by Mayssa el Khazen, A research on the Influence of Tradition, Politics and Religion on Women Yet, a third reservation was made regarding Article 29 of CEDAW concerning arbitration between states and the referral of disputes to the international Court of Justice on the explanation and implementation of conventions such as the CEDAW.[1] There are many other examples of discrimination against women in My research question is why is it that, as of now, In this paper, I will explore the possible reasons behind discrimination against women in I will divide my paper into two parts; the first will explore in depth the laws in Part 1: Lebanese Laws vis’a’vis women Part 1 is divided into three sections; first is about the Lebanese constitution, second, about the Personal Status Laws and third about the improvements made in the law. I- The Lebanese Constitution: The The Lebanese Constitution stresses the need to achieve gender equality in civil and political rights, in duties and responsibilities as well as in public positions. It states that “the Lebanese shall be equal before the law, equally enjoying civil and political rights and discharge public duties and obligations without discrimination” (Article 7). Hence, although the constitution tends to establish gender equality in rights and freedoms, it stipulates no affirmative actions, do not condemn discrimination as unconstitutional, and often is not enforced or supported by other types of law affecting women more directly.[3] Unfortunately, the constitutional text did not directly claim the issue of equality between women and men in all other areas and domains.[4] The assumed political rights include the right to vote and the right for candidature in all public leadership positions. In particular, it is a constitutional right for “any Lebanese citizen aged over 21 years to be a potential voter.” Furthermore, whether for parliament or municipality, candidature in II- The Personal Status Laws (PSL): The Personal Status laws have a greater effect on the population than the Lebanese constitution and the United Nations’ charter, which are both in conflict with the conventional authoritarian powers granted by these laws. The PSL are a set of definitions and rules related to the individual that differentiate him/her from others in the community and define his/her rights and responsibilities according to the particular sect he/she belongs to. The Lebanese do not conform to a single code of personal status. Each person comes under the PSL and the courts of his/her own sects. Since there are 18 sects, a multiplicity of laws, legal references and measures as well as courts have resulted in the Lebanese legal system. The various sects differ in their legal contexts. The absence of a single unified code that includes the legislation of all sects results in clashes of jurisdiction between the sects themselves or between the sects and the civil authority.[6] Thus, one can clearly see that the current Lebanese law and the absence of a single code in For instance, the Qur’an in one of its verses said of women that “Men have authority over women because Allah has made the one superior to the other…”[7] Hence, the woman is repressed in Moslem communities while from the Christian side, the laws seem less strict. For example, regarding divorce, Jesus placed women at equality with men. “Whosoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” (Matthew 5:32, 19:9) By using these religious examples, the aim is to show and explain the inferiority of women in different communities. The legitimacy of the PSL was established by the Lebanese constitution in article 9 which guarantees respect of the PSL for each particular sect in Within the Personal Status Law, we can identify three main categories concerning the various government ruling on the PSL which contains forms of discrimination against women; A- Economic Laws, B-Political Laws, and C-Marriage and family laws. A- Economic Laws: In terms of labour laws, in work-related issues including appointments, promotion and assigned duties, the Lebanese law does not discriminate between women and men. However, Article 3 of the Employment Act and Article 46 of the Social Security Law, both give male civil servants or workers the right to benefit from welfare, a right denied to their female counterparts. Article 10 of the benefits and services regulations at the state’s employees’ cooperative and Article 14 of the Social Security Law discriminate against women with regards to their family members in access to health care, hospitalization and other social benefits. In addition, the Lebanese government has not made allowances for paternity leave.[8] In other words, this means that the Lebanese still view that it is mainly the mother’s job to take care of the child and not that of a father, hence not allowing paternity leave. Civil Status Law: There are no precise legal documents concerning the civil status of women in particular. They are all written to address the Lebanese population as a whole. Thus, when the Lebanese woman reaches the age of 18, she is granted full majority except in few instances where the law states otherwise. A Lebanese woman has the right to monetary possessions and financial management and spending. The most recent accomplishment reached in 1995 was that of granting married women full civil rights in what concerns life insurance policies and recognizing their qualifications regarding insurance contracts.