On International Women’s Day: Here’s How Lebanese Laws Fail Society

International Women’s Day is a day to honor and praise women all over the world for their achievements, all the while paying attention society’s shortcomings when it comes to gender equality.

Here are a few ways Lebanese women remain oppressed in 2021.

1. A nationality law that treats women like second tier citizens.

Lebanese mothers have been fighting in order to claim the right to pass their citizenship to their children for decades. According to discriminatory Lebanese Nationality Laws, children can only obtain Lebanese citizenship through Lebanese fathers. This classifies women as secondary citizens.

2. Religious courts that perpetuate abusive patriarchal values.

Instances of domestic violence and sexual abuse are routinely addressed in religious courts, and due to the deeply sectarian personal status laws, women find themselves at the mercy of patriarchal religious courts that more often than not rule in an abusive man’s favor. This is true in cases of divorce and child custody as well.

3. No defenses against child marriage.

This has been an age-old battle. Since personal status laws are dictated by different sect-based religious courts, some have allowed children as young as 11 and 12 years old to be forced into marriages.

4. Marital rape is not criminalized.

Rape, according to the Lebanese penal code, is defined as “forced sexual intercourse [against someone] who is not his wife by violence or threat”, meaning that such acts are not illegal when performed against a spouse. This means marital rape is not an acceptable reason for divorce or any legal action against the husband.

May we have better laws next Women’s Day.