Rana Husseini

Rana Husseini (Arabic:رنا الحسيني; born 1969) is a Jordanian journalist and human rights activist who exposed honour crimes in Jordan and campaigned for stronger legal penalties against perpetrators. She became a published author in 2009 with her book, Murder in the Name of Honor: The True Story of One Woman's Heroic Fight Against An Unbelievable Crime (Oneworld Publications). In her work, she focused on raising awareness and fighting against social issues that were considered taboo. Following the release of Husseini's book, the National Jordanian Committee to Eliminate the So-called Crimes of Honor was formed in 1998. This committee demanded for the criminals to not be released easily or given a lenient sentence, collecting thousands of signatures along the way. She also influenced the 2007 fatwa in Jordan stating that honor killings are against religious law. The government responded to her reports by implanting more serious legal and judicial changes and in 2017 the Penal Code was amended, improving human rights to women as well as people with disabilities. Her second book Years of Struggle: The Women's Movement in Jordan was published in 2021, and she is currently a senior reporter at The Jordan Times.