[9] However, real estate laws do not recognize gender equality, since women cannot stand as witnesses when registering personal data on official documents.[10] In regard to inheritance-related laws, the Lebanese abide by their confessional origins. According to the Islamic law, men have the right to inherit twice as much as the women can. On the other hand, the law of inheritance for non-Moslems is equal. Socio-Economic Rights: The Lebanese law states that the minimum wage should apply to both men and women without any form of discrimination. Thus, the principle of equal pay for equal work is obligatory according to the law. Also, the end of service indemnity system in B- Political Laws: Citizenship: In the case of citizenship, when a foreign woman marries a Lebanese man, she can gain Lebanese nationality after one year of marriage and upon her request. Also, a Lebanese woman can stay so even after marrying a foreigner, unless she asks for the removal of her name from the registry to gain her husband’s nationality. However, this can be reversed for women in case of divorce and thus she could re-acquire Lebanese nationality. However, a foreigner who marries a Lebanese woman can only become a Lebanese citizen based on a presidential decree and after having proven that he spent at least one year in Penal System: In Testimony: The testimony of a woman, in the ruling of the PSL, is unequal to that of a man. According to article 54 of the Lebanese Civil Code which was issued on On the other hand, in Christian Personal Status Laws, the testimony of a single woman is regarded as equal in most testimonial cases. This practice applies to Christian religious courts and Christian Personal Status Laws. Also this means that the Christian PSL do not call for the presence of two male figures when a single woman’s testimony is presented.[18] C-Marriage Laws: Marriage: The registration of marriage in For example, the Sunni Moslem PSLs regard the marriage contract as the actual legal marriage ceremony. The contract is, most of the time, finalized at the home of the groom with only males in attendance. It is the bride’s male representative who signs for her. According to Article 8 of the Sunni PSL: “A Moslem woman at an eligible age (17 years and older) with a reasonable mind has the right to propose or announce marriage by her own consent.”[20] Some Christian sects such as the Protestant, Armenian, Orthodox and Roman Orthodox state that a woman becomes eligible for marriage at age 15 (Article 54 of Roman Orthodox sect). However, Catholic women are not regarded as eligible if they are under 17 years old, at which then parental approval is required. According to Article 24 of the Christian PSL, “a Christian Catholic woman is empowered to marry only if she obtains the consent of her parents and a statement from the priest that she has received parental approval, as well as the approval of the local head of the church for her marriage.” Article 18 of the Christian Roman Orthodox Sect states that, “the marriage ceremony must take place with the approval of the bride and groom, the announcement of the female’s wishes in marital life, and the female’s consent and approval of the marriage. The marriage ceremony must take place in public.”[21] According to Article 47 and 46, the PSLs of the Druze sect also require the woman’s approval for marriage. “A marriage contract for a woman should be undertaken by her guardian and upon her consent to do so.” The marriage of an adult Druze woman is considered possible when she is 17 years old. Then, a Druze woman must seek parental consent which then calls upon one of the sect’s Sheikhs to inform him of their daughter’s wish for marriage. The Sheikh then asks for a 15-day review period and if after 15 days he receives the parent’s consent, the girl will be free to marry. The same procedure goes for the Sunni sect; however, the Shiite sect, unlike the Druze and Sunni, does not require a female who is of age to acquire any permission from her custodian in order to marry. In other words, a Shiite woman can sign a marriage contract by her free will even if no custodian is present.[22] Furthermore, in regard to marriage laws, the PSL, Article 73, limits the freedom of Lebanese women to act and thus becomes the basis of their suppression by men. In the Moslem PSL, mutual consent and exchange of vows with the full knowledge of the conditions and wishes of both partners who act of their own free will, as found in the Greek Orthodox PSLs, is absent. Under the Moslem marriage laws, the husband possesses three rights over his wife: obedience, residence at home and the right to punish her. The wife, on the other hand, has only two minor rights over her husband: (1) financial rights and alimony and (2) moral rights: justice and equality among the different wives and fair treatment. In this respect, Moslem women are seen as objects manipulated by their husbands. Thus, Moslem women do not enjoy free will and the exchange of vows with full knowledge of their desired rights. Any objections to cruel treatment remain unspoken because the Moslem PSLs favor male authority.