When Lebanon was part of the Ottoman Empire – before it was even a
country – its religious groups were allowed to oversee the equivalent
of family law. French colonizers upheld this system, and today Lebanon
has 15 different codes – for Sunni, Shia, Druze, Catholic, Orthodox,
Evangelical groups and others – governing divorce, child custody, and
the financial rights of spouses during and after marriage. Each group is
treated differently, but members of one group in particular – women –
suffer discrimination across all religious groups. A team of researchers
including the Human Rights Watch Lebanon, Legal LINK INTERNATIONAL Lebanon and Syria researcher Lama
Fakih spent three years poring over 450 legal cases and interviewing 70
people to examine the discriminatory nature of these personal status
laws, and the courts that implement them, for a new report,Unequal and Unprotected. Fakih speaks to Legal Link International about what, in practice, this system means for Lebanon’s women.
Lebanese women seem to enjoy a certain degree of freedom, but
this report shows that when it comes to personal status laws, that’s
not the case. Do you think the information you’ve gathered will surprise
people in Lebanon?
Many of the women we interviewed hadn’t realized the system was stacked against them until they sought a divorce.
In Lebanon, there are many ways for men to get a divorce, but few
ways for women. Children can be removed from their mothers, even if the
change isn’t in the children’s best interest. And when it comes to
finances, there is no such thing as “marital property.” If a house is in
a husband’s name – which is typical – it belongs to the man, even if a
woman contributes financially or supports her husband at home and raises
their kids while he works. These laws often force women into unfair
compromises. Women often have to give up custody of their children and
any financial rights to obtain a divorce.
Researching this report was a challenge, as religious personal status
court documents aren’t part of the public record. For the Sunni and
Shia courts, judges agreed to give us documents. However, the Christian
court judges wouldn’t help us, so we relied on lawyers practicing before
Christian courts for their case files. Sifting through this mound of
information was time intensive, but it’s important. This pressing issue
affects everyone in Lebanon and hurts women who are rich, poor, Muslim,
Druze, or Christian.
What religious groups are covered under the personal status laws?
There are laws for Muslim rites including Sunni and Shia Islam – the
two largest groups – one for Druze, another for Jewish people, and the
rest apply to various Christian confessions. There is no domestic code
for people who want a marriage not governed by religious law – Lebanon
has no civil personal status law under which men and women are treated
equally.
I’m Lebanese and my civil registry identifies me as Shia. If I wanted
to get married, there is no Lebanese law that would allow me to do so
and protect my basic rights.
How hard is it to get a divorce in Lebanon?
That depends. Sunni, Shia, and Druze men can divorce their wives at
will. Sunni and Shia men can even do this outside of a courtroom,
sometimes in the absence and without the knowledge of their wife. They
only need to pronounce the divorce – so literally just say “I divorce
you” out loud – and it’s done, as far as the religious laws are
concerned. It doesn’t need to be in front of an official. In one case we
reviewed, a woman went to court to divorce her husband only to discover
that he had already divorced her!
But if Muslim or Druze women want to divorce, that’s another story.
There are limited ways they can go about it. Sunni and Druze women can
petition a court for a severance, which will terminate the marriage, but
the grounds are limited -- a prolonged absence – say he’s in prison or
traveling for years, sexual impotence, or if the husband isn’t
financially supporting his family. Women can also obtain a severance if
they prove “hardship and discord,” but this can take a great deal of
time. For Shia women, it’s even more difficult to divorce because they
have to rely on a process called sovereign divorce, which can take
years.
Sunni, Shia, and Druze women can also get divorced if they agree to
give up all rights to any finances and if their husbands agree to a
divorce, a process called
khul'. Also, the right to divorce can be written into a marriage contact, called the
Isma, but few women do this.
One lawyer described a case in which a woman was trying to divorce
her husband through a severance petition because he was sexually abusing
their child. It was a problem for the judge, as sexual abuse of a child
wasn’t considered grounds for severance. In the end, the woman had to
establish marital hardship and discord for a specific period. It was
more than a year before she could obtain the severance and protect
herself and her child.
Roughly 40 percent of Lebanon’s citizens are Christian. Is it easier for them to divorce than Muslims?
No, it’s harder, for both men and women, although women are still
particularly disadvantaged. In Lebanon, polygamy is legal for Muslim
men. Christian men who can’t divorce will sometimes convert to Islam and
then remarry and have two wives. But the first wife can’t remarry.
Additionally, her rights and the rights of their children, such as to
inheritance, are diminished by the rights of the second wife.
Also for Christian confessions, domestic violence is not sufficient grounds for a speedy divorce, unless it’s life-threatening.
In April, Lebanon passed a domestic violence law, a key advancement.
But the new law states that religious law trumps it when the two
conflict. So it’s not clear if the inherent issues have changed.
How do these divorce laws affect women’s lives?
Mireille is a Maronite Catholic. She worked throughout her marriage.
Her husband was abusive, but when she sought the advice of her religious
adviser, a local bishop, he told her to stay in the marital home, as
otherwise she would risk being found recalcitrant —a concept that
religious courts apply to women who refuse to live with their
husbands—and could lose custody of her two girls. It wasn’t until her
daughters were older – both are now professionals – that she left her
husband. But even then, she had to give up everything.
After 25 years of
marriage and work, she told us, she and her daughters left with the
clothes on their backs. She “sold her life,” she told us.
Her story isn’t unique.
What do the laws concerning children after divorce look like?
In Lebanon’s system, the best interest of the child is not the
primary consideration in identifying who a child should live with after a
marriage ends. The laws distinguish between “guardianship” and
“custody.” Custody is usually based on children’s age, with a preference
across all religions for keeping young children with their mother.
Custody then reverts to their father once children reach a certain age.
If you’re Shia, custody reverts to the father at age 2 for boys and 7
for girls. Sunnis just raised the age to 12 for both. For Druze,
Syriac, and Armenian Orthodox it is 7 for boys and 9 for girls. For
Coptic Orthodox it’s 11 and 13, and for Greek Orthodox, it’s 14 and 15.
For Catholics, it’s age 2 for both, and for Evangelicals its 12 for
both.
Women can easily have custody of their children removed if they
remarry. Also, mothers can be deemed “unfit,” which really means they’re
not acting “appropriately” for women. These actions can include having a
tattoo, posting pictures of herself with friends on Facebook, or
working outside the home.
In one case we reviewed, a divorced woman who had custody remarried,
only to learn that her new marriage was grounds for her first husband to
take their children. So she divorced her second husband to keep her
children, but the judge still took her kids away.
But in all groups except the Armenian-Orthodox, the right of
guardianship remains with the father – even when children are in the
custody of their mother. If the father dies, guardianship may revert to
his male relatives, and not the mother.
How do judges allot finances to women?
When it comes to financial rights, women often lose everything in a
divorce. Lebanon does not recognize marital property. Even if a woman
worked and contributed money to her family, she has no right to that
money if it went into property registered in her husband’s name. If a
woman stays home and cares for children and supports her husband while
he works, the law doesn’t compensate her for her contributions.
For Christians and Druze, the party at fault in the marriage is
supposed to compensate the other spouse. But this rarely plays out
cleanly. We saw a case in which, after a wife and her very wealthy
husband divorced, she was so poor she had to live in a convent.
When considering financial settlements, religious judges don’t use
clear standards in assessing adequate levels for support. They don’t
regularly rely on factors like the cost of living, minimum wage, the
ability of a woman to support herself. They also don’t consider the
value of the husband’s assets or his annual salary.
Men are often the primary breadwinners, and the high costs of going
to court keeps women from divorcing. Many, without an official
employment record, would have difficulty supporting themselves without
alimony.
Amina, who was married before the Sunni courts, had a physically
abusive husband and worked two jobs to help support her four children.
When she went to court, her husband agreed to grant her a divorce only
if she gave up all her financial rights. This included the car she
bought, her home, and her jewelry. Also, he did not want responsibility
for financing the children’s education. The judge recommended that she
take his offer, as the alternative was a lengthy, costly court
proceeding. She said she felt she had no other choice.
You live in Lebanon and are clearly are very aware of the
reality of women’s rights there. Still, did anything you uncovered
during your research surprise you?
Yes, the lengths people go through to get around the personal status
laws. Some couples are flying to neighboring Cyprus for a day to marry
under their civil law.
Also, in Lebanon, at birth your father’s religious affiliation is
added to your civil record. But recently, some people have been removing
their religious affiliations before they marry, and then marrying in
Lebanon under another country’s civil law. There are some cases like
this coming to courts now, but we don’t know how
Lebanon’s judges will
treat them. Also, it’s not clear how removing your religious affiliation
will affect other rights. Will it affect your right to vote? If
children are born without a religious designation, will they be able to
inherit? Also, how will courts cope? It’s a lot to ask Lebanese judges
to rule in terms of French, Turkish, or Cypriot law.
What do you want to see happen?
A draft civil marriage law has been sitting in Lebanon’s parliament
for years. We want the relevant subcommittee to consider it, debate it,
and put it forward for a vote. The law should ensure that women and men
are treated equally, and that decisions are made in the best interest of
their children. People should be able to have a religious marriage if
they want, but we want the state authorities to oversee them and to
ensure that men and women are treated equally and that basic rights are
protected.
With the war in Syria and so much conflict in the region, let
alone Lebanon’s own governmental instability, will this issue be a
priority?
There’s growing insecurity in Lebanon, and a lack of leadership as
presidential and parliamentary elections have been postponed yet again.
Over a million Syrian refugees have sought shelter in the country. But
we also have these perennial human rights problem. If we don’t push for
progress on these issues, they’re never going to get on the agenda. And
let’s not forget, this is not a fringe issue. It quite literally affects
everyone in the country.
