Jordan Eases Visa Restrictions for Young Moroccan Women Travelers

Less restrictions are now imposed on women aged 18 to 35 wishing to obtain their visa for Jordan. This is the result of consultations between Nasser Bourita, Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI), and his Jordanian counterpart, Ayman al-Safadi. The two men agreed on an agreement on the issuance of visas for Moroccan travelers, according to an authorized source of the MAECI cited by HuffPost.

Last January, Mounia Semlali, a 28-year-old responsible for the "Gender Justice" program at the NGO Oxfam in Morocco, had voiced her outrage against Jordan to protest the restrictions. Indeed, her visa had been denied, preventing her from traveling to the country to participate in training organized by her employer.

The case had sparked heated controversy, to the point that a petition against the requirement of a mahram (a male family member accompanying the woman on her trip) had been launched.

Wanting to find a definitive solution to this major problem, Nasser Bourita recently exchanged with his Jordanian counterpart, Ayman al-Safadi. An agreement on the issuance of visas for Moroccan travelers has since been reached. And women aged 18 to 35 can now obtain their Jordanian visa without restrictions.