Social institutions in Lebanon are complex and closely linked to religion. The country officially recnogises a total of 18 religious groups. According to a report by Zaatari, family matters are governed by as many as 15 personal status codes.
Lebanese society is patriarchal in general, but women’s situation and level of protection within the family vary depending on religious affiliation. Lebanon’s third periodic report to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) states that “whichever denomination she belongs to, a Lebanese woman is a victim of gender discrimination in her contact with the personal status laws”.
Lebanese women have only a moderate level of legal protection within the family context. The legal age of marriage varies amongst the different personal status codes, but two common features are evident: first, that women can generally be wed at a younger age than men; and second, that marriages can be authorised at even earlier ages. The recognised marriageable age for women ranges between 12.5 (or puberty) and 18 years, and between 16 (or puberty) and 18 years for men. Thus early marriage is not uncommon, although no official statistics were available at time of publication.
Polygamy is permissible only among the Muslim population, following provisions in Islamic Sharia law. Muslim men are allowed to take as many as four wives, provided they can support all wives financially and treat them all fairly and equally.
Although some personal status codes assign rights and duties equally to both spouses during married life, parental authority belongs primarily to fathers. Most personal status codes also name men as the rightful guardians, whereas women are merely custodians with no legal rights. Upon birth, children are assigned to the religious sect of their father. Women cannot confer citizenship to children born to a non-Lebanese father.
In the event of divorce, all personal status codes initially grant child custody to the mother. In some cases, custody is transferred back to the father when children reach a certain age. Most Christian denominations and Islamic Shia consider that divorced mothers who wish to remarry forfeit their custody rights. If the mother dies, or is absent for other reasons, the Sunni sect normally transfers custody to the closest female relative.
Inheritance laws differ between Muslims and non-Muslims. Islamic law provides for detailed and complex calculations of inheritance shares. Muslim women may inherit from their fathers, mothers, husbands or children and, under, certain conditions, from other family members. But their share is generally smaller than a man’s entitlement: daughters, for example, typically inherit half as much as sons. This is commonly justified by the argument that women have no financial responsibility towards their husbands and children.
The Inheritance Act (1959) for non-Muslims establishes that men and women shall be treated equally and receive the same shares of inheritance. In reality, cultural practices and customs sometimes favour male heirs.
Lebanon provides a moderate level of protection for the physical integrity of women. Awareness of violence against women, including domestic violence, has increased in recent years, thanks largely to efforts by local and regional NGOs. The design and implementation of government policies in this area, however, has been rather poor. Existing law does not recognise the concept of spousal rape. In general, the actual reporting by victims of domestic abuse remains low.
Female genital mutilation is not practised in Lebanon and there is no evidence to suggest it is a country of concern in relation to missing women.
There are no legal restrictions on women’s ownership rights, including access to land and access to property other than land, provided that they are 18 years or older. Patriarchal traditions may work against women in some aspects of ownership, but limitations more often arise from the fact that many women remain unaware of their economic and legal rights. This is particularly true in rural areas.
Women are legally entitled to access to bank loans and can enter into financial contracts, but some limitiations are evident in practice. For example, the CEDAW reports that among an estimated 30 institutions lending to small-scale rural projects, only nine provide men and women with equal conditions. Moreover, women’s share of the loans from these nine credit institutions ranges between only 10 and 20 per cent. There are two organisations that lend exclusively to rural women, however data on the number and size of the loans are not available.
Legally, Lebanese women have a moderate degree of civil liberty; it is sometimes difficult for them to exercise their rights. There are no legal restrictions on freedom of movement for Lebanese women. The law allows women to apply for passports without the permission of their husbands. In practice, the extent to which Muslim women can move freely outside the household or travel abroad often depends on their husbands and other family members.
Women have freedom of dress, but the number of women who wear a veil in public has increased since the 1980s. Still, Lebanon is more liberal than other Middle Eastern countries, in part because of its large Christian and secular communities.
The Associated Press (2006), A Look at the Wearing of Veils, and Disputes on the Issue, Across the Muslim World, International Herald Tribune, Paris.
CEDAW (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women) (2006), Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: Lebanon, Third Periodic Report of States Parties, CEDAW/C/LBN/3, CEDAWNew York, NY.
UN (United Nations) (2004), World Fertility Report 2003, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, New York, NY.
Zaatari, Z. (2005), Women’s Rights in the Middle East and North Africa: Citizenship and Justice – Lebanon Country Report, Freedom House Inc., Washington DC.
