Increasing Women’s Political Participation in Lebanon: Reflections on Hurdles, Opportunities and Hope

Abstract

Lebanon stands out in the Middle East for its relative political openness, religious freedom, and the academic and professional achievements of Lebanese women. Yet, paradoxically, it has one of the lowest rates of women's political participation in the region. This paper is the result of an initiative undertaken by the Lebanese government in July 2012 to increase women's political participation. Through this initiative, sex-segregated workshops on women's political empowerment were held for male and female representatives of Lebanon's political parties. The goal was to start a productive conversation that would ultimately lead to progress from the 2012 status quo of women constituting only three percent of the National Parliament of Lebanon. In this paper, we will describe the process and content explored during the women's political empowerment workshops. Opportunities to affect change of the current level of women's participation will be highlighted and conclusions will be drawn to aid similar initiatives.

Politics, Progress, and Parliament in 2018: Can Lebanese Women Make Headway?

“…Had a gender quota been adopted, it might have encouraged female-only lists to be formed, and have guaranteed equality of opportunity for women. Lebanon uses religious quotas for sects in Parliament, but has not instituted gender quotas for this election, despite active campaigning by women's groups.22 The Kataeb party introduced a bill to Parliament that proposed a 1/3 gender quota for parliamentary seats, but this bill was not adopted.23 One of the most vocal opponents of the bill was Hezbollah, who explicitly The fact that Marouni publicly stated last year that women who are raped are at fault 26 did not prevent the allegedly pro-gender quota Kataeb from nominating him over a qualified woman.Women in traditional parties: Politics of dissonanceIn July 2012, male and female representatives from Lebanese political parties participated in workshops run by the Unit of Women's Affairs under the Ministry of Social Affairs to expand women's presence in the government 27. Despite this, political parties have only increased their number of female candidates by a small margin(Figure 3).…”

The Gender Attitude of the Lebanese October Revolution. (c2020)

“…By contextualizing these results within the findings of the secondary research, one explanation to the dichotomy between perceptions of women's political abilities and their potential effect on more favorable protective laws lies in the country's enduring patriarchal culture. Henderson, Nelson and Chemali's (2015) work, in particular, may shed light on this phenomenon. The scholars found that despite technically being considered as equals to men, women in Lebanon are still considered to subordinates to their male counterparts not just because cultural and religious tradition has reinforced stereotypical gender roles in society, but also because the legal system has contributed to the consolidation of these stereotypes.…”

“…This, they argue, explains why many women who have actually acquired positions in public office have done so thanks to their connections with their respective political regimes, including kinship ties. In Lebanon, Henderson, Nelson and Chemali (2015) find that while Article 7 of the Lebanese Constitution offers the right to equality for all, including women, the legal system is not immune from discriminatory interpretations that (re)produce gender-based inequalities. Moreover, deeply embedded patriarchal attitudes have made it challenging for women to push forward their status in the public and private spheres: "Although Lebanese sectarianism perpetuates inequalities among women of different religions, patriarchy sustains gender disparities in myriad ways.…”

Why are Lebanese women not present in the Parliament?. (c2021)

“…Another reason is the fact that there are actual studies that recommend asking women about their opinion regarding their political participation. A study was undertaken by the Lebanese Ministry of Social Affairs (MOSA) Unit of Women's Affairs in July 2012 that aimed at examining the concepts that affect women's participation and representation in politics by holding workshops to discuss women's political empowerment targeting male and female representatives from 24 of 39 invited Lebanese political parties (Henderson, Nelson, and Chemali, 2015). As explained in the study, nine parties sent male and female representatives, one party only participated at the men's workshop, and eleven parties only participated at the women's workshop (p.…”