Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt Tuesday called for the abolish the laws that have been discriminating against Lebanese women and denying them their basic rights.
“When will the woman in Lebanon be freed from the unjust personal status laws and be given the right of fair, righteous and unified motherhood,” Jumblatt tweeted.
Lebanon has 15 separate personal status laws for its recognized religions but no civil code that covers issues such as divorce, property rights, or child care.
According to a Human Rights Watch report issued last year, Lebanon has one a dozen separate personal status laws for its recognized religions but no civil code that covers issues such as divorce, property rights, or child care. These personal status laws administered by religious courts reportedly “erect greater barriers for women than men,” who wish to end an unhappy or abusive marriage or even ensure rights concerning their children after divorce.
Jumblatt’s comments also come one day after a Parliament committee adjourned a meeting to discuss the annulment of Article 522 of the penal code, which is a statute that stops the prosecution in rape cases if the perpetrator marries the victim.
His comments also come a month after a Lebanese mother was imprisoned for refusing to give up her child following a religious court ruling. She was released following popular and political pressure surrounding the case.
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