Mona showed a statement signed on March 14 by Interior Minister Eid Fayez allowing her to set up the centrist party. “I am very happy to have received the approval to set up the party,” the former chemistry professor said. “There is nothing in Jordan to prohibit a woman from heading a political party. All of us, women and men, can serve the country.”

The JNP, which raises the number of political parties in Jordan to 35, received the OK from the Interior Ministry in accordance with the old political parties law that allows only 50 people to establish a party. A new controversial political parties draft law that raises the minimum of members to 500 was passed by the both houses of the Parliament in the past 10 days.

Mona, a US-educated biologist, said that the JNP has now 120 founding members and that she would not find a problem in raising the number to 500 or even to 1,000. “The JNP adopts a centrist approach that seeks to achieve reforms in the political, economic and social spheres,” she added. “The party will endeavor to fight violence and achieve equality among citizens regardless of their descents,” Mona said.