Progress Amid Resistance

264 WOMEN’S RIGHTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICAbest interest of the child and the parents’ custodial competency on acase-by-case basis.F Temporary alimony should be provided to women for the duration ofdivorce proceedings in cases where the women were financially dependenton their husbands throughout marriage.F In an effort to clarify the confusion caused by multiple personal statuslaws, a judicial monitoring body should be established to documentand publicize new rulings by different courts on related issues.ECONOMIC RIGHTS AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITIESPolitical and civil unrest, including the 15-year civil war and the short butdestructive war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006, has taken its toll onLebanon’s economy. Although the gross domestic product (GDP) grew byan estimated eight percent in 2008, this trend is unlikely to continue consideringthe fact that the country has one of the highest debt-to-GDP ratiosin the world, and in light of the international economic crisis that emergedin late 2008. 43 Female economic activity has grown considerably since the1970s, but women remain grossly underrepresented in the labor force.Article 215 of the Law of Contracts and Obligations stipulates thatwomen have the same rights as men with respect to concluding contractsand owning and administering property. Married women and menhold and manage their property separately and dispose of it as they seefit, regardless of their religious affiliation. However, severe restrictions areplaced on a woman’s property if her husband declares bankruptcy. Articles625 to 629 of the commercial code stipulate that property acquired by awoman during marriage is presumed to have been purchased with her husband’smoney—thus forming part of his assets—unless proven otherwise.These restrictions do not apply to the property of husbands and reflect thebelief that wives are the dependents of their husbands.Women have the legal right to full and independent use of their incomeand assets, but the prevailing patriarchal system and the stereotyped roleassigned to women in the private sphere often prevents them from makingsuch decisions on their own. A woman’s husband, father, brothers, andsometimes more distant male relatives can heavily influence her financialchoices, illustrating the predominance of social norms over legal rights. Inrare instances, husbands or fathers have been known to completely controltheir wives’ or daughters’ income.