan since 2020, with poverty being a key driver for the increase in familial crimes against children and women.
Jordanian law allows for a family to reduce the severity of legal penalties against murderers, with certain loopholes allowing for further reduced sentences if the crime was committed in a “fit of rage” (Art. 98, Jordanian Penal Code).
The research that I am undertaking poses an ethical dilemma. I believe in prison abolition and the rehabilitation of those who commit crimes. However, much of the advocacy to reduce child murders in Jordan centers on removing loopholes in the penal code that allow for reduced prison sentencing. My ideological opposition to incarceration leads me to question how we can best protect children and deliver justice.