Love in Jordan: ‘Dress Western act Oriental.’
In the corridors of the University of Jordan, young women sway their hips in tight jeans, embracing the latest fashion trend the West has to offer. Their male counterparts seem no less committed to showing off their looks, nor to a deeply rooted urge to catch the attention of flashy girls.
This is one of the few places where young people can mix in a country built on strict gender segregation. Despite the superficially Western influenced culture, many young people express exasperation with the traditional mentality governing most people.
But girls and boys, like in many oriental societies, often break the taboo and engage in a romantic relation. But the fate of most romantic adventures is in the end determined by family more than the lovers themselves.
“This romantic relationship is veiled with secrecy, fear and deception,” admits Ehsan, a fourth year engineering student at the university of Jordan who says he must keep his family in the dark over this relationship if he wants to one day marry the girl.
“My family does not know I have a girlfriend. Her family might kill her if they know,” he said.
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“Some of the young people refuse old tradition and want to make their own choices,” he said. “But this culture needs time to grow.”
In Jordan, the majority of the 5.6 million population is made up of young people, with a ratio of two females to every male.
