Honor crimes and marital rape targets of new legislation in Lebanon

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Women in Lebanon want the men to get involved in the fight against gender-based violence (Photo: Jenny Gustafsson/IRIN)

Proposed amendments to a draft law on gender violence in Lebanon have sparked demands from civil society organizations that parliament uphold an original draft criminalizing “honor crimes”, marital rape and other abuses.

“The version that we came up with at first was fine,” said Maya al-Ammar, an activist with the organization KAFA, [Enough Violence and Exploitation]. “Now it is not good at all.”

The original draft has been worked on since 2007 by a coalition of over 40 civil society organizations, and primarily aims to protect women from mental, physical and economic violence.

It criminalizes different types of violence experienced by women; suggests the appointment of public prosecutors to investigate cases of family violence; envisages the establishment of special units within the police to oversee such cases; and allows women and their children to seek restraining orders against abusers. It also proposes giving civil, not religious courts, jurisdiction over family violence cases.

In April 2010, this draft was approved by the Council of Ministers, which referred it to a parliamentary committee. That committee (seven men and one woman), say civil society leaders, has modified the law so dramatically that “it has been emptied of its original purpose.”

Intense lobbying by Lebanon’s main religious authorities, campaigners said, had prompted the committee to remove marital rape, and economic and psychological violence, from the draft and introduce a new provision giving religious bodies primacy over civil courts in overseeing cases. The article establishing a specialized police force on domestic violence has been deleted, and the law’s gender focus was weakened to extend protection to the elderly, men and children, Maya al-Ammar said.

Lebanon’s 15 religious courts currently preside over personal cases (e.g. marriage, inheritance and custody) and have attacked the draft law as an attempt to undermine their authority and to Westernize the Arab family. Such arguments, said Nadine Mouawad of feminist pressure group Nasawiya are “ridiculous and show that the opposition will use anything to turn people against the law”.

“This law is tailored specifically for women in Lebanon, it was drafted by women in Lebanon, and it came out of the stories of thousands of women in Lebanon who survived all sorts of violence at home,” she added.

No official data on domestic violence is available in Lebanon, but KAFA estimates one woman a month is killed by her partner or a family member. Its centre in Beirut sees some 300 cases of marital rape a year.

Marital rape doesn’t exist?

The controversy over the draft law highlights the difficulties faced by those campaigning for secular laws in Lebanon, said Ghida Anani, founder and director of the Resource Center for Gender Equality (ABAAD).

“The sectarian system that governs our country has huge repercussions on campaigning by civil society, especially on women’s issues and anything else that might alter the power of religious leaders,” she said.

Shant Janjanian, a member of the parliamentary committee, recently said the committee had become more “flexible” in discussing the matter. Another member, Imad al-Hout, angered campaigners in December when he said marital rape did not exist. “There’s nothing called rape between a husband and a wife,” he told The Daily Star newspaper. “It’s called forcing someone violently to have intercourse.”

Gender activists say the proposed changes are unacceptable. “Family violence is the most common form of violence women face globally and locally, so it needs to be tackled through a strong law,” said KAFA’s al-Ammar.

Ghada Ibrahim, a lawyer who handles family violence cases and a member of the Lebanese Council to Resist Violence against Women, told IRIN she was “very worried” that the law would pass in its amended form. “Those who speak of democracy in Lebanon should apply it to the family,” she said. “Protection of women is the first step towards building a democratic state.”

Efforts must now be made to galvanize male involvement in the fight against gender-based violence, according to ABAAD’s Anani. Because of their traditional hold on power, “men can secure more votes for laws promoting gender equality and prohibiting violence against women,” she said. “If gender-based violence becomes an issue for more members of society, more politicians will work to champion the cause.”

Lebanon ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence against Women (CEDAW) in 1996. In 2008, the CEDAW Committee urged Lebanon to draft “without delay” legislation to protect women from gender-based violence and to adopt a unified personal status code for all women, irrespective of their religious affiliation.

IRIN

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21 responses to “Honor crimes and marital rape targets of new legislation in Lebanon”

  1. Hannibal Avatar
    Hannibal

    Religious leaders should stop meddling in the mundane and start working on the spiritual. Religion should never dictate the future of humanity because as a well tested approach we saw nothing but destruction in the name of God. Let’s give civil laws and civility a chance.

  2. Religious leaders should stop meddling in the mundane and start working on the spiritual. Religion should never dictate the future of humanity because as a well tested approach we saw nothing but destruction in the name of God. Let’s give civil laws and civility a chance.

  3. Could there be a popular uprising of Arab women who refuse to marry Muslim men unless they sign a contract which specifies the penalty to be paid to a wife for various types of domestic violence regardless of what the state or religious law permits?  Let’s see how quickly males who want to be men will submit to the highest moral authority in the land … woman!

    1.  they already have that in Islam. You seriously are a piece of shit. Youre not from Lebanon and from your name its pretty clear what you are. You comment only because youre racist and want to start some sort of argument among us and like the little shit you are just sit back and watch. Domestic violence is in every country and every religion and every race. Go find a blog that has something to do with your own people and comment on it.

    2.  they already have that in Islam. You seriously are a piece of shit. Youre not from Lebanon and from your name its pretty clear what you are. You comment only because youre racist and want to start some sort of argument among us and like the little shit you are just sit back and watch. Domestic violence is in every country and every religion and every race. Go find a blog that has something to do with your own people and comment on it.

    3. Hannibal Avatar
      Hannibal

      Herman,
      It is a cultural angle not a religious one you should be criticizing. That being said I do think that protecting women should be written to law. However, one out of four ER visits in the U.S. are from battered women. women in the U.S. experience about 4.8 million intimate partner-related physical assaults and rapes every year. I am not certain about the statistics in Europe but I am certain that you do have your problems as well. It is education that solves the problem worldwide whether the person is Muslim, Christian or areligious it matters not. Actually I do believe that men who fear God are less likely to commit atrocities. Those who are religious zealots are actually Godless. BTW I am areligious but not an atheist. I am not a fan of religion but fair is fair. Regards…

  4. Could there be a popular uprising of Arab women who refuse to marry Muslim men unless they sign a contract which specifies the penalty to be paid to a wife for various types of domestic violence regardless of what the state or religious law permits?  Let’s see how quickly males who want to be men will submit to the highest moral authority in the land … woman!

    1.  they already have that in Islam. You seriously are a piece of shit. Youre not from Lebanon and from your name its pretty clear what you are. You comment only because youre racist and want to start some sort of argument among us and like the little shit you are just sit back and watch. Domestic violence is in every country and every religion and every race. Go find a blog that has something to do with your own people and comment on it.

    2. Herman,
      It is a cultural angle not a religious one you should be criticizing. That being said I do think that protecting women should be written to law. However, one out of four ER visits in the U.S. are from battered women. women in the U.S. experience about 4.8 million intimate partner-related physical assaults and rapes every year. I am not certain about the statistics in Europe but I am certain that you do have your problems as well. It is education that solves the problem worldwide whether the person is Muslim, Christian or areligious it matters not. Actually I do believe that men who fear God are less likely to commit atrocities. Those who are religious zealots are actually Godless. BTW I am areligious but not an atheist. I am not a fan of religion but fair is fair. Regards…

  5. $21082311 Avatar
    $21082311

    Civil marriage is a perfect solution for our isolated sects problem and the fact that we are going backward rather than evolving with the modern times. I am sorry if I have my doubts that men in our part of the world are open minded or brave enough to go out of their cocoons and marry from outside their sects but maybe just maybe it will solve the problem of few couples who already evolved and society is fighting them. Great movement!

  6. Dani38 Avatar

    Civil marriage is a perfect solution for our isolated sects problem and the fact that we are going backward rather than evolving with the modern times. I am sorry if I have my doubts that men in our part of the world are open minded or brave enough to go out of their cocoons and marry from outside their sects but maybe just maybe it will solve the problem of few couples who already evolved and society is fighting them. Great movement!

  7. 5thDrawer Avatar
    5thDrawer

    JOIN AND CONTRIBUTE to KAFA and ABAAD.

  8. 5thDrawer Avatar
    5thDrawer

    JOIN AND CONTRIBUTE to KAFA and ABAAD.

  9. FadiAbboud Avatar
    FadiAbboud

    yes domestic violence happens in every country but in Modern and civil countries, there’s laws that protect those that are beaten or raped.
    Religion should not override basic human rights. It has not place in politics. 

  10. FadiAbboud Avatar
    FadiAbboud

    yes domestic violence happens in every country but in Modern and civil countries, there’s laws that protect those that are beaten or raped.
    Religion should not override basic human rights. It has not place in politics. 

  11. FadiAbboud Avatar
    FadiAbboud

    There’s plenty of Terrorist and people who beat their spouses and say that they are doing the will of God, so The idea that Men who fear God do not commit atrocities is false. 
    Basically, religions should not be used as a tool to deny humans basic civil rights and protections and justify crimes against humanity. 
    People are free to practice the religion of choice but no one religion should have a dominance over the law of the land.  
    We are not talking about Saudi Arabia, Lebanon has always been beacon of freedoms in the middle east. 

  12. FadiAbboud Avatar
    FadiAbboud

    There’s plenty of Terrorist and people who beat their spouses and say that they are doing the will of God, so The idea that Men who fear God do not commit atrocities is false. 
    Basically, religions should not be used as a tool to deny humans basic civil rights and protections and justify crimes against humanity. 
    People are free to practice the religion of choice but no one religion should have a dominance over the law of the land.  
    We are not talking about Saudi Arabia, Lebanon has always been beacon of freedoms in the middle east. 

  13. 5thDrawer Avatar
    5thDrawer

    Update: From a lovely-looking and sensible woman MP. 
    Strida Geagea: Women are the most abused
    March 24, 2012 01:46 AM
    The Daily Star

    BEIRUT: The Lebanese Forces will soon meet with a delegation from Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya to find a mutually acceptable solution to disputes over the domestic violence bill, MP Strida Geagea told The Daily Star in an interview Friday.
    “We recognize that Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya’s main point of reference is Islam and the holy Quran,” Geagea said, adding that the LF was unwilling to compromise on any aspect of the bill.
    The bill, drawn up by women’s rights activists and lawyers to protect women from domestic violence, has been in parliamentary committee stage since 2010, stalled on several key issues. Committee amendments have removed the definition and outlawing of marital rape, and refocused the bill to include men and children.
    Geagea said the LF was unwilling to accept either change.
    “The reality is that women are the most abused,” she said. “The second issue is marital rape, and some people are trying not to address this topic directly and we consider this to be out of the question.
    “We are asking that the draft law in its original form be approved.”
    The original draft of the bill, endorsed by the Cabinet in April 2010, mandates the appointment of public prosecutors in every governorate to receive complaints of domestic violence cases, and the establishment of a special unit within the Internal Security Forces to deal with such cases.
    A study released last year by women’s rights group KAFA (Enough Violence and Discrimination), which was instrumental in the drafting of the bill, showed that domestic violence accounts for around half of all cases of physical abuse in Lebanon. Around one woman dies each month as a result of family violence, according to the group’s analysis of crime reports.
    Beirut MP Imad Hout, Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya’s representative on the committee, has repeatedly said there is no such thing as rape between a husband and wife.
    Geagea declined to say whether she believed Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya might approve the law as the LF wanted it, but said she had received some positive feedback on the issue. She added that an LF delegation met Thursday with the Pakistani ambassador to discuss Pakistan’s recent law criminalizing domestic violence, to compare experiences with the Muslim-majority country.
    “We asked her for some clauses in the law so we can look at it and perhaps use it as a source of ideas,” Geagea said. “We’re trying to clarify that the bill does not contradict religious affairs.”
    However, Geagea also admitted that the LF’s threat last month to remove its MP, Shant Janjinian, from the committee if the amendments they object to are not reversed, may not be enough to change the current direction of the bill.
    “Withdrawing our MP would be a moral stand,” she said. “Maybe it won’t be effective to pass the law the way we want it. We want it recorded in history that we oppose what is happening now.”
    Geagea also spoke about the proposed law to allow Lebanese women to pass on citizenship to their children, saying she supports the law but with certain restrictions.
    “I support the implementation of some measures to limit marriage for the purpose of gaining citizenship, like in the United States when a lot of men marry American women merely to gain citizenship,” she said. In previous interviews Geagea has voiced concern that Palestinian men may marry Lebanese women solely for the purpose of receiving citizenship if the law is applied to all Lebanese women.
    “Let’s say a Lebanese woman marries any man, not necessarily a Palestinian, some restrictions should be applied; for example, he needs to be a resident of Lebanon for at least 10 years,” she told The Daily Star.
    “But when it comes to granting their children citizenship, this should be passed immediately without any restriction,” she added.
    Geagea, a Bsharri MP since 2005, said she has yet to decide to run in next year’s Parliamentary elections, and dismissed talk that a video she recently made for MTV, in which she condemned violence against women, was an early campaign move.
    “They, in Bsharri, might see the video as me standing with women against men, especially with the presence of the Middle Eastern mindset that exists there. This wouldn’t help me in the elections.”

  14. 5thDrawer Avatar
    5thDrawer

    Update: From a lovely-looking and sensible woman MP. 
    Strida Geagea: Women are the most abused
    March 24, 2012 01:46 AM
    The Daily Star

    BEIRUT: The Lebanese Forces will soon meet with a delegation from Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya to find a mutually acceptable solution to disputes over the domestic violence bill, MP Strida Geagea told The Daily Star in an interview Friday.
    “We recognize that Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya’s main point of reference is Islam and the holy Quran,” Geagea said, adding that the LF was unwilling to compromise on any aspect of the bill.
    The bill, drawn up by women’s rights activists and lawyers to protect women from domestic violence, has been in parliamentary committee stage since 2010, stalled on several key issues. Committee amendments have removed the definition and outlawing of marital rape, and refocused the bill to include men and children.
    Geagea said the LF was unwilling to accept either change.
    “The reality is that women are the most abused,” she said. “The second issue is marital rape, and some people are trying not to address this topic directly and we consider this to be out of the question.
    “We are asking that the draft law in its original form be approved.”
    The original draft of the bill, endorsed by the Cabinet in April 2010, mandates the appointment of public prosecutors in every governorate to receive complaints of domestic violence cases, and the establishment of a special unit within the Internal Security Forces to deal with such cases.
    A study released last year by women’s rights group KAFA (Enough Violence and Discrimination), which was instrumental in the drafting of the bill, showed that domestic violence accounts for around half of all cases of physical abuse in Lebanon. Around one woman dies each month as a result of family violence, according to the group’s analysis of crime reports.
    Beirut MP Imad Hout, Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya’s representative on the committee, has repeatedly said there is no such thing as rape between a husband and wife.
    Geagea declined to say whether she believed Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya might approve the law as the LF wanted it, but said she had received some positive feedback on the issue. She added that an LF delegation met Thursday with the Pakistani ambassador to discuss Pakistan’s recent law criminalizing domestic violence, to compare experiences with the Muslim-majority country.
    “We asked her for some clauses in the law so we can look at it and perhaps use it as a source of ideas,” Geagea said. “We’re trying to clarify that the bill does not contradict religious affairs.”
    However, Geagea also admitted that the LF’s threat last month to remove its MP, Shant Janjinian, from the committee if the amendments they object to are not reversed, may not be enough to change the current direction of the bill.
    “Withdrawing our MP would be a moral stand,” she said. “Maybe it won’t be effective to pass the law the way we want it. We want it recorded in history that we oppose what is happening now.”
    Geagea also spoke about the proposed law to allow Lebanese women to pass on citizenship to their children, saying she supports the law but with certain restrictions.
    “I support the implementation of some measures to limit marriage for the purpose of gaining citizenship, like in the United States when a lot of men marry American women merely to gain citizenship,” she said. In previous interviews Geagea has voiced concern that Palestinian men may marry Lebanese women solely for the purpose of receiving citizenship if the law is applied to all Lebanese women.
    “Let’s say a Lebanese woman marries any man, not necessarily a Palestinian, some restrictions should be applied; for example, he needs to be a resident of Lebanon for at least 10 years,” she told The Daily Star.
    “But when it comes to granting their children citizenship, this should be passed immediately without any restriction,” she added.
    Geagea, a Bsharri MP since 2005, said she has yet to decide to run in next year’s Parliamentary elections, and dismissed talk that a video she recently made for MTV, in which she condemned violence against women, was an early campaign move.
    “They, in Bsharri, might see the video as me standing with women against men, especially with the presence of the Middle Eastern mindset that exists there. This wouldn’t help me in the elections.”

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