The role of social media in enhancing awareness in legal rights for women’s empowerment in rural areas of Jordan

Introduction

Women in the Arab world were excluded from the strategic development plans. This is because they hold very few positions in the government, and private sector. This denies them to be part of any decision-making (Haider et al. 2021; Odine 2013). In recent years, Arab societies have always been ruled by men and women have been treated unequally. Hrichak (2010) and Abuhasirah and Salameh (2024) stated that defining women's rights is the main objective of the Middle East (Abuhasirah and Salameh 2024). Today, the media is the main means of spreading knowledge; thus, it could be considered the chief means of disseminating information on women's issues (Al-Abbas et al. 2020; Aleessawi 2024; Badis and Almashaqbeh 2024; Irshiedat, and Khurshid 2024). According to Hrichak (2010), “women are inspired by their own dreams, visions, and beliefs in what they can do for themselves” and highlighted “an explosion of new media in the Middle East that is reaching diverse audiences” (p. 12). This new media is defined as “a means of communication between people through magazines, television, the internet, government officials, community workers, and a lot more” (Patil 2024, p. b862). Furthermore, Patil (2024) adds that media also “communicates information from government officials to the general public” (p. b862). Prem Lata and Jukariya (2018) added that, recently, media is “the power to reach out to a large audience by mass communication” (p. 1618). Facebook is an application that is widely used in the Middle East, despite the decline in its usage in some Middle Eastern countries (Radcliffe and Lam 2023). Alkhtatneh et al. (2025) state that social media, including Facebook, has helped in increasing cultural awareness in a way that increased “people's participation in occasions and events, being surrounded by friends and constructive dialogue” (p. 1). Indeed, the media plays a very important role in increasing women's awareness that empowers them to become more active in their communities, and consequently, this leads to the social and economic growth of these communities.

Empowerment of women is a new and important topic in the development of any country. Women have “faced systemic barriers in education, employment, inheritance, and leadership roles, leading to their marginalization in various spheres of life. Despite various initiatives and policies, gender inequality remains a significant challenge in India and worldwide” (Barman 2026, p. 175). The concept of “empowerment” is continuously used but still has not been specifically defined. The term itself means to provide with power, and to strengthen” (Barman 2026, p. 175).

Women's empowerment is crucial to their own “resources, assets, and income” (Patil 2024, p. b862). It can also improve women in their own society “through literacy, education, training, and awareness creation” (p. b862). Empowerment could be defined “as the authority or power given to someone to do something” (Tripura et al. 2026, p. 1). Consequently, this will support her ability to make strategic decisions that are crucial to her life. Any nation where women's empowerment is enhanced can provide diverse policies and programs in all sectors (Patil 2024). Prem Lata and Jukariya (2018) added that women are part of any development in any country. Many studies have were done on the importance of women in the growth and improvement of countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia (Banihani, 2020; Eltaiba et al. 2025).

Empowering women is important for achieving continuous development and creating an equal and just society (Hussain and Jullandhry, 2020). It has also been recognized as a critical step toward achieving gender equality and promoting sustainable development. Moreover, it helps reduce poverty, and improve health and economy (Tindowen, 2019; Aldoghan et al., 2022). On the other hand, it also involves challenging and changing the norms and structures that limit women's opportunities and potential as well as promoting gender-sensitive policies and programs that address gender inequalities (Soharwardi and Ahmad, 2020). Empowering women has positive effects on the entire community, including men and children, by promoting more inclusive and equitable societies (Sharma and Das, 2021). Overall, women's empowerment is crucial for creating a more equitable and just society, and efforts should be made to ensure that women have equal opportunities to participate fully in all aspects of their social and economic lives (Ahdan et al., 2021; Lamichhane, 2020; Cislaghi et al., 2019; Sahay 1998).

Women cannot be empowered, either socially or economically, without social media. Nowadays, people rely only on social media to learn about their surroundings. It is the only way “to pressurize and criticize the drawbacks of democracy” and it “is instrumental in bringing about unity among the masses and is the backbone of the nation” (Prem Lata and Jukariya 2018, p. 1619). Pande and Asthana (2024) state that legal literacy is “a process of self-empowerment which leads to the realization of one's rights” (p. 3770). They also state that social media is the main method to transform and change individuals’ lives by spreading legal education. This could happen only by presenting the rules, laws, and regulations through the help of the media. Sugiantari and Jaelani (2024) add that social media is “the most influential medium, impacting legal changes in society” (p. 697). Majali et al. (2025) add that the platforms of social media are continuously playing a major role in informing individuals, and females in specific of their legal rights. This, according to Panchal and Jain (2023), is called “Public Legal Education” which “empowers individuals regarding issues involving law. It also motivates people to be conscious of legal culture and participation information of laws” (p. 630).

