The role of women in Lebanese Political Life

Lebanese Women’s rights are dealt with by many laws and regulations. One of the major laws is the Lebanese Constitution, which guarantees women equal rights to men in all spheres of life. Lebanon has always been a country where women have had a relatively high level of freedom, at least compared to other countries in the region.
Women in Lebanon have been participating in national and international political life for many years. However, it also stipulated that women could not hold higher positions than those of the President of Parliament or a Minister of State. So, what is the role of women in Lebanese Political Life?

The Lebanese Parliament is currently reviewing a proposal to enforce a gender quota law, which will reserve around one-third of parliamentary seats for women candidates. This proposal was submitted by Inaya Ezzeddine, a Lebanese politician and a Member of Parliament. She believes that there should be more representation for women in Lebanon’s political life. According to the latest news, Ezzeddine left the last parliament committee meeting angrily, saying that all parties denied serious discussion regarding this law.
On the other hand, the Government of Prime Minister Hassan Diab had the most female ministers in the nation’s history, Six women were nominated to one-third of government and Zeina Akar was the first Lebanese and Arab woman deputy prime minister and minister of defense. But this quota wasn’t preserved by the current Mikati’s government with only one nominated woman, the independent Najla Riachi, minister for the reform of the administration.

The Lebanese constitution guarantees equal opportunities for women in political life; however, they are still subjected to discrimination by their male counterparts. Women’s participation in Lebanese political life has always been limited because of various reasons. Some are cultural while others are social.
Furthermore, the Lebanese Political life is traditionally based on sectarian principles which limit women’s participation in public life.

“Mohammad H Ismail”