Secularism as a precondition for women's legal rights in Lebanon

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to demonstrate the necessity of secularism as a precondition for womans legal rights in Lebanon. By studying the religious discourse that has been infused and strengthened with the Lebanese legal systems evolution, this research will emphasize nine areas of gender discrimination in the Lebanese legal system: marriage, divorce, adultery, rape, marital rape, family violence, abortion, inheritance and nationality, focusing on how religion collaborates with the law to discriminate openly against women. This research employs a comparative approach based on three countries chosen for their evolution from a religiously based patriarchal legal system to a secular legal system based on gender equality. Tunisia will provide the first step in the evolution from religiosity to semi- secularism; Turkey will provide the second step as a Muslim country with a secular legal system leading the research to the final step of legal evolution found in France, the model of study as a secular state with a secular non gender biased legal system that grants women their full rights. Through the real life examples taken from Tunisia, Turkey and France, the thesis will project the possible evolution of the legal system from religiosity to secularism as the religious discourse is gradually but conclusively replaced by the secular discourse and infused with gender equality awarding women their rights.