jordan pulse -

Hisham Odeh

It is not easy to bypass the name of a woman with Laila Sharaf’s characteristics when talking about the contemporary political and media scene in Jordan. She has concretely confirmed that boldness and courage have no gender, and that the biography of an official is measured by his positions and his bias in the interests of the country and the citizen, and she will remain known as the first woman to say “no” in The history of Jordanian governments, when they submitted their resignation from the government of President Ahmed Obeidat as Minister of Information, at a time when martial law prevailed and the resignations of ministers in that period in protest seemed impossible.

Her personal history and her association with the late President Abdel Hamid Sharaf, who was an exception at that stage, gave Laila Sharaf part of her political, media and social presence.


When her personal convictions contradicted the prevailing laws in which she saw a way to limit expression and exclude the opinion of the other, and when she found it

She herself is unable to formulate a modern media project. She possessed the courage that many men lacked, and left her office in the ministry.

Angry, setting a good precedent in contemporary Jordanian political history.

It is certain that the cry launched by Laila Sharaf found an echo in the Jordanian street, and it is also certain that the lady appears today

She is relieved to see what the Jordanian media has achieved since that cry that did not go into the air.

"Umm Nasser" is how her friends and those close to her call her, and although she bears many titles, the name Umm Nasser is closest to her heart, especially

She opens the doors of her house to receive politicians, academics, and journalists. Her house has been turned into a political salon, and in its halls,

Important decisions, and sometimes governments were formed, and she is almost the only woman whose political salon has this presence on the scene

Jordanian politician.

Although she reserved her seat since 1989 as the first Jordanian woman in the Senate, Mrs. Umm Nasser is present in cultural sites

And a high academic, she held the position of Vice President of the Supreme National Committee for the Jerash Festival and Chair of the Board of Trustees at Philadelphia University,

It has good relations with various political and academic segments and elites.

The woman who was born in Lebanon in 1940 opens her consciousness there when Beirut was an incubator for Arab awareness and a beacon of freedom fleeing from

Our homelands, she saw in her study of literature, where she holds a master's degree, something that fortifies her awareness and opens closed doors and windows for her, and she saw in

That young Jordanian who is open to his Arabism, Abdul Hamid Sharaf, is a companion of opinion, thought and life, and she saw in her presence and position in Jordan what

It helps her achieve her campaign message since Lebanon was contributing to shaping the Arab scene.

Despite the serious features that her facial features suggest in public life, those close to her assert that Mrs. Umm Nasser is full of kindness.

She is radiant with love and full of loyalty to her friends, and they confirm that the doors of her house on the outskirts of Jubaiha were not closed in the face of anyone.

The nature of her official position requires her to be on the side of power, for functional and social considerations, but Mrs. Umm Nasser does not seem far away.

On behalf of the opposition, it certainly rejoiced greatly at the return of partisan life and the winds of democracy blowing again throughout the country

Her dream of a free and stable homeland came true.

It is viewed by the cultural and media community as a sponsor of creative activities, and its presence in the leadership of the Jerash Festival has dedicated this vision.

He made Umm Nasser a friend of poets, writers, artists, and media professionals, and her agenda is almost devoid of meeting a poet, a conversation with a journalist, or

Academic reception, as it is one of this milieu that builds spirit and conscience, pushes and contributes to the formulation of new features for a life worthy of a homeland.

He rises again, especially since she previously worked as a journalist and TV presenter in Lebanon.

After all these years that have passed since her resignation from the government, the name of Umm Nasser and her position are still present at the forefront of the scene.

Because she is the first woman to lead the Ministry of Information in Jordan, but rather because she said her speech in the right place and time, and those close to the lady believe

She is open to all tendencies, that the chair of responsibility sometimes narrows her, as she is greater than the position, because she has her role and her job outside

The walls of all sites, and believe in the dialogue of civilizations, and therefore their fingerprints were clear in the choices of the guests of the Jerash Festival in its sessions

Many who represent serious human cultures.