Progress Amid Resistance

LEBANON 251He had broken publicly with the Syrians before his death, which triggereda mass anti-Syrian protest movement known as the Cedar Revolution andthe eventual withdrawal of Syrian troops in April of that year. Lebanesewomen from various religious creeds and socioeconomic backgrounds participatedin the movement in large numbers and were instrumental in itssuccess. Women similarly became involved in relief operations during andafter the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, a Shiite Islamist militantgroup based in Lebanon. As in the previous instances of military strife, thecampaign for women’s rights became a secondary priority in the face of theimmediate humanitarian crisis.Progress on women’s issues since the 2006 war has been minimal, andmany Lebanese policies and laws remain discriminatory. For instance,Lebanese women are unable to pass their nationality to foreign husbandsand their children, the definition of and punishment for adultery differsde pending on whether the perpetrator is male or female, and men aregiven reduced sentences for committing so-called “honor killings,” inwhich women are slain by male relatives for perceived moral transgressions.Systemic bias is also reflected in discriminatory provisions of themultiple personal status laws, which apply to citizens based on their religion.Under these laws, women are at a disadvantage in terms of maritalrights, divorce proceedings, and child custody.Women’s rights groups have sought to correct these problems by lobbyingfor a new nationality law and amendments to the penal code. Theyhave also launched media campaigns and conducted street demonstrationsaimed at increasing public awareness regarding such issues and puttingpressure on the government. However, the political unrest and securityconcerns that have prevailed in Lebanon for over three decades, coupledwith an entrenched patriarchal system, have continued to hinder suchefforts to date.NONDISCRIMINATION AND ACCESS TO JUSTICEIn comparison with many other Arab states, the Lebanese legal system isfairly progressive with respect to women’s rights, but the implementationof laws that assert gender equality has been uneven. Moreover, discriminatoryprovisions remain in the nationality law and penal code, and sectariancontrol over personal status law—reinforced by patriarchal social norms—generally puts women at a disadvantage. The country’s many women’s rights