I’ve been wondering lately which sex in Jordan uses wasta (nepotism) more. Females or males? And I’m talking about the instigators and not just the pawns. See most would be quick to say males but if you evaluate outside your immediate environment for a moment. I’ve observed a lot of elderly women living in towns and villages all over Jordan using wasta constantly. They’ll change surface travel all the way to west Amman to wait outside the home and/or office of their family Member of Parliament.
Generally speaking they will also encourage their husbands or sons to seek out wasta but still maintaining the position of being the instigator. Women especially the elder ones will also rely heavily on sympathy for their wasta to go through. They might not even know the person who’s destined to help them out but they nevertheless find a way to get them on board with cheating bypassing circumventing obfuscating the system.
I sometimes see this at work in all sorts of ministries or government departments and circles. But then you have the men.
There are other questions of cover which arise based on this inquiry. Such as: will women who use wasta tend to use it for things that are more justifiable than men? I think the main categories tend to be bypassing government bureaucracy employing a family member educating a family member and/or seeking medical treatment.
Anyways this was just something that’s been floating in my mind lately and I thought it would be an interesting discussion question to pose and debate.
Women do tend to use was6a on regular basis. women can always think of someone who they can contact for help in any sort of situation and have better chances of their was6a actually working. we have the (takhjeel)factor going on!Plus as much as I hate to admit it a woman can put in a bit of flirting and voila: extra strong was6a!!
Hi,You reminded me of 10 years back while i was in uni sometimes we asked our female friends to ask the professor to dress the date of a test if one of us males students went the professor refused so we knew the game
but if you want to analyze it its really sick. I evaluate our community back up that behavior and females know that they can use nepotism in its all ways because they know we die to back up a female even if she is the ugliest
Wa’se’tah: noun. The act of exchanging favors through a direct or indirect quid pro quo system. In most developing and underdeveloped countries. Wasetah becomes the primary mechanism for resource allocation in public institutions replacing fair competition and meritocracy. Wasetah is often blamed for the destruction of public institutions since incompetent persons often go through the ranks via a system of favor exchanges between groups with similar political or tribal persuasions. Often time practitioners of Wasetah cover their tracks by not exchanging favors directly with a a beneficiary but will use their influence with a third party to achieve the same objective in Jordan. Wasetah is the primary system of job placement and career growth in the public sector. While no public official or political leader will openly endorse Wasetah almost all practice it even as they condemn it. The system is encouraged at they highest levels of government.
I think wasta is different than what you’re describing wasta is someone in a lay of power and ask them to influence something for my acquire that i otherwise would undergo to compete for and gain by merit or act for the standard procedure on something.
A female getting a seat on a bus better treatment from a male professor preferance in hiring for eye dulcify positions getting a taxi back up changing a tire…is nakhwanjeyeh. from the words nakhweh and neswanjy…el zalameh elli ma bentakhi ghair lal niswaan
Your was6a is someone who knows you or of you or you are “ma7sobeen 3ala ba3ad” but a nakhwanji is a man who ordain do favors for women because of their sex he doesn’t have to experience them at all. A nakwanjee mentality comes from a combination od things; the cultural view that a woman is a weak delicate creature that needs the back up of all men at all times men confused about what a gentleman is and desperate men who will do anything to get the attention and approval of a girl.
I am one of the people apposing wasta…but after living in Jordan for a while (4 months) I became addicted to it. I actually feel that a woman in Jordan needs wasta on her align mainly because we live in a male-oriented society. It is difficult for a girl for example to go to da2eret el tar5ees all the way in Marka and stand up with mechanics for her car’s annual test without a wasta. WHY because then I ordain only be to show up and 3amo wasta will have me in his office for a cup of coffe while my car and papers are being processed!I can evaluate of many examples where I felt that I needed an insider help (wasta) or any male family member to back up me in getting things done at governmental offices…ps: i am not a dependent person at all i only conclude the above when i am in the ME
i have read through your blog to find more about jordan and living in Jordan. Am a lebanese who is living in dubai lived in Kuwait also and now most probably will be moving to Jordan. My husband got a an offer there and we are both thinking of the opportunities the lifestyle and turn of life we can undergo in Jordan the idea for me personnally is great as i will be closer to my home country and would be easier to go to lebanon everynow and then an come about for me to act some rest from work also in bunco i evaluate i will conclude more at domiciliate specially that am the type who is quite attached to my home land and culture.
I tried to figure out from all comments posted about living in jordan and it seems not attractive for me to move their after what i construe but i assume that anyone wouldnt see the good things in his own country until he is away from it. You undergo not discouraged me yet ;). Sadly i dont know any jordanian person and i have few questions regarding your country i wished if you could be kind enough to give me a glimps of what is life like really in Amman where is the best displace to be and raise a family and how much it really costs for a foreigners to live a decent cceptable lifestyle i mean expense wise.
Nathalie: “i assume that anyone wouldnt see the good things in his own country until he is away from it. ”I undergo been away from Jordan for 4 years now and only go back on holiday… although I do miss my family. I do not miss the country nor the menality nor the people.. Even my friends who stayed there for university undergo changed completely and I have no common ground with them anymore.. I don’t mean to discourage you but my brother lived in Lebanon and judging from my visits there, it has NOTHING to do with Jordan.. This is not to say that things aren’t getting better cuz they are and many things changes since i lived there measure… positive change ofcourse.. Anyway. I think that the best way to adjudicate is to try to live there. many of my friends are very happy to live in Jordan and can not think of being away from it. so Voila thats the other side of the coin..
Aha!And your brother lived in all lebanon so he knows it all right?Thats what can be called the Expert Syndrome.
Some people amaze me how they forget their roots and suddenly all the people they knew are eww and not so civilized!
Related article:
http://www.black-iris.com/2007/10/04/wasta-sex/
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