Beijing in 1995, the International Covenant on Political and Civil Rights, the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325/2000 on Women, Peace and Security, Resolution 1820/2008 and Resolution 2122/2013 urging the countries to strengthen the presence and participation of women in the negotiation and mediation commissions aiming at ending armed conflicts and establishing civil peace. Recently, the «2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development» has put equality back on the table of the national public policies, with an action plan adopted in September 2015 during the United Nations summit, comprising 17 sustainable development goals, of which Goal 5 is directly linked to gender and equality between men and women.
Some of these texts are binding, others not. But whether binding or not, it is up to the Lebanese State to take measures granting women a vital place in politics. The political and social culture of the country is reflected for that matter by factors such as the social and public role of female citizens. In other words, the place granted to women in politics and in the public domain strengthens the social inclusion as a unifying element of a democracy that is really participative and egalitarian. The withholding of dominant or «leadership» roles in society, particularly in elected and appointed bodies (ministerial portfolios, General Directors, Embassies, Commission, negotiation committee…) shows to which degree the patriarchy pervades the political culture and how the State reinforces the inclusion of all, men and women, in its public spheres, through its policies as well as practices.
Figures, and examples of social exclusion in Lebanon:
In facts, Lebanese women have obtained, following various mobilizations, the reform of the electoral law in 1953, enshrining their political rights. But given the various sectarian and geographic quotas existing in Lebanon, it is hard for Lebanese women to break the circle of male domination in politics. It wasn’t before 1963 when a woman was elected without vote at the Parliament to succeed her deceased father. During the 2009 legislative elections, of 587 candidates only 12 were women, and only 4 were elected at the Lebanese Parliament. The May 2018 legislative elections underline a significant improvement of the political participation in terms of candidacy: 113 in personal candidacies, 86 candidacies on lists in 2018, compared to 12 female candidacies in 2009 and 44 in 2013 when the elections did not take place. The results of the 2018 elections express a modest number of 6 elected among 128, despite the proliferation of national awareness campaigns. Lebanon remains far behind in the international ranking.
In the cabinets, the representation of women is scarce; one female minister for the last government and none for the previous one.
Since the 90’s, the national dialogue has been initiated and organized by the political authorities such as political parties and government authorities; main leaders to decide civil peace, coordinate defense strategies and ensure the bases for national consensus regarding the burning Lebanese issues. Women are, up to this date, absent from these meetings which aim at deciding national priorities. The national dialogue meetings have established the foundations of the compromise in Lebanon, Taef, Doha or those that took place in Lebanon for the peace negotiations: the issues discussed and the suggested solutions, without the participation of female citizens excluded from these reunions, risk not being suitable for them and being hindered by their lack of completeness and/or being taken seriously by those who did not participate in the meetings.
The results of the municipal elections that took place in 2016 have shown a slight progress in the female participation rate in the municipal elections, from 4.6% in 2010 to 5.4% in 2016, with 663 women elected locally. This rate is surely not sufficient for a genuine inclusion of women in decision making at the local level, given all the work women can undertake, particularly in the framework of local reconciliation and mediation processes that did not systematically take place after the war and the various conflicts witnessed in Lebanon.
The role of women in the processes of the truth, reconciliation and reconstruction commissions must be a priority of the national efforts and one of the democracy challenges the country tries to consolidate.
Several initiatives for a political and social inclusion that transforms structural obstacles
A major social movement supports political and civil rights of women in Lebanon as a main cause. This movement is composed of national authorities, such as the National Commission for Lebanese Women, established by Law 720/1998 and the new Women’s Affairs Ministry established in Lebanon in 2017. The movement is also supported by civil authorities, particularly NGOs that were gathered under the guidance of the national coalition «Women for Politics», formed in 2016. The demands were simple, particularly ensuring full social and political rights of the Lebanese women. Even if the establishment of a quota is not the dream solution for the men/women equality, studies have shown however that this system allows women to access public affairs and decision-making positions. The civil society associations have claimed the establishment of a 30% quota system, a transitory and temporary system that might allow increasing the proportion of women in the Lebanese public life, particularly in the parliamentary electoral law. The common vision behind these egalitarian claims, as highlighted by the national women’s strategy in Lebanon 2011-2021 consists in a public political sphere without a male domination, where women can also be established citizens with complete rights.
The marginalization and exclusion of women as a result of compromises and concessions, made because of a sectarian and patriarchal system, require patent measures and several action levels: amending electoral laws. The project submitted in 2010 to amend the law for municipal elections with a quota for women must be brought up again. The 2017 law of parliamentary elections reexamined with measures that encourage mandatorily having a number of women on each list, under threats of penalty. Furthermore, ensuring the respect of the equality principle in all ministries, commissions and appointed delegations.
Inclusion and equitable representation, for a full citizenship
In brief, the battle for an effective and complete citizenship is long. Temporary measures allow women, as an entity marginalized by the structure of the system, to access all areas of decision-making, administration and community service. This would ensure a better representation of women, one that would allow addressing gender issues and its various implications on the public life in the public debate, within entities such as the Government and the Parliament.