First it is important to know how the government works for gender equality, in this case, Lebanon has one of the most vibrant women’s movements in the Arab region. Lebanese women gained their right to vote in 1952, and since then, Lebanese women have made strides in advancing the women’s empowerment agenda. Lebanon’s ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1997 stimulated an increase in awareness of women’s rights within Lebanese society, followed by the establishment of the National Committee for Lebanese Women Affairs under the Presidency of the Council of Ministers in 1998. Today, enrollment rates for girls and boys are equal. In primary schools, the percentage of women who can read and write is 83% , page 39.
In 2016, the Office of the Minister of State for Women Affairs was established to support the advancement of gender equality and women’s empowerment in Lebanon, which was replaced by the government formed in 2019 by the Ministry of State for Women and Youth Economic Empowerment Affairs.
Lebanese women enjoy more rights and freedom compared to women elsewhere in the Arab world. Women in Lebanon can wear more liberal clothes and move with relative ease in certain parts of the country, unlike in other countries in the region. Lebanese women enjoy equal civil rights with men. However, due to the large number of officially recognized religions in Lebanon, Lebanese family affairs are governed by no less than 15 personal laws .
The Lebanese constitution promulgated in 1926 and amended does not contain any text that discriminates against women. Rather, it consecrates women’s equality.
All citizens are before the law without discrimination, and we can see this in many articles that determine the personal lives of individuals and the general:
But the most important thing remains, at the constitutional level, and what was included in the preamble to the constitution that was added to it according to the Constitutional Law No. 18 of 9/21/1990 and which was mentioned in Paragraph B of them verbatim:
“Lebanon is Arab in identity and belonging, and it is a founding and active member of the Arab League and abides by its charters, as it is a founding and active member of the United Nations Organization and abides by its charters and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The state embodies these principles in all fields and fields without exception”.
The University has developed the ‘Regulations for the Implementation of Gender Equality Policies in Education at the Islamic