Research Consultant

Background

Women face many threats in the Lebanese society in regards of their rights such as giving the nationality to their children, custody matters during divorce, inequity in heritance laws, etc.  Women lack this legal protection within the Lebanese legal framework since the laws vary from a religious community to another, being under the jurisdiction of the personal status laws. Lebanon, which has 18 different recognized sects, with each its own legal system related to marriage, funerals, and inheritance. Overall, there are 15 separate personal status laws since a few different sects also share the same laws on personal status matters and appear before the same courts.     

Scope of work:

This study will focus on women in the scope of religious and personal status laws. Analyzing the differences and comparing rights entitled to women in each religion. Listing all personal status courts in Lebanon, their locations and how the proceedings and judgements work in each of them. And finally, suggesting areas of improvements and amendments.

Research questions:

The research will be guided by the following preliminary research questions and themes:

• What is the historical progress of Women Rights in Lebanon (milestones and challenges)?
• The Lebanese religious system - (Law 60/1936) that provides competence to religions to take care of personal status matters and analysis of subtopics under the personal status laws.
• Can women be religious leaders? In what religions?  
• What are the initiatives around civil marriage and where are we now?
• Child Marriage.
• What are the issues related to women under the criminal law? (Abortion, adultery, etc.)