The legal status of married women in Lebanon

International Journal of Middle East Studies

Volumn 30, Issue 4, 1998, Pages 501-519

  Shehadeh, Lamia Rustum ^a  

^a AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT   (Lebanon)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

GENDER ISSUE; LEGAL SYSTEM; MARRIAGE; WOMENS STATUS;

LEBANON;

EID: 0032467012     PISSN: 00207438     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0020743800052533     Document Type: Article

References (139)

1. Zillah R. Eisenstein, The Female Body and the Law (Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press, 1988), 43.
2. Cf. also Martha Albertson Fineman and Nancy Sweet Thomadsen, ed., At the Boundaries of Law (New York and London: Routledge, 1991);
3. Mary Joe Frug, Postmodern Legal Feminism (New York and London: Routledge, 1992);
4. Leslie Friedman Goldstein, "Can this Marriage Be Saved? Feminist Public Policy and Feminist Jurisprudence," in Feminist Jurisprudence, ed. Leslie Friedman Goldstein (Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 1992), 11-40;
5. Mary Lyndon Shanley and Richard Battistoni, "Afterword: Sexual Difference and Equality," in Feminist Jurisprudence, 263-73.
6. Cited in Lisa C. Bower, "Unsettling 'Woman': Competing Subjectivities in No-Fault Divorce and Divorce Meditation," in Feminist Jurisprudence, 210.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid., 223.
9. Eisenstein, The Female Body, 22.
10. Cited in ibid., 44.
11. Carol Smart, Feminism and the Power of Law (London and New York: Routledge, 1989), 26.
12. Cf. also Eisenstein, The Female Body, 45.
13. Ibid., 47.
14. Ibid., 42.
15. Judith A. Baer, "How Is Law Male? A Feminist Perspective on Constitutional Interpretation," in Feminist Jurisprudence, 148.
16. For a full discussion, see Pnina Lahave, "Raising the Status of Women through Law: The Case of Israel," in Women and National Development: The Complexities of Change, ed. Wellesley Editorial Committee (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1977), 197-98; Susan Cary Nicholas, Alice M. Price, and Rachel Rubin, Rights and Wrongs: Women's Struggle for Legal Equality (New York: The Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 1986), xx; Eisenstein, The Female Body, 43-44.
17. For a full discussion, see Pnina Lahave, "Raising the Status of Women through Law: The Case of Israel," in Women and National Development: The Complexities of Change, ed. Wellesley Editorial Committee (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1977), 197-98; Susan Cary Nicholas, Alice M. Price, and Rachel Rubin, Rights and Wrongs: Women's Struggle for Legal Equality (New York: The Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 1986), xx; Eisenstein, The Female Body, 43-44.
18. For a full discussion, see Pnina Lahave, "Raising the Status of Women through Law: The Case of Israel," in Women and National Development: The Complexities of Change, ed. Wellesley Editorial Committee (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1977), 197-98; Susan Cary Nicholas, Alice M. Price, and Rachel Rubin, Rights and Wrongs: Women's Struggle for Legal Equality (New York: The Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 1986), xx; Eisenstein, The Female Body, 43-44.
19. Article 7. "All Lebanese citizens shall be equal before the law. All Lebanese citizens shall enjoy civil and political rights and support public charges and obligations without any distinction whatsoever." Article 12. "All forms of public employment shall also be open to all Lebanese citizens . . . preference being solely on the basis of merit and capacity." Antoine E. El-Gemayel, ed., The Lebanese Legal System, 2 vols. (Washington, D.C.: International Law Institute, 1985), 1:24.
20. ⊂fari and Orthodox codes, respectively.
21. Although many Jews left Lebanon during the war, a sizable community still resides in Lebanon. But the law in Lebanon is such that even if one family remains, it has to abide by its own personal-status code. This justifies the study of the Jewish personal code, which is still part and parcel of the official Personal Status Code.
22. ⊂Ilm Lil-malāyīn, 1982).
23. ⊂Ilm Lil-malāyīn, 1982).
24. ⊂Ilm Lil-malāyīn, 1982).
25. ⊂Ilm Lil-malāyīn, 1982).
26. Ibid.
27. Ibid., 11-12.
28. "[T]he Government shall respect all creeds and safeguard and protect the free exercise of all forms of worship, on the condition that there is no interference with the public order. It also guarantees that the personal status and religious interests of the peoples, whatever their creed, shall be respected": El-Gemayel, The Lebanese Legal System, 1:24.
29. Bilani, Personal Status Codes, 19.
30. Ibid., 20.
31. For more information, cf. ibid., 41-43.
32. Ibid., 65-66.
33. Ibid.
34. ⊂fari]), Art. 7-8.
35. ⊂fari]), Art. 7-8.
36. ⊂fari]), Art. 7-8.
37. ⊂fari]), Art. 7-8.
38. ⊂fari]), Art. 7-8.
39. ⊂fari]), Art. 7-8.
40. ⊂fari]), Art. 7-8.
41. ⊂fari]), Art. 7-8.
42. ⊂fari]), Art. 7-8.
43. PSC (Catholic), Art. 39, 40, 43, 45-47, 58-59, 63:1; PSC (Syriac), Art. 42-45, 48; PSC (Greek Orthodox), Art. 40, 49, 52; PSC (Israelite), Art. 150, 156-58, 161-64, 171-72, also 127; PSC (Druze), Art. 20-22, 24-25; PSC (Armenian), Art. 79, 90, 92-93; Ottoman Family Law, Art. 80-91.
44. PSC (Catholic), Art. 39, 40, 43, 45-47, 58-59, 63:1; PSC (Syriac), Art. 42-45, 48; PSC (Greek Orthodox), Art. 40, 49, 52; PSC (Israelite), Art. 150, 156-58, 161-64, 171-72, also 127; PSC (Druze), Art. 20-22, 24-25; PSC (Armenian), Art. 79, 90, 92-93; Ottoman Family Law, Art. 80-91.
45. PSC (Catholic), Art. 39, 40, 43, 45-47, 58-59, 63:1; PSC (Syriac), Art. 42-45, 48; PSC (Greek Orthodox), Art. 40, 49, 52; PSC (Israelite), Art. 150, 156-58, 161-64, 171-72, also 127; PSC (Druze), Art. 20-22, 24-25; PSC (Armenian), Art. 79, 90, 92-93; Ottoman Family Law, Art. 80-91.
46. PSC (Catholic), Art. 39, 40, 43, 45-47, 58-59, 63:1; PSC (Syriac), Art. 42-45, 48; PSC (Greek Orthodox), Art. 40, 49, 52; PSC (Israelite), Art. 150, 156-58, 161-64, 171-72, also 127; PSC (Druze), Art. 20-22, 24-25; PSC (Armenian), Art. 79, 90, 92-93; Ottoman Family Law, Art. 80-91.
47. PSC (Catholic), Art. 39, 40, 43, 45-47, 58-59, 63:1; PSC (Syriac), Art. 42-45, 48; PSC (Greek Orthodox), Art. 40, 49, 52; PSC (Israelite), Art. 150, 156-58, 161-64, 171-72, also 127; PSC (Druze), Art. 20-22, 24-25; PSC (Armenian), Art. 79, 90, 92-93; Ottoman Family Law, Art. 80-91.
48. PSC (Catholic), Art. 39, 40, 43, 45-47, 58-59, 63:1; PSC (Syriac), Art. 42-45, 48; PSC (Greek Orthodox), Art. 40, 49, 52; PSC (Israelite), Art. 150, 156-58, 161-64, 171-72, also 127; PSC (Druze), Art. 20-22, 24-25; PSC (Armenian), Art. 79, 90, 92-93; Ottoman Family Law, Art. 80-91.
49. PSC (Catholic), Art. 160, 162; PSC (Syriac), Art. 33; PSC (Evangelical), Art. 31-32; PSC (Armenian), Art. 46-47; PSC (Greek Orthodox), Art. 28-29; PSC (Israelite), Art. 134. Cf. also Bilani, Personal Status Codes, 113.
50. PSC (Catholic), Art. 160, 162; PSC (Syriac), Art. 33; PSC (Evangelical), Art. 31-32; PSC (Armenian), Art. 46-47; PSC (Greek Orthodox), Art. 28-29; PSC (Israelite), Art. 134. Cf. also Bilani, Personal Status Codes, 113.
51. PSC (Catholic), Art. 160, 162; PSC (Syriac), Art. 33; PSC (Evangelical), Art. 31-32; PSC (Armenian), Art. 46-47; PSC (Greek Orthodox), Art. 28-29; PSC (Israelite), Art. 134. Cf. also Bilani, Personal Status Codes, 113.
52. PSC (Catholic), Art. 160, 162; PSC (Syriac), Art. 33; PSC (Evangelical), Art. 31-32; PSC (Armenian), Art. 46-47; PSC (Greek Orthodox), Art. 28-29; PSC (Israelite), Art. 134. Cf. also Bilani, Personal Status Codes, 113.
53. PSC (Catholic), Art. 160, 162; PSC (Syriac), Art. 33; PSC (Evangelical), Art. 31-32; PSC (Armenian), Art. 46-47; PSC (Greek Orthodox), Art. 28-29; PSC (Israelite), Art. 134. Cf. also Bilani, Personal Status Codes, 113.
54. PSC (Catholic), Art. 160, 162; PSC (Syriac), Art. 33; PSC (Evangelical), Art. 31-32; PSC (Armenian), Art. 46-47; PSC (Greek Orthodox), Art. 28-29; PSC (Israelite), Art. 134. Cf. also Bilani, Personal Status Codes, 113.
55. PSC (Catholic), Art. 160, 162; PSC (Syriac), Art. 33; PSC (Evangelical), Art. 31-32; PSC (Armenian), Art. 46-47; PSC (Greek Orthodox), Art. 28-29; PSC (Israelite), Art. 134. Cf. also Bilani, Personal Status Codes, 113.
56. Ibid., 119.
57. Ibid.
58. PSC (Catholic), Art. 162.
59. Ibid., Art. 163; PSC (Greek Orthodox), Art. 31.
60. Ibid., Art. 163; PSC (Greek Orthodox), Art. 31.
61. PSC (Armenian), Art. 47.
62. PSC (Evangelical), Art. 33.
63. PSC (Armenian), Art. 48.
64. PSC (Israelite), Art. 134-36, 141-43, 149, 169, 170, 178, 183, 190, 195, 206, 220-21, 226, 230-31.
65. Bilani, Personal Status Codes, 68. See also, PSC (Israelite), Art. 101.
66. Bilani, Personal Status Codes, 68. See also, PSC (Israelite), Art. 101.
67. PSC (Greek Orthodox), Art. 71.
68. Ibid., Art. 72.
69. PSC (Syriac), Art. 51-52, 56, 60.
70. PSC (Israelite), Art. 249, 251, 260-62, 264, 266, 270, 272, 303, 315-16, 320, 327, 335, 340-41, 352-53, 356, 591-92, 596-97, 602.
71. Ibid.
72. For a good discussion of divorce in Hanafi law, see John Esposito, Women in Muslim Family Law (Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 1982).
73. Bilani, Personal Status Codes, 136-37.
74. Ibid., 130-43.
75. Ottoman Family Law, Art. 119-31.
76. PSC (Druze), Art. 37-49.
77. PSC (Greek Orthodox), Art. 79; PSC (Syriac), Art. 11:4; PSC (Israelite), Art. 661-62; Ottoman Family Law, Art. 139-49; PSC (Druze), Art. 50-53.
78. PSC (Greek Orthodox), Art. 79; PSC (Syriac), Art. 11:4; PSC (Israelite), Art. 661-62; Ottoman Family Law, Art. 139-49; PSC (Druze), Art. 50-53.
79. PSC (Greek Orthodox), Art. 79; PSC (Syriac), Art. 11:4; PSC (Israelite), Art. 661-62; Ottoman Family Law, Art. 139-49; PSC (Druze), Art. 50-53.
80. PSC (Greek Orthodox), Art. 79; PSC (Syriac), Art. 11:4; PSC (Israelite), Art. 661-62; Ottoman Family Law, Art. 139-49; PSC (Druze), Art. 50-53.
81. PSC (Greek Orthodox), Art. 79; PSC (Syriac), Art. 11:4; PSC (Israelite), Art. 661-62; Ottoman Family Law, Art. 139-49; PSC (Druze), Art. 50-53.
82. PSC (Catholic), Art. 123.
83. PSC (Greek Orthodox), Art. 100-101; PSC (Syriac), Art. 80-82; PSC (Armenian), Art. 166; PSC (Evangelical), Art. 81-83, 85, 100.
84. PSC (Greek Orthodox), Art. 100-101; PSC (Syriac), Art. 80-82; PSC (Armenian), Art. 166; PSC (Evangelical), Art. 81-83, 85, 100.
85. PSC (Greek Orthodox), Art. 100-101; PSC (Syriac), Art. 80-82; PSC (Armenian), Art. 166; PSC (Evangelical), Art. 81-83, 85, 100.
86. PSC (Greek Orthodox), Art. 100-101; PSC (Syriac), Art. 80-82; PSC (Armenian), Art. 166; PSC (Evangelical), Art. 81-83, 85, 100.
87. Bilani, Personal Status Codes, 155-58; PSC (Greek Orthodox), Art. 64; PSC (Syriac), Art. 61, 63; PSC (Armenian), Art. 130; PSC (Evangelical), Art. 74-76, 79-80.
88. Bilani, Personal Status Codes, 155-58; PSC (Greek Orthodox), Art. 64; PSC (Syriac), Art. 61, 63; PSC (Armenian), Art. 130; PSC (Evangelical), Art. 74-76, 79-80.
89. Bilani, Personal Status Codes, 155-58; PSC (Greek Orthodox), Art. 64; PSC (Syriac), Art. 61, 63; PSC (Armenian), Art. 130; PSC (Evangelical), Art. 74-76, 79-80.
90. Bilani, Personal Status Codes, 155-58; PSC (Greek Orthodox), Art. 64; PSC (Syriac), Art. 61, 63; PSC (Armenian), Art. 130; PSC (Evangelical), Art. 74-76, 79-80.
91. Bilani, Personal Status Codes, 155-58; PSC (Greek Orthodox), Art. 64; PSC (Syriac), Art. 61, 63; PSC (Armenian), Art. 130; PSC (Evangelical), Art. 74-76, 79-80.
92. PSC (Israelite), Art. 684, 688, 691-92, 695, 735-36, 738.
93. Bilani, Personal Status Codes, 154; PSC (Evangelical), Art. 71; PSC (Armenian), Art. 128; PSC (Catholic), Art. 124.
94. Bilani, Personal Status Codes, 154; PSC (Evangelical), Art. 71; PSC (Armenian), Art. 128; PSC (Catholic), Art. 124.
95. Bilani, Personal Status Codes, 154; PSC (Evangelical), Art. 71; PSC (Armenian), Art. 128; PSC (Catholic), Art. 124.
96. Bilani, Personal Status Codes, 154; PSC (Evangelical), Art. 71; PSC (Armenian), Art. 128; PSC (Catholic), Art. 124.
97. For a full discussion, cf. S. Mahmasani, Legal Principles.
98. PSC (Israelite), Art. 416, 451, 453, 465, 471, 473, 497, 499, 515, 518.
99. Since determining the causes of the legal discrimination against women is not within the scope of this paper, no further discussion will be attempted.
100. ⊂ al-lubnānī (Women in the Lebanese Legislation) (Beirut: Institute for Women's Studies in the Arab World, 1985), 74-76.
101. Ibid.
102. Art. 7 of decree no. 15 and modified by the law of 1 November 1960; Art. 5 of the law of 1 November 1960.
103. Legislative decree no. 94/83 as of 11 April 1983, Art. 6, para. d; Art. 43, para. 2.
104. Legislative decree no. 47/83.
105. Ibid., Art. 46.
106. Decree no. 3950 - Compensations and Benefits - issued on 27 April 1960 and modified by decree no. 1602, issued on 27 December 1978, Art. 6.
107. Decree no. 3950, Art. 48, and the Law of Benefits and Services, Art. 10, as modified by ruling no. 491, 14 July 1970.
108. Law of Indemnity, no. 9, issued on 8 April 1965 by the Social Security Fund, Art. 24.
109. Social Security, Art. 16, para. 2.
110. In a public debate, the Minister of Environment conceded that female engineers paid lower salaries were a "good bargain," since they tend to be the secondary breadwinners.
111. Law of Obligations and Contracts, Art. 995-97.
112. Commercial Law, Art. 625, para. 1, 2, 626.
113. Penal Code, Art. 250-51, 253, 562.
114. Penal Code, Art. 488; ibid., Art. 487, para. 1; ibid., Art. 488, para. 1; ibid., Art. 487, para. 2; ibid., Art. 487, last para.; and ibid., Art. 489, last para.
115. Penal Code, Art. 488; ibid., Art. 487, para. 1; ibid., Art. 488, para. 1; ibid., Art. 487, para. 2; ibid., Art. 487, last para.; and ibid., Art. 489, last para.
116. Penal Code, Art. 488; ibid., Art. 487, para. 1; ibid., Art. 488, para. 1; ibid., Art. 487, para. 2; ibid., Art. 487, last para.; and ibid., Art. 489, last para.
117. Penal Code, Art. 488; ibid., Art. 487, para. 1; ibid., Art. 488, para. 1; ibid., Art. 487, para. 2; ibid., Art. 487, last para.; and ibid., Art. 489, last para.
118. Penal Code, Art. 488; ibid., Art. 487, para. 1; ibid., Art. 488, para. 1; ibid., Art. 487, para. 2; ibid., Art. 487, last para.; and ibid., Art. 489, last para.
119. Penal Code, Art. 488; ibid., Art. 487, para. 1; ibid., Art. 488, para. 1; ibid., Art. 487, para. 2; ibid., Art. 487, last para.; and ibid., Art. 489, last para.
120. Ibid., part 7, chap. 3.
121. Ibid., Art. 542, para. 2; ibid., Art. 545; ibid., Art. 39, 251.
122. Ibid., Art. 542, para. 2; ibid., Art. 545; ibid., Art. 39, 251.
123. Ibid., Art. 542, para. 2; ibid., Art. 545; ibid., Art. 39, 251.
124. Carole Pateman, The Sexual Contract (Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1988), 6.
125. Cited in ibid., 119.
126. John Stuart Mill, "The Subjection of Women," in Essays on Sex Equality, ed. A. S. Rossi (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970), 130.
127. Cited by Rossi in Essays on Sex Equality, 45-46, and Pateman, Sexual Contract, 161.
128. Cited by Rossi in Essays on Sex Equality, 45-46, and Pateman, Sexual Contract, 161.
129. Ibid., 228-29.
130. Cited by Pateman, Sexual Contract, 119.
131. Cf. ibid., 116;
132. Nicholas et al., Rights and Wrongs, 30.
133. Penal Code, Art. 503-4.
134. For a discussion of rape in Western culture, cf. Diane F. Herman, "The Rape Culture," in Women: A Feminist Perspective, 4th ed., ed. Jo Freeman (Mountain View, Calif.: Mayfield Publishing Co., 1989); Carole J. Shefield, "Sexual Terrorism," in ibid. The issue of the control over women's bodies was discussed at length during the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994: cf. Dr. Rifaat Hassan's commentary on the subject in The Nation, 261 (11 September 1995).
135. For a discussion of rape in Western culture, cf. Diane F. Herman, "The Rape Culture," in Women: A Feminist Perspective, 4th ed., ed. Jo Freeman (Mountain View, Calif.: Mayfield Publishing Co., 1989); Carole J. Shefield, "Sexual Terrorism," in ibid. The issue of the control over women's bodies was discussed at length during the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994: cf. Dr. Rifaat Hassan's commentary on the subject in The Nation, 261 (11 September 1995).
136. For a discussion of rape in Western culture, cf. Diane F. Herman, "The Rape Culture," in Women: A Feminist Perspective, 4th ed., ed. Jo Freeman (Mountain View, Calif.: Mayfield Publishing Co., 1989); Carole J. Shefield, "Sexual Terrorism," in ibid. The issue of the control over women's bodies was discussed at length during the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994: cf. Dr. Rifaat Hassan's commentary on the subject in The Nation, 261 (11 September 1995).
137. Cited by Pateman, Sexual Contract, 158.
138. Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (New York: Penguin, 1977), part II, chap. 20, 253. See also Pateman, Sexual Contract, 12.
139. Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan (New York: Penguin, 1977), part II, chap. 20, 253. See also Pateman, Sexual Contract, 12.