[23] Another vital issue to take note of in regard to marriage and relating to the status of Lebanese women is that a married women under both Moslem and Christian PSLs “must obtain travel permission signed by her husband on application to receive a passport or on renewing passports.”[24] Based on these issues and laws in marriage, it is clear that Lebanese women’s inferior status and capacity in marriage is governed by the traditional PSLs, which unjustly impose men authority over women. Thus, it can be said that customs and laws are still an authoritative factor regarding Lebanese women. Divorce: Divorce laws are possibly the most complex of the PSLs affecting Lebanese women because it is considered a religious act and thus, a traditional matter in Lebanese law. In the Catholic and Moslem sects, discrimination against women is very high since it is still very much bound by tradition and male authority, while in Orthodox, Protestant and Druze sects, women have some power to regulate divorce. In either case, Lebanese women are under male authority and dependent on religious male chiefs who will rule in the woman’s divorce only when it sounds acceptable and witnesses are presented. If these requirements are not met, divorce may be denied. [25] Hence, discrimination against women is still very much present. According to Lebanese laws, divorce is the abolition of the marriage contract. Concerning its effect on the status of women, it differs in every religious sect. In the Islamic law (except the Druze sect), Article 112 and 113 of the Lebanese Family Rights Code, which deals with divorce, states that “divorce is a man’s right; he can effect it independent of his wife, without her consent, and without resort to the court. There is no need for her consent and no need for a new dowry.”[26] However, in the case of non-Catholic Christians, a Christian woman can initiate divorce by requesting the cancellation of the marriage in court. With the court’s positive decision, she is granted legal separation based on the causes described in the law. In the Catholic Church, on the other hand, there is no divorce: “Marriage cannot be broken by any human authority until death.”[27] The Druze sect gave the wife the right to ask for divorce through the court which no longer made it the absolute right of the husband. Article 137 states that “it is upon the wife to demand divorce and her right to consult the Sheikh of her sect about divorce procedures and the reasons for claiming such a divorce. The divorce, then, will be granted and executed.”[28] Parental Authority: According to the Lebanese PSLs of all religious communities, Moslem, Christian and Druze, the father has supreme authority over his children. Articles 121, 120 and 119 of the Moslem and Druze law state: Article (121) It is required of the father figure to instruct and educate his children in accordance with his authority and ability as a father. Article (120) The father has the right to impose his authority over his children until they reach the age of maturity, when the latter, cannot leave home without the father’s approval. Article (119) The children should abide by the authority of their father and respect him as a father figure no matter what their age.[29] Hence, parental authority favors the husband or the father. Similarly, in the Greek Orthodox law, the father is given preference over the mother in the right to bring up their children.[30] Also, in the Catholic sect, parental authority is usually given to the father and this can only be discharged by a court verdict. These discriminations against women are a discrimination to the Declaration of Elimination of Discrimination against Women which states: “Parents shall have equal rights and duties in matters relating to their children, and equal responsibilities of husband and wife on matters of parental authority.”[31] Hence, the PSLs annul women’s parental authority in favor of patriarchal male parental authority. Polygamy: Although forbidden in the Christian and Druze sect, but applicable to Shiites and Sunnis, polygamy represent a major discrimination against women in the Moslem law where women have no other choice but to submit to it. For instance, if a Moslem man decided to marry more than one woman and has the consent of the father of a woman he would like to marry, then most probably, the woman will accept to get married. Since she has been taught by her family that polygamy is not wrong and the community around is traditional, the woman will most likely not stand in for her rights.[32] Inheritance: Inheritance regulations under Christian PSLs (Article 9) of Lebanese Moslems follow the Moslem law in matters of inheritance. A man inherits twice the amount a woman does. If the man dies and his wife is still living and does not leave an heir, she would inherit one fourth of the estate. However, if he has an heir, she receives one eighth. As for the husband, if his wife dies, in the first case he would inherit half and in the second case, a fourth. The principle that the male inherits the equivalent of the portion of two females applies equally to children. Moreover, according to the Sunni sect, the daughter does not inherit anything, while in the Shiite sect, article 146 states that “the daughter, even if she is an only child, receives all the inheritance.”[35] In the Druze sect, inheritance follows the Sunni laws.[36] The Personal Status Laws vis a vis the UN Charter: The UN Charter’s main aim is to promote equality. Therefore, equality between men and women remains a vital issue to confront in which the UN Charter also seeks equality in their rights, opportunities and responsibilities. Article 1 of the charter states the need to: “achieve international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural or humanitarian character and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinctions.”[37] Since III- Legal Improvements: It is important to note that distinctive improvements have been noted in what concerns the legal status of women in 1- Family Planning: Two articles in the Lebanese legal system have been eliminated since 1983. These stated that anyone who tried prescribing or promoting or even selling contraceptive methods and improve its accessibility should be punished.[38] 2- Retirement: Unify age at retirement between women and men to 64 years, according to the social security law of 1987.[39] 3- Real Estate: The law that prevented women to act as witnesses in the domain of real estate was completely modified by the year 1993 and allowed women to completely witness under any circumstances.[40] 4- Business: Modification of the law that did not give married women the right to manage their own businesses unless she obtains her husband’s explicit or implicit consent to do so. This modification was accomplished in 1994.[41] 5- Employment in the diplomatic sector: Elimination of the law that stated that women employed in the diplomatic sector should be transferred from foreign affairs to an administrative position in case she marries a foreigner. Also, These improvements show that the Lebanese government has done some efforts to improve women rights and eliminate some forms of discrimination. It is a good start and it is slowly progressing. However, if more attention is put toward it, then it can progress in an even faster way. Nonetheless, women rights in Part 2: Field Study and Interviews After a thorough review of Lebanese laws that discriminate against women, I can now move to the second part of my research; the various field studies and interviews I performed while in I) Interviewees: I interviewed 13 different people in Representing the religious dimension of people I met, two top Christian/Maronite figures. Moutran Abou Jaoude, now retired, was the president of the religious tribunal, which dealt with family matters such as marriage, divorce, and children custody. Presently he is still major figure of the Maronite sect just below his Excellency the head of the Maronite religious community, Patriarche Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir. His views are important because he possesses a great deal of knowledge on the subject and on the various laws in regard to women in Next, to represent the social dimension, I went to various organizations that dealt with women rights and advancement in Lebanese society to both observe their work and look at how they try to improve women’s rights. Amongst the various organizations I visited are the Good Shepherd Sisters, in origin French and whose mission is to be present for women and girls who are beaten or who need help; the Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering which is committed to protect and promote the culture of women’s rights within human rights, eliminate violence against women, and promote women’s involvement in economic, social, and political fields. I also interviewed two ministries in From the legal dimension, I interviewed lawyers and Member of Parliament. Among them is MP Cheikh Farid Elias el Khazen who was recently elected in the Christian district of Jounieh and who was the Political Science Department advisor at This vast array of individuals I interviewed represent from one way or another the various different thoughts in II) Discussion/Analysis of Interviews: From the very first interviewee and sentence in the interview, Motran Abou Jaoude articulated that “ Next, I asked the perceptions and views of various interviewees on women in In regard to the legal perspective concerning the source of women discrimination, family lawyer Ibrahim Traboulsi made clear that because of religious laws in Next, when asked about the source of discrimination, almost everyone agreed that the political, religious, and traditional factors are the biggest problems that are halting any forms of reform in Socially, in matters regarding family laws, and various other discriminations against women such as polygamy, nationality, parental custody after divorce, these are all a result of traditional values which in turn made the laws discriminate in this manner. In addition, the ways politics is and because of the confessionals aspect of III) Reactions, thoughts and possible solution: After interviewing the many different people and analyzing what they had to say about However, before being able to fully conclude and propose a solution, we have to identify all the problems that are causing a halt on reform. Then we have to tackle each problem by first knowing what we want in