(CNN) Chaos erupted in Jordan’s Parliament on Tuesday, with lawmakers throwing punches at each other after a discussion on a constitutional amendment that would afford greater rights to women got heated.
Video of the event shows a handful of lawmakers in a physical altercation, fighting and hurling threats and insults at each other. Even the speaker of Parliament resorted to angry outbursts to manage the commotion.
The fight broke out between lawmakers after insults were exchanged and blasphemous remarks were made, according a source who saw events unfold first-hand.
Several other MPs subsequently got caught up in the pushing and shoving.
The fracas unfolded as lawmakers were preparing to debate a change to the constitution to address Jordanian citizens in both the feminine and masculine tense.
“Inheritance laws in the country, which are based on Sharia law, often sees a man’s share double that of a woman’s.”
Jordanian women currently enjoy equal rights with respect to their entitlement to health care, education, political participation and employment, but are not afforded the same rights when it comes to nationality and citizenship as men.
For example, women cannot pass on their nationality to children or spouses — but men can.
The proposed amendment, part of a series of changes backed by King Abdullah II aimed at modernizing Jordan, was met with fierce opposition from conservative parliamentarians who view the change with disdain.
One of those parliamentarians, Mohammad Al Fayez, said the proposed changes were ultimately “against morality and motherhood.”
Parliamentary proceedings were stopped after several lawmakers began yelling at lawmaker Abdulmunim Oddat, who was trying to defend the amendment …
