“We’re fed up, we’re so fed up,” Besan Jaber, 29, told Al-Monitor after the first of two protests in Amman this week over the killing of a woman identified so far only as "Ahlam" in the press. “The case of Ahlam was a trigger to start something that is very responsive. To make a point that we’re not accepting any honor crimes, decisions need to be changed and modifications need to be happening.”

Hundreds of people gathered outside the parliament in Amman for a second, larger protest held on July 22 called “Screams of Women,” despite COVID-19 restrictions banning gatherings of more than 20 people.

Signs were painted with messages such as “When blood becomes tea,” referring to brutal accounts of Ahlam's July 17 killing. Her father reportedly beat her to death in the street with a brick before sitting next to her body with a cigarette and a cup of tea. He appeared in court on July 18, after a video of the incident circulated online and led to a public outcry on social media.

Jaber is one of several local organizers behind the protests demanding change in the laws and attitudes toward women in Jordan. In an interview with Al-Monitor, she said, “We have a long history of what are called honor crimes. There were some modifications to the law in 2017 and 2018 to make it a little bit better, but still it’s not satisfying. It does not provide the protection it needs to; it doesn’t hold people accountable.”