term of reform and what must change. We also have to define The problems I have picked up after the interviews were first, constant sectarianism talks that kept getting in the way of essential women rights as Lebanese before belonging to their sects. Second, the perception of women differs widely. Third, constant blaming of the other sect for all the problems The abovementioned are all problems that I examined from the interviews and that are posing a problem. The Lebanese government should no longer say that changing women’s laws is not a priority now. It is but it comes with specific steps. The first step is to acknowledge the discriminations nationally and define what Conclusion: My aim in this research and study was to locate the reasons behind the discriminations against women in Bibliography: Jiha, Chafic, “Lebanese Constitution: Its history, Changing Pattern and the Preset Form”(1962-1991), (Dar Al_I’Im Lilmalayin, October 1991, Beirut, Lebanon), Moghaizel, Laure, “the Place of Women in the Arab Rules in the Light of the United Nations Agreement.”(Beirut, Lebanon, National Council of Lebanese Women, 1975) Smith, Jane, “Women in Contemporary Muslim Societies,” ( “The National Commission for Lebanese Women (2000),” First Official Report on the Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (January 2000) “The General Treasury in Administering Social and Youth Affairs, An Overall Study of Arab Women in Personal Status Laws;” A General Overview of Women’s State in Legislation Connected with Personal Status Laws. 2nd Session, ( treasury, 1972) The United Nations and the Human Rights Charter, ( Human Rights, 1980) UNDP “The Human Development Report 1995,” (New York/Oxford: Press, 1995) UNDP, “Women and Men in Commission For United Nation’s “Equal Rights for Women” – A Call for Action, “The United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women,” ( UN, 1973), [1] NCLW (2000), P. 30-33 [2] UNDP (1995), The Human Development Report 1995, (New York/Oxford: [3] UNDP (1995), The Human Development Report 1995, New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press, p.7 [4] UNDP, Women and Men in [5] Shafic Jiha, Lebanese Constitution: Its history, Changing Pattern and the Preset Form (1962-1991), (Beirut, Lebanon, Dar Al_I’Im Lilmalayin, 1991), P 80-96 [6] Shafic Jiha, Lebanese Constitution: Its history, Changing Pattern and the Preset Form (1962-1991), (Beirut, Lebanon, Dar Al_I’Im Lilmalayin, 1991), P 80-96 [7] Translation of the Koran (Arabic Version) [8] NCLW (2000), o.c., p.68 [9] NCLW (2000), o.c., P 68 [10] UNDP, Women and Men in [11] UNDP, Women and Men in [12] UNDP, Women and Men in [13] UNDP, Women and Men in [14] The National Commission for Lebanese Women (2000), First Official Report on the Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (January 2000), P 43-44 [15] The General Treasury in Administering Social and Youth Affairs, An Overall Study of Arab Women in Personal Status Laws; A General Overview of Women’s State in Legislation Connected with Personal Status Laws. 2nd Session, ( [16] Jane Smith, Women in Contemporary Muslim Societies. (London and Lewisberg: Bucknell University Press, 1980), P.35. [17] United Nation’s “Equal Rights for Women” – A Call for Action, The United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. (New York: UN, 1973), P 149-161 [18] Laure Moghaizel, The Place of Women in the Arab Rules in the Light of the United Nations Agreeements. (Beirut, Lebanon, National Council of Lebanese Women, 1975) P 46. [19] Moghaizel, P 23 [20] Moghaizel, P 23 [21] Moghaizel, P. 24 [22] Moghaizel, P.20-30 [23] Moghaizel, P.20-30 [24] Moghaizel, P. 43 [25] The General Treasury in Administering Social and Youth Affairs, An Overall Study of Arab Women in Personal Status Laws; A General Overview of Women’s State in Legislation Connected with Personal Status Laws. P 85 [26] Moghaizel, P54 [27] Moghaizel, P55 [28] Moghaizel, P.27 [29] The General Treasury in Administering Social and Youth Affairs. P. 2-117 [30] Moghaizel, P.52 [31] United Nation’s “Equal Rights for Women”- A Call for Action, the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. (New York: UN, 1973), P 166 [32] The General Treasury in Administering Social and Youth Affairs. P. 2-117 [33] Moghaizel, P.56 [34] NCLW (2000), P.30 [35] Moghaizel, P.57-58 [36] Moghaizel, P.58 [37] The United Nations and the Human Rights Charter, ( [38] Legislative decree number 112, dated [39] Law number 275, dated [40] Law number 275, dated [41] Law number 380, dated [42] Law number 380, dated [43] refer to the Addendum, P.1 [44] Refer to P.12 of Addendum [45] Refer to P.1 of Addendum [46] Refer to P. 8 of Addendum [47] Refer to P. 10 of Addendum [48] Refer to P.13 of Addendum [49] Refer to P. 12 of Addendum [50] Refer to P.13 of Addendum [51] Refer to P.4 of Addendum [52] Refer to P.18 of Addendum [53] Refer to P.17 of Addendum [54] Refer to P.3 of Addendum [55] Refer to P.5 of Addendum [56] Refer to P.4 of Addendum [57] Refer to P. 6 of Addendum [58] Refer to P.9 of Addendum [59] Refer to P.10 of Addendum [60] Refer to P.12 of Addendum [61] Refer to P.14 of Addendum [62] Refer to P.13 of Addendum [63] Refer to P. 3 of Addendum [64] Refer to P. 5 of Addendum [65] Refer to P.14 of Addendum [66] Refer to P. 17 of Addendum