Many prominent early Lebanese activists for women’s rights and social reformers became involved in a number of social and moral reform campaigns in the early 20th century. This led most directly to the organized campaign for ensuring women their voting and employment rights.
In 1952 a number of Lebanese feminists and leaders of the campaign for women’s rights met and agreed to unify their efforts in an association. The aim: to lead and give direction to the Lebanese feminist movement.
They formed the Assembly of Lebanese Women’s Associations (later known as The Lebanese Council of Women) by merging the Lebanese Arab Women’s Union (instituted in 1929) and the Lebanese Women’s Association (instituted in 1947).
Their first victory was the adoption in 1953 of a constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote and get elected. This was the culmination of many decades of activism and struggle by women’s rights organizations and their allies.
And this was the beginning of over fifty years of struggle to establish the same social, economic, and political status for women as for men, and to guarantee that women will not face discrimination on the basis of their sex.
From the year 1953 to the year 2004 the Lebanese Council of Women played the leading role in the many legal achievements of the Lebanese Women’s Rights movement.
They are landmarks on the road to full citizenship.
1953: The constitutional right to vote and get elected.
1959: Equality in inheritance rights between men and women for all non Mohammedan sects.
1960: The right of women to chose their nationality.
1974: Women gained the right to travel without spousal permission.
1983: The annulment of punitive statutes with respect to contraception
1987: The unification of the age of retirement at 64 years for both men and women
1993: The right of a women to testify in front of the Public Register of Deeds and the confirmation of the validity of such a testimony
1994: The right of a woman to practice commerce without the prior approval of her husband.
1994: The right of a woman employee at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to pursue her career subsequent her marriage to a foreign national
1995: The eligibility of women with regards to life insurance contracts.
1996: The ratification by Lebanon of the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
1999: Partial amendment of the penal code article 562 that relates to the crimes described as “crimes of honor”.
2000: Amendment of the Labor Law nr. 207 by addition of the following articles
Article 26: prohibits gender discrimination by the employer
Article 28: grants female employees the right to a seven weeks maternal leave
Article 29: confirms the right of female employees to get full pay during their maternal leave and prohibits their dismissal during this period
Article 52: prohibits the employer to address to the female employee a notice of dismissal during the pregnancy period
2001: Ratification of the law nr. 343 related to the equality between female and male employees concerning:
Retirement and dismissal procedures
Benefiting from the remuneration services of the cooperative of governmental employees and the right to extend these benefits to the members of her/his family including spouse and children
The right of the Lebanese female employee who is married to a foreign national to extend the benefits gained from the cooperative of governmental employees to her husband and children in case they are not included in any other scheme of benefits.
2002: Amendment of the stipulations of the article 14 of the National Social Security bylaws as follows:
Confirm that the word “the insured” includes equally the female and male employees without discrimination.
The benefits granted to the (female) insured are considered one of hers and her children’s undeniable right.
2003: Amendment of the articles 625, 626, 627, and 628 of the commercial code in order to cancel all forms of discrimination against women in regards to the practice of commercial activities