The National Strategy for Women (NSW) (2020–2025) was recently launched by the Council of Ministers in Jordan. It supports and collaborates with all organizations and institutions, whether formal or informal, whose goal is to empower women in Jordan. Their aim is to provide Jordanian girls and women with a society in which they can have the same legal rights as men. This, in its own way, ensures stability and sustainability of the status of females in Jordan. Their vision is “A society free of discrimination and gender-based violence, where women and girls enjoy full human rights and equal opportunities towards an inclusive and sustainable development” (p. 9).

Gender equality and women's empowerment in both the economic and societal sectors of the Kingdom have recently been enhanced by the Jordanian government through both Jordan's Renaissance Plan 2019–2020 and the preparation of the Women's Economic Empowerment Action Plan under the Mashreq Gender Facility. In Jordan, the husband is the one who is responsible for protecting his wife and children. On the other hand, the wife is responsible for being a household and raising her children. She is also expected to obey her husband. Marriage and motherhood are essential for women (Moghadam, 2004).

Since its inception, Jordan has worked on increasing and easing women's involvement in the workforce by offering more economic job opportunities, financial support, and technological assistance. No longer can the constraints faced by women in Jordan be ignored, including “access to care provisions and transport; access to entrepreneurship and finance, with a focus on technology-enabled services; and what may be considered to attract more Jordanian women in the rural areas to engage in employment in the agriculture sector” (Slimane et al., 2020, p. 1).

Women in Jordan contribute little to the business sector. Their role in the labor force regionally and globally is the lowest in Jordan. It was recorded as 14% in 2020, which has remained the same for nearly three decades (Department of Statistics, 2020). This low percentage is due to many factors such as cultural expectations around women and their role in society (Aziz et al., 2022; Boshmaf 2019).

Albaddawi (2024) states that the participation of women in the labor force is very low compared to women worldwide, and this is why empowering women is “crucial in creating a more equitable society, breaking gender barriers, and fostering sustainable growth by harnessing the talents and contributions of women, especially in the education sector” (p. 1). Kumari (2020) highlights the significant role social media plays in empowering women to enhance their ideologies. It has helped to spread awareness of women's rights and challenge the stereotypical images of women in different societies. According to Kumari (2020), social media has made it easy for women to reflect, share, and present their issues through “blogs, chats, online campaigns, online discussion forums, and online communities” (p. 626).

As mentioned in the NSW (2020–2025), women's empowerment and attainment of gender equality have faced many challenges in Jordan. Such challenges are characterized by the levels of institutions, society, culture, community, and individuals. In the last few years in Jordan, these challenges have revolved around discrimination and violence. To accomplish a change in the status of women in Jordan, human rights and equality need to be explored and studied, since they are “interdependent, interrelated, and indivisible” (p. 5). Amendments to the Kingdom's laws for gender equality are still met with political and societal pushbacks. This is because when compared to men, women have secondary and lower positions in all sectors of Middle Eastern society. Still, great efforts have been made to empower women, especially in Jordan (Albaddawi 2024).

Given the significance of social media in knowledge awareness, particularly for women seeking empowerment, this study answers the following questions:

• What is the extent to which social media has increased women's awareness of their legal rights, especially for those living in Jordan's rural areas?
• Is there a statistically significant difference (α = 0.05) in the effect of social media's role in increasing women's empowerment in Jordan due to employment (work, does not work)?
• Is there a statistically significant difference (α = 0.05) in the effect of social media's role in increasing women's empowerment in Jordan due to their age?
• Is there a statistically significant difference (α = 0.05) in the effect of social media's role in increasing women's empowerment in Jordan due to their academic qualifications?
• How can social media increase women's empowerment in rural Jordan?

Literature review

Theoretical framework

Women empowerment is “a multi-dimensional social process” that consists of different factors such as having self-confidence and self-esteem, decision-making, having authority, and others. Feminism started as a movement to highlight the female oppression, inequalities, injustice, discrimination, and other issues. According to Bimber (2000), feminism is the tool that can reinterpret female identity. It encourages females, and women from all over the world to connect and unite to gain power through the internet. Through the internet or the cyberspace, females can be empowered (Colley and Maltby, 2008). Such use of information and computer technology or ICT by females, and women is called cyber feminism (Mohanty and Swati Samantaray 2017). Mohanty and Swati Samantaray (2017) also add that “VNS Matrix, an Australian-based feminist group of media artists (Josephine Starrs, Francesca da Rimini, Julianne Pierce and Virginia Barratt) are said to be the first to use the term ‘cyber feminism’ in the early 1990s” (p. 329). They add that Sadie Plant, a British cultural theorist coined the term. The cyberspace and the internet “are no longer viewed as a masculine space and tool as women have not only embraced but also used the cyberspace to negotiate and reframe themselves within existing social structure” (Kuah-Pearce, 2008, p.11). Cyberfeminism “conceives of the virtuality of cyberspace and the Internet as spelling the end of the embodied basis for sex difference and thus liberating for women” (Wajcman 2013). This is leads to the term “techno-feminism”, which according to Mostafa (2013), “places emphasis on the role of technology in shaping and perpetuating gender inequalities” (p. 5). She adds that “it analyzes digital cultures, cyberspace, and the impact of technological advancements on gender identities, representation, and access to resources” (p. 5). In other words, techno-feminists’ aim is to “challenge and transform patriarchal systems within the realm of technology” (p. 5).

Empowerment and legal literacy

Empowerment has generally and continuously been used in variant theories, studies, and applications in many fields, but still used differently and with different goals in mind and field practices. As an example, Tengland (2007) states that empowerment as a goal is “to have control over the determinants of one's quality of life, and empowerment as a process is to create a professional relation where the client or community takes control over the change process, determining both the goals of this process and the means to use” (p. 77) Calvès (2008) comments on “empowerment” by stating that “it has come to assimilate power with individual and economic decision-making, de-politicize collective power, and is used to legitimize existing top-down development policies and programs” (p. 3). Perkins (2010) adds that the word “empowerment” does not just mean “process”, but it can also be defined as “the life and outlook-changing outcome of such a process for individuals, organizations, and whole communities” (p. 207). To Perkins (2010), empowerment is related to many scholars with “how to make people feel empowered and too few have been about how to use empowerment strategies to gain and apply the actual power needed to make important, material improvements in community conditions and people's lives” (p. 207).

Empowerment could be achieved through “legal literacy”, which is “knowing the primary level in law. When citizens who are particularly marginalized or underprivileged groups, know what the law has to offer them, they can recognize and challenge injustices” (Yadav and Yadav 2021p. 46–47). The term literacy is related to the person's ability to read and write, but recently the term has been used to express functional skills. It means the ability “to achieve one's goals, and to develop one's knowledge and potentials” (National Legal Literacy Mission 2005, p. 2). Zariski (2014) adds that “legal literacy” involves “knowing the constraints and possibilities law offers for change, plus having the capability to use its tools and techniques to improve society for oneself and others” (p. 19). According to Zariski (2014), literacy helps individuals to participate in a legal system and increase their awareness in law. This may also prevent them from having any “conflict with law or are unable to obtain help from it” (p. 20).

The concept of women empowerment

A continuous body of literature on women's empowerment is growing (Tripura et al. 2026). Upadhyay et al. (2014) define Women's empowerment as a concept that refers to women being more than housewives and mothers. Kabeer (1999) also defines it as a process that provides women with agency and helps them have aims and objectives. What Kabeer (1999) means by “agency” is the “capacity to define their own lifechoices and to pursue their own goals, even in the face of opposition from others” (p. 438). Women empowerment is an issue that is considered very critical worldwide. It focuses on how empower women, economically, politically, and socially (Reshi and Sudha 2022; Nassani et al., 2019). It socially means to be able to be part of any community and social activities, politically means to be able to be part of any political decisions and processes, and economically, is to be able to live independently without the need to be financially supported by someone else. Reshi and Sudha (2022) that the definition and perspectives of women's empowerment concept has changed with the pass of time. It reflects the process of women being able “to take control of their lives, make decisions, and participate fully in all spheres of society” (p. 1354). This includes “women's ability to access resources and participate in the economic decision-making process” (p. 1354). Chompa (2022) adds that “Women empowerment is the strategies of women to increase their control of resources and generate decision making capacity” (p. 135). According to Verba et al. (1997), women can reflect women's political issues and help in the decision-making process. Women empowerment is “a crucial process that enables women to gain control over their lives, make independent decisions, and participate fully in societal development” (Barman 2026, p. 175). It “encompasses social, economic, psychological, and political dimensions” aiming to enhance gender equality and decrease gender discrimination (Barman 2026, p. 175).

Women empowerment and social media

Several recent studies have examined the role of social media in women's empowerment. Prem Lata and Jukariya (2018) presented a review of the literature on the role of the media in empowering women. Their aim was to “increase the participation of women in decision-making through the media and to promote a decent and balanced portrayal of women in the media”’ (p. 1618).

Odine (2013) explored the role of social media in empowering Arab women. The researcher highlighted how social media was a way to awaken women, allowing them “to combat discrimination and inequality imbedded in their societies” (p. 1). Arab women, however, could not speak up until they were exposed to social media platforms, when they “marginalized inequality in society, education, and professional opportunities” (Odine, 2013, p. 1).

Kumari (2020) explored the negative and positive aspects of social media regarding women in India. This research was conducted qualitatively. The study concluded with the idea that social media presents the opportunity to socialize and “create a sense of identity with other communities” (p. 629). Women can also express their ideas and improve their writing through blogs and content. On the other hand, the researchers concluded that there were some disadvantages, such as being vulnerable to “cybercrime, sexting, trolling, online depression, fraud, cyberbullying, loss of privacy, and so on” (p. 629).

Park et al. (2023) conducted “a study commissioned by the European Parliament's Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the FEMM Committee,” which explored the effect of the use of social media on women and girls. They also highlighted its impact on gender equality, democracy, and civic participation (p. 1).

Boshmaf (2023) explored the role of social media in encouraging women to start businesses. This study investigated the reasons behind female entrepreneurs using social media to improve their businesses and how social media changed their lives after using it in their businesses. The methodology used was a qualitative-inductive approach in which 30 women entrepreneurs from different industries in Jordan were interviewed. The results show that “the degree of empowerment differs among women and is associated with their motivations for entrepreneurship” (p. 139). Social media was their primary business platform, which had positive impacts.

Patil (2024) discussed the role of the media in changing the status of women in India from the past to the present. Women have found their spaces and positions in different fields and have nearly reached equal rights to men. Patil (2024) adds that with all these changes, there are still some challenges related to how women's status is known and understood in India. Women are known to be homemakers, and the ones who work “are being treated as objects, and they are paid less than males. So, there is clear discrimination between men and women” (p. 862).

Moving to studies conducted on women's empowerment in Jordan, Slimane et al. (2020) discussed women's economic empowerment in Jordan as a national priority. They state that the lack of economic opportunities for women affects economic development in Jordan. They also discussed the reasons behind women not participating in the economy in Jordan, such as “social norms,” “care economy,” and “legal framework” (pp. 1–2).

Sleit and Al-Shboul (2023) studied the effect of social media on Jordanian women in relation to different factors, such as “social status, income, education, and others” (p. 2457). This study was based on a questionnaire with 73 points. The findings of the study show that social media is used by women for “shopping, communicating with friends, and raising their level of culture and awareness” (p. 2457). On the other hand, some Jordanian women have stated that social media helps waste time and money.

Albaddawi (2024) explored the factors that could enhance women's empowerment in Jordan's education sector. The results of this study were based on a questionnaire distributed to 367 women in administrative positions. The rate of responses to the questionnaire was 84.7%. The factors that were selected are “economic needs, job efficiency, leadership, social needs, organizational commitment, organizational satisfaction, and public policy” (p. 1). The findings show that these factors have a positive impact on empowering women in Jordan's education sector. The study recommends more future research on the same topic, taking into consideration respondents’ backgrounds.

From the previously mentioned studies, there have been some studies concerning women's empowerment in Jordan, specifically in some sectors in Jordan. After going through the previous literature, it is important to state the operational definition of “women's empowerment” that is used in the current study. Women Empowerment is defined in the study as the process of females, and women being introduced and equipped by their legal rights (civil, political, economic, social, cultural) to be able to stand for themselves and be able to make decisions. Violon (2023) discusses “the importance of international legal procedures in furthering women's rights. International law provides a framework for addressing gender-based discrimination, violence, and inequality and is critical for promoting and safeguarding women's rights worldwide” (p. 19).

However, there is a shortage of studies addressing the role of social media in women's empowerment, especially in spreading legal literacy among Jordanian women living in rural regions. The current study fills the gap in this area by measuring the effect of social media's role in increasing the awareness of women living in rural areas of their legal rights. This study also attempts to explore the effect of social media's role in increasing the empowerment of women living in rural Jordan.

Methodology

Method: utilizing the descriptive and analytical approach

A descriptive analytical approach was used. The descriptive approach is based on studying the phenomenon in its current state, describing it as an accurate description, which is expressed through a quantitative method. A group of females were interviewed about women's rights to help design and develop the questionnaire. Simultaneously, the quantitative expression provides a numerical description by clarifying the amount of this phenomenon and the degree of its connection with other phenomena. The questionnaire was divided into three main parts. The first part aimed to collect the demographic data of the respondents. In the second part, the respondents were asked to respond to 19 points related to the rights of females using a 5-point Likert scale. These points were categorized into five main categories of women's rights: civil, political, economic, and cultural. The third part consisted of three open-ended questions for the respondents to answer related to women's empowerment.

Study population

The study population consisted of all women living in rural areas of Jordan in 2024.

Study sample

To help design the questionnaire, 20 females living in rural areas in Jordan were interviewed. They were chosen through the convenience sampling technique nominated by women leaders who work in networks and organizations related to women empowerment. This sample was chosen to be interviewed to help the researcher design and develop the questionnaire. These females were asked about whether they know about their legal rights or not, and how they knew about them. They were specifically asked about the role of social media in being introduced to their rights as females, wives and mothers. The women's rights that were mentioned by the interviewees were divided into five main categories of: civil, political, social, economic, and cultural rights.

The sample for answering the questionnaire, the quantitative approach, was chosen by a convenience sampling technique that consisted of 600 females/ women in rural areas all around Jordan (Krejcie and Morgan, 1970). But only 460 female/ women responded. Convenience sampling technique is “a way of selecting participants from the target population based on ease of access” (Tajik et al. 2022, p. 72). The Convenience sampling technique is used when there are no niche populations or when no sampling frame exists (Tajik et al. 2022). Tajik (2022) state that such kind of sampling is frequently used in social sciences. It is used when a researcher plans “to obtain people's perceptions and attitudes” (p. 72). The questionnaire was electronically sent through social media (what's app) to the sample. The researcher was able to reach to the respondents through women empowerment networks and organizations in Jordan. The questionnaire was distributed through an electronic link that was passed by these networks and organizations. According to The Annual Survey on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Access and Use in Jordan in 2023, individuals who use the Internet in Jordan is 92.5%. The consent given to the participants in the study was written on the same electronic form, where the researcher assured the anonymity and confidentiality of the respondents’ personal information. There was no question in the form that asked for the respondents’ names or any personal data.

Demographic variables to study sample

Table 1 shows the distribution of the study sample according to personal and demographic variables.

Table 1. Descriptive sample of the demographic variables of the study.

The bold values are the number of the participants who answered the questionnaire.

Statistical analysis

Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).

• - Pearson correlation coefficient.
• - Reliability coefficient using the Cronbach-alpha.
• - Descriptive statistics: Mean, standard deviations, degree of appreciation, and rank for each item of the study tool.
• - An independent sample t-test was used to answer the study questions related to the variable (employment).
• - A one-way ANOVA was used to answer the study questions related to the variables (e.g., age and academic qualifications).

Descriptive analysis of the study variables

The items of the questionnaire were graded according to the five scales as follows:

Grade: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Scale: Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Neutral, Agree, Strongly Agree.

Here is how to assess the relative importance of items:

Class: 2.33 - 1 2.34–3.67 3.68 – 5.

Relative importance: Low Medium High.

Validity and reliability

Validation:

The researcher calculated Pearson's correlation coefficient between the items and the total score for the dimension to which each item belongs. Table 2 presents the results of this analysis.

Table 2. Pearson correlation coefficient values between the questionnaire items and the total score.

Statistically significant at (p < 0.001).

It is noted from the results in Table 2 that the values of Pearson's correlation coefficients ranged between (0.39–0.95), and all the values of the correlation coefficients were statistically significant at the significance level (p < 0.001), which indicates the availability of a high degree of internal consistency validity for the questionnaire items and their applicability to the study sample.

Reliability

Reliability of Questionnaire Dimensions:

Table 3 shows the Reliability Test (Cronbach's alpha) for all variables.

Table 3. Reliability test (Cronbach's Alpha) for all variables.

The bold values are the number of the questionnaires.

As shown in Table 3, the reliability coefficient values are high. These percentages were acceptable because they were higher than the permissible limit (0.70) (Pallant, 2005). Thus, the study tool is suitable to achieve the purposes of this study.‏

Results and discussion

The results are related to the first question: What is the level of the effect of social media's role in increasing women's empowerment in Jordan for women living in rural areas? The researcher used mean standard deviation, item importance, and importance level, as shown in Table 4.

• - Women's civil rights:

Table 4. Arithmetic mean, SD, item importance, and importance level of women's civil rights.

It can be noted from Table 4 that the mean values range from 4.28 and 4.55, with standard deviations between 0.57 and 0.62. The overall mean was 4.38 with a standard deviation of 0.35 and a high degree of estimate. The first item, “I was able to learn about women's right to life, as well as other associated rights, such as their right to security, freedom of movement, and the inviolability of their homes from social media,” had both the highest mean and a high importance level among women's civil rights. The researcher used the mean, standard deviation, item importance, and importance level shown in Table 5.

• - Women's political rights:

Table 5. Arithmetic mean, SD, item importance, and importance level of women's political rights.

It can be noted from Table 5 that the mean values range from 4.18 and 4.31, with standard deviations between 0.58 and 0.63. The overall mean was 4.25 with a standard deviation of 0.44 and a high degree of estimate. The first item, which is “I was able to learn about women's right to vote and stand for election from social media,” had the highest mean among the women's political rights and with a high importance level.

Social Rights:

The researcher used the mean, standard deviation, item importance, and importance level shown in Table 6.

Table 6. Arithmetic mean, SD, item importance, and importance level of social rights.

It can be noted from Table 6 that the mean values range from 4.12 and 4.63, with standard deviations between 0.46 and 0.65. The overall mean was 4.34 with a standard deviation of 0.28 and a high degree of estimate. Item 8, which is “I was able to learn about women's right to one nursing hour a day following their maternity leave for a year starting from the date they gave birth from social media,” had the highest mean among the women's social rights and a high importance level. The researcher used the mean, standard deviation, item importance, and importance level shown in Table 7.

• - Women's economic rights:

Table 7. Arithmetic mean, SD, item importance, and importance level of women's economic rights.

It can be noted from Table 7 that the mean values range between 4.27 and 4.36 with standard deviations between 0.56 and 0.60. The overall mean was 4.31 with a standard deviation of (0.39) and a high degree of estimate. The first item, which is “I was able to learn about a woman's right to own properties and manage contracts without discrimination between her and a man from social media,” had the highest mean among the women's economic rights and with a high importance level. The researcher used the mean, standard deviation, item importance, and importance level shown in Table 8.

• - Women's cultural rights:

Table 8. Arithmetic mean, SD, item importance, and importance level of cultural rights.

It can be noted from Table 8 that the mean values range between 4.18 and 4.27 with standard deviations between 0.55 and 0.56. The overall mean was 4.23 with a standard deviation of 0.46 and a high degree of estimate. The first item, which is “I was able to learn about women's equal right to education alongside men, with this equality being guaranteed throughout all educational stages from social media,” had the highest mean among the women's economic rights and with a high importance level.

Moving to the results related to the second question: Is there a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001) in the level of effect of social media's role in increasing women's empowerment in Jordan due to having a job (work, does not work)?

To answer this question, an Independent Sample t-test was used. Table 9 presents the results of this analysis.

Table 9. The results of (t-test).

Statistically significant at (α = 0.05).

It can be noted from Table 9 that there is a statistically significant difference at the level of effect of significance (α = 0.05) in the level of the effect of the role of social media in increasing women's empowerment in Jordan due to the job (work, does not work), in favor of the working women, as the mean of their responses was higher than that of the women who were not working.

The eta squared (η²) values indicate that employment status (working vs. non-working) had varying effects on participants’ perceptions of women's rights dimensions. The η² values ranged from 0.091 to 0.599. The effect size was moderate for the Women's Civil Rights dimension, while large effect sizes were observed for the remaining dimensions and the overall score. The highest η² value was found for the overall score (η² = 0.599), indicating that employment status accounted for a substantial proportion of the variance in participants’ responses regarding women's rights. These findings suggest that employment status is an important factor influencing perceptions of women's rights across different dimensions.

The following results relate to the third question: Is there a statistically significant difference (p < .001) in the level of the effect of social media's role in increasing women's empowerment in Jordan due to age?

The means and standard deviations of the questionnaire dimensions were calculated considering age. Table 10 presents the results of this analysis.

Table 10. The results of the means and standard deviations of the dimensions considering the age variable.

It can be noticed from Table 10 that there are apparent differences in the mean values according to age.

One-way ANOVA was used to determine whether the differences between the mean values were statistically significant at a significance level (p < .001), the One-Way ANOVA analysis was used. Table 11 presents the results of this analysis.

Table 11. Results of the one-way analysis of variance according to the age variable.

Statistically significant at (α = 0.05).

It can be noted from Table 11 that there is a statistically significant difference at the level of significance (p < .001) in the effect of social media's role in increasing women's empowerment in Jordan due to the age variable, as all values of (F) are at a significance level of 0.00, and these values are statistically significant at the statistical significance level α= 0.05).‏

The age variable across the study dimensions. The largest effect was observed for Cultural Rights (η² = 0.062), followed by Women's Political Rights (η² = 0.057) and Women's Civil Rights (η² = 0.050). The remaining dimensions and the overall score showed small effect sizes. These findings suggest that age had a statistically significant but relatively limited influence on participants’ perceptions of women's rights.

To reveal the significance of these differences, the Scheffé test was used for post-hoc comparisons of the study sample's responses according to the age variable. Table 12 presents the results of this analysis.‏

Table 12. The results of the Scheffe test in light of the variable (age).

Statistically significant at (p < .001).

It can be seen from Table 12 that all the differences were in favor of those who were younger compared to other ages. This means that their knowledge regarding the role of social media in increasing women's empowerment in Jordan is higher.

The results related to the fourth question: Is there a statistically significant difference (p < .001) in the effect of social media's role in increasing women's empowerment in Jordan due to academic qualification?

The means and standard deviations of the questionnaire dimensions were calculated by considering academic qualification variables. Table 13 presents the results of this analysis.

Table 13. The results of the means and standard deviations of the dimensions considering the academic qualification variable.

It can be seen from Table 13 that there are clear apparent differences in the values of the means according to the academic qualification variable. One-way ANOVA was used to determine whether the differences between the mean values were statistically significant at a significance level (p < .001), the One-Way ANOVA analysis was used. Table 14 presents the results of this analysis.

Table 14. Results of the one-way analysis of variance according to the academic qualification variable.

Statistically significant at (p < .001).

As shown in Table 14, there is a statistically significant difference at the level of significance (p < .001) in the role of social media in increasing women's empowerment in Jordan because of the academic qualification variable, as all values of (F) are at the significance level of (0.00), and these values are statistically significant at the statistical significance level (p < .001).‏

The eta squared (η²) values indicate large effect sizes for the academic qualification variable across all dimensions of women's rights. The values ranged from 0.246 to 0.818, with the highest effect observed for the overall score (η² = 0.818). All dimensions showed substantial effects, suggesting that academic qualification has a strong and meaningful influence on participants’ perceptions of women's rights across all study domains.

To reveal the significance of these differences, the Scheffe test was used for post hoc comparisons of the study sample's responses according to the academic qualification variable. Table 15 presents the results of this analysis.‏

Table 15. The results of Scheffe test in light of the variable academic qualification.

Statistically significant at (p < .001).

It is noted from Table 15 that all the differences were in favor of higher educational qualification; this means that their knowledge is higher regarding the role of social media in increasing women's empowerment in Jordan.

From the previous discussion, it could be noticed that women know and learn about their rights, whether civil, political, economic, social, or cultural, from different social media platforms. This fact is not only related to women who are unemployed or educated. This can also be applied to educated and employed women in rural Jordan. Such awareness shows the importance of social media in increasing women's empowerment in different ways, such as learning from other women's experiences, sharing thoughts and opinions, enhancing the visibility of women, negating stereotypes about women, influencing public opinion, and increasing women's awareness in different disciplines, such as politics, business, and media. This is referred to by Pande and Asthana (2024) as legal literacy, which is defined as ““a process of self-empowerment which leads to the realization of one's rights” (p. 3770). Panchal and Jain (2023) also refer to this by the term, “Public Legal Education”, which “empowers individual regarding issues involving law. It also motivates people to be conscious of legal culture and participation information of laws” (p. 630).

Moving to Question 5, the sample chosen to respond to the questionnaire was also asked to respond to the following points: The responses to the first point, which is “Mention other women's rights that you knew and learned about from social media,” are presented in Table 16.

• Mention other women's rights that you knew and learned about from social media.
• Mention social media platforms have been the most helpful in learning about women's rights.
• Mention the role of social media platforms in contributing to women's empowerment.

Table 16. Other rights known by women through social media.

It can be noticed from the answers of the female respondents that there are other rights that they had reached through social media. The right mentioned by most of the respondents is “women's rights in inheritance.” The other rights mentioned by many respondents are women's rights to choose their jobs, issuing formal documents, and women's rights after divorce. The percentage of respondents who did not add any other rights to be known through social media was 5%. Females through social media are trying to take control by being informed of their legal rights. This is called “empowerment” (Tengland 2007). By knowing their legal rights, females gain power and become decision makers. These are characteristics of empowerment (Calvès 2008). This resembles what Perkins (2010) defines the word “empowerment”, which is “the life and outlook-changing outcome of such a process for individuals, organizations, and whole communities” (p. 207).

Moving to the second point, which is, “Mention the social media platforms that have been the most helpful to you in learning about women's rights.” Figure 1 shows the percentages of social media platforms used by Jordanian women to help them learn about their rights.

It can be seen from Figure 1 that Facebook is the platform most accessed by Jordanian women to increase their awareness of their rights, with a percentage of 4.2%. Instagram comes in second place at 3.2%. Third, YouTube accounts for 1.4%. Snapchat was the least used by Jordanian women to reach their rights, with a percentage of 1.2%. This shows that these social media platforms help women to increase their awareness of their rights as Jordanians. According to Radcliffeand Lam (2023), Facebook is widely used in the Middle East, despite the decline in its usage in some Middle Eastern countries. Alkhtatneh et al. (2025) state that social media, specially Facebook, has helped in increasing its users’ cultural awareness.

Moving to the third point, the respondents were asked to comment on the role of social media platforms in contributing to women's empowerment.” Table 17 shows answers on the role of social media platforms in contributing to women's empowerment from the respondents’ point of view.

Table 17. The role of social media platforms in contributing to women's empowerment.

Table 17 shows the importance of social media and how it contributes to women's empowerment. Social media can help some women establish and promote their own projects. Such women may not be able to establish their projects outdoors for different reasons, such as living in conservative or patriarchal societies; not being able to leave their houses because of their parents, children, or even husbands; and not being able to fund outdoor projects. Other respondents commented on how they can share their experiences, opinions, and thoughts on the one hand and, on the other hand, learn from the experiences of other people, especially women's experiences, opinions, and thoughts. This can, in a way, increase women's awareness of different topics and issues. It can also negate stereotypes about women in Jordan and the Arab world in general. The results of the current question align with Tengland (2007), Calves (2008), Prem Lata and Jukariy (2018), Sleit and Shboul (2023), and Albaddawi (2024).

Conclusion

This study explores the effect of social media's role in increasing women's awareness of their legal rights in rural Jordan. It also highlights the role of social media in empowering Jordanian women living in rural areas. Data was collected using a mixed method approach to answer the study questions. The questionnaire was divided into two main parts. The respondents were asked to respond to 19 points on a 5-point Likert scale related to the rights of females. The second part consisted of three open-ended questions for the respondents to answer related to women's empowerment. The current study fills the gap in this area, aiming to measure the effect of social media's role in increasing the awareness of women living in rural areas of their legal rights. The study also explored the effect of social media's role in increasing the empowerment of women living in rural Jordan. There have been some studies concerning women's empowerment in Jordan, specifically in some sectors. There has been a shortage of studies addressing the role of social media in women's empowerment, especially in spreading legal literacy among Jordanian women in rural regions. This study fills this gap in literature. The study concludes with the idea that women know and learn about their rights, whether civil, political, economic, social, or cultural, from different social media platforms, particularly Facebook. This fact is not only related to women who are unemployed or educated. This conclusion can also be applied to educated and employed women in rural Jordan. The study also concludes with the importance of social media in increasing women's empowerment in different ways, such as learning from other women's experiences, sharing thoughts and opinions, enhancing the visibility of women, negating stereotypes about women, influencing public opinion, and increasing women's awareness in different disciplines, such as politics, business, and media.

Limitations

Since the tool was distributed electronically via WhatsApp networks, the sample represents digitally active rural women and may underrepresent those experiencing absolute digital or legal isolation. The findings of the study cannot be generalized to the most vulnerable, isolated, or digitally illiterate women in rural Jordan. The findings cannot be generalized since the sample was chosen through convenience sampling, self-reported measures, and a cross-sectional design.

Recommendations

The study concludes with the following recommendations for future research:

• More studies need to be conducted in other ways to increase women's empowerment.
• More studies should be conducted on the role of social media in increasing women's awareness of their rights in Jordan.
• More studies need to be done on gender discrimination in Jordan.
• More studies should be done on how women can be protected from cybercrime.

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Footnotes

Edited by: Laura Trujillo-Liñán, Universidad Panamericana, Mexico

Reviewed by: Nergis Canefe, York University, Canada

Farzin Bagheri Sheykhangafshe, Tarbiat Modares University, Iran