by Rana Moussaoui, BEIRUT (AFP) – Lebanese women may be known as the Arab world’s most liberal but they are by no means the region’s most liberated considering antiquated laws that reduce them to second-class citizens. "The law in this country still considers a woman as being inferior," complained sociologist Rafif Sidaoui. From domestic violence to rape to adultery, the rights of women often fall by the wayside in this multi-confessional sectarian society, nonetheless deemed avant-garde in the mostly conservative Middle East. "One of the absurd laws on the books allows a rapist to be exempt from prison if he marries his victim," said Ezzat Mroue, vice-president of the Women’s Rights Committee (WRC). "A few years ago, there was a major scandal when a young man, who was after his cousin, kidnapped her from her university," she added. "He raped her and then brought her before a sheikh who married them. "The result was that he was not guilty in the eyes of the law," Mroue said.
And although so-called "honour crimes" are not widespread in Lebanon, as in some other Arab countries, every year a number of women are killed by male relatives under the pretext of defending the family honour.Under the law, the murderer can benefit from "mitigating circumstances". But "murder is murder and you cannot apply different penalties" depending on gender, insisted Mroue. She said when it comes to adultery, the picture is not brighter. A woman can be sentenced to two years in prison if a third party accuses her of cheating on her husband, whereas a man has to be caught red-handed before being hauled to court.