Why a Female Politician Is Running for Office in Jordan as a Basket of Flowers

In many ways, it's unfortunate that the Jordanian parliamentary elections have become the subject of controversy due to an ill-judged floral arrangement. After all, the country—which committed to instituting political reforms in the wake of 2011's Arab Spring—has long been seen as a beacon of stability in a tumultuous Middle East.

While female representation in Jordanian politics remains low overall (the country is ranked 13th in the region), 258 female candidates are running in this September's elections—43 more women than in previous years, which ought to have been cause for moderate celebration. But as MuslimGirl reports, one female political candidate has been engulfed in controversy after her campaign poster made waves across Jordan.

The reason? Instead of depicting a picture of Dr Alia Abu Haleel's face—like her male fellow candidates—her poster displayed a basket of flowers.

News that a basket of (artificial-looking) flowers was running for election in the coastal district of Aqaba was quick to spread across social media in the Arab kingdom. Bemused commenters alighted on a plausible-sounding explanation: that Dr Haleel's poster had been censored by conservative figures on account of her gender.

Entrenched conservative attitudes have been a thorn in the side of those fighting for greater female involvement in all walks of Jordanian life. A recent campaign to increase female representation in the parliament was voted down after opposition from conservative politicians in the country's Lower House, Al Jazeera reports. On Twitter, Dr Haleel's flower basket photo was interpreted by some as a response to these conservative attitudes.

Others speculated that the image might stem from a fear of racist attitudes. Dr Haleel has darker skin, and Jordanian citizens of Asian and African origin often encounter discrimination and even violent assault in the country.

Imagine losing an election to a flower basket (female candidate) in Jordan. ht — Arash Karami (@thekarami)August 31, 2016

Earlier comments from her campaign team appeared to support the theory that concerns about racist or sexist views had forced Dr Haleel to appear in flower garb. "Her pictures are often vandalized and thrown on the ground or drawn on with pictures and with slogans," they told Jordanian news site Al Bawaba, adding that she had chosen to appear as basket of flowers out of "personal opinion."

However, Dr Haleel's campaign team appeared to have turned over a new leaf when Broadly reached out for comment. "She didn't want to put her personal pictures on the campaign posters," says Dr Haleel's son Ala'a Aldeeb Abu Helil, speaking through an interpreter. (Dr Haleel's pictures do, however, appear on her official Facebook page.)

He denies that replacing her picture with a basket of flowers was prompted by fears of vandalism. "In Jordan we don't have any differences between men and women, black and white." But why flowers? "She likes flowers. It's just a symbol. Like if someone wanted to put an eagle or a lion [on their poster]. There's no story behind it."

When pushed, Abu Helil distanced himself from the earlier quote given to Al Bawaba, which cited fears Dr Haleel's poster would be defaced. "It's not correct." He explains that Dr Haleel shares her pictures widely across social media, without incident. However, as a result of the controversy, Dr Haleel plans to use her real picture—not her flowery avatar—in street level campaign posters from now on.

Of course, it's not inconceivable that Dr Haleel's team are changing tack now that the flower basket issue threatens to overwhelm their campaign like a fast-growing weed. Whatever the truth, we now have an answer to the age-old question: When is a woman a basket of flowers?

When she's running for political office in Jordan, and just really likes flowers.