A gender sensitive civil personal status law: the key to gender equality in Lebanon

Abstract

The intersection of sectarianism and patriarchy in Lebanon has significantly undermined the social status and freedom of women. To explain, the country currently has 15 separate personal status laws for its different recognized sects, with the only common aspect of their discrimination against women. When dealing with personal issues, women have to refer to courts and laws that are not civil but fundamentally religious as the law itself is subjective to different religious interpretations. As a result, inequality in Lebanon exists not only between women and men, but also amongst women themselves because of their different sects. Lebanon therefore needs to adopt a unified civil code that will be a crucial step in breaking the patriarchal structure of the sectarian system. This will help ensure the respect of all citizens’ rights under one common law without any form of discrimination. This senior study will explore and provide answers to the following research question: How does the establishment of a unified status law address the systematic alienation of women on the social level? This paper will tackle the ills of patriarchy and sectarianism inside the Lebanese system and how they have resulted in gender inequality. The research design that will be used in this paper is a case study.