Personal Experience
I am a privileged Lebanese woman.
I choose who I love. I wear what I want. I decide when I go out. I choose what to study. I can even travel freely.
But privilege is relative. Because in my country, my rights are not guaranteed—they are borrowed. And many Lebanese women do not have the same privileges I do.
I am privileged enough to have a voice, so I choose to be the voice of those who don’t.
If I am seen going out too much or simply living freely, some will assume I am “damaged goods.” And if they believe I have engaged in sexual acts before marriage, I will not only be shamed, disowned, or beaten, I could be killed. “Honor crimes” still happen in Lebanon, and a woman’s body is often seen as her family’s reputation, not her own.
If I want an abortion, for whatever reason, I cannot have one. The law does not care if I am too young, too vulnerable, or simply not ready to be a mother. It does not care if I was raped. My body is not mine to decide.
And if I give birth outside of marriage, my child will be stateless. Without a legally recognized father, the baby has no nationality, identity, or future.
If I am married, my child will take my husband’s nationality. If I marry a foreigner, on paper, my child will not be Lebanese.
If I am in danger, I cannot rely on the police to protect me. If my husband beats me, I will be told to go home. That it is a “family matter”, which is not their concern.
And if I were born into a different family, a different community, I could have been married off as young as 12. Because in Lebanon, there is no unified law against child marriage. A girl’s childhood can be erased with a signature when she reaches “womanhood”.
I stand here today not just as a Lebanese woman, but as an advocate for those who have been silenced. Because none of us are free until we all are.
This story is powerful, and the data that follows shows that it is far from alone…
Lebanon is home to 15 different personal status laws, each dictated by religious courts. This means that a woman’s fundamental rights—her ability to marry, divorce, gain custody of her children, or inherit property—are not determined by a single civil law, but by religious doctrine.
Inheritance Laws: Lebanese inheritance laws are discriminatory, with sons typically inheriting twice as much as daughters in most religious sects. Hence, women’s financial security is often dependent on male relatives.
Nationality Law: Lebanese mothers cannot pass their nationality to their children, only the fathers can.
Abortion Laws: Lebanon criminalizes abortion, with penalties of up to three years in prison for the woman and anyone assisting her.
Honor Crimes: Lebanon abolished reduced sentences for honor crimes in 2011 however, societal attitudes remain dangerous. Women who disobey the dominant male figure at home face severe stigma, abuse, and even death at the hands of their families. Lack of reporting and law enforcement enhance the rates of these dishonorable crimes.
Domestic Violence: A 2014 law criminalized domestic violence, but marital rape remains legal. Many cases go unreported due to social stigma and lack of trust in law enforcement.
Sexual Assault and Rape: 6 out of 10 Lebanese women get sexually assaulted and don’t report it due to fear of being shamed and blamed, called a liar, and tarnishing their families and their own “honor” (ABAAD MENA, 2022).
Child Marriage: There is no national minimum age for marriage. Religious courts can approve marriages for girls as young as 12. Some men even claim that they chose their wives to be underage specifically so they could raise them the way they like, as obedient wives.
Political Representation: Women hold less than 7% of seats in Lebanon’s Parliament, ranking among the lowest in the world for gender parity in politics. Not only that but when a Lebanese woman gets married, she legally gets registered in her husband’s family records and has to vote in his town, regardless of where they reside.
Silence is not an option when injustice is the norm. Lebanese women deserve more than survival, we deserve equality, dignity, and the right to shape our own destinies.