Women rights in Lebanon
Introduction
Lebanon is a leading country in the Middle East with diverse religions comprising of mainly Muslims and Christians. The personal status laws applicable in Lebanon are a significant source of discrimination against women (Salameh, 2013). As such, this has deprived women of their basic fundamental rights. Lebanon was among the first countries in the Arab region to provide equal rights for women to participate in politics. Lebanon ratified the “Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women” to ensure that all human rights for women are guaranteed. However, all 15 religious-based personal status laws do not address issues that lead to women discrimination (El-Helou, 2015). In particular, the personal status laws do not discuss divorce, rights to hold properties, and custody of children. Interpretation of law and rulings is a role of religious courts, which are not regulated by the government, and this has resulted in gross violation of human rights (World Bank, 2015). This paper discusses the legal framework, gender inequality, and personal status laws that discriminate against women’s rights and suggest a policy change to address the problem.
The Lebanese legal framework
Gender equality, expanding space for women, and empowerment has achieved limited progress. Several legal and constitutional reforms exist to advance women’s rights in Lebanon. For instance, Lebanon was the first county in the Middle East to allow women participation in politics. Secondly, it ratified the CEDAW convention in 1996 to create a legal framework for eliminating any form of gender inequality (Salameh, 2013). Also, the government initiated a department to deal with collecting and assessing essential data on gender equality. Therefore, Lebanon has a better legal framework to support women’s rights compared to other Arab countries (El-Helou, 2015). Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
Gender inequality
The level of gender inequality in Lebanon has increased to the disadvantage of women’s rights. As a country, Lebanon ranks at position 135 within the MENA region on the gender gap index (WEF, 2016). According to the gender gap index, it implies that Lebanon is only better than Syria and Yemen. The poor performance of its gender inequality is because of very few women who hold political power (WEF, 2016). The Lebanese political structure has discriminated against women since independence. The structure consists of a patriarchal political culture in all political platforms like parliament, cabinet, and municipalities. Few women who won elections and gained power obtain support from men. The latter control leadership across all political parties and work together to sideline women voices. Consequently, political parties work towards maintaining sectarian interests and overlook the unification of a whole Lebanese society (Hamieh & Usta, 2011). Thus, in such a rigid political system, it is difficult to elect or even nominate women to political positions.
Personal status laws
The current system of governance in Lebanon is religious-based through personal status regulations. This is a significant setback for women’s rights because it is explicitly used for violating women’s rights. Specifically, the personal status laws promote non-discrimination, inequality in marriage through divorce, and integrity (Avis, 2017). Whereas some of the treaties ratified by Lebanon guarantee women’s rights, the reality is different. The personal status regulations increase the barriers for women than men, especially in terminating unhappy marriages. The constitution requires the exercise of respect to “personal status and religious interests” without consideration of their religion (Avis, 2017). Proponents of personal status laws from the religious authorities have recently blocked attempts to adopt a civil code and extra oversight. Here, women’s rights violation will continue.
Conclusion
On phase value, Lebanese women look liberated and enjoy equal rights with men. Through ratification of the international convention against women discrimination, Lebanon should promote human rights. As such, Lebanese women grow with an illusion of liberation to the point that it has dwarfed the existence of extensive gender inequality issues. Therefore, religious-based personal status laws and limited political space enhance women’s rights violation in Lebanon. Lebanese parliament must adopt a civil code that will protect women’s rights, and the government should exercise extra oversight to ensure total compliance.
References
Avis, W. (2017). Gender equality and women’s empowerment in Lebanon. Brighton, UK: Institute of Development Studies.
El-Helou, M. (2015). Women Quota in Lebanon: A False Promise? Al-Raida. http://inhouse.lau.edu.lb/iwsaw/raida126-127/EN/p001-105.pdf
Hamieh, C. & Usta, J. (2011). The Effects of Socialization on Gender Discrimination and Violence A Case Study from Lebanon. Oxfam. http://www.kafa.org.lb/StudiesPublicationPDF/PRpdf46.pdf
Salameh, R. (2013). Gender politics in Lebanon and the limits of legal reformism. Civil Society Knowledge Centre.
http://civilsociety-centre.org/paper/gender-politics-lebanon-and-limits-legalreformism-en-ar
WEF (2016). The Global Gender Gap Report. World Economic Forum. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GGGR16/WEF_Global_Gender_Gap_Report_2016.pdf
World Bank (2015). Lebanon: Promoting Poverty Reduction and Shared Prosperity – a Systematic Country Diagnostic. World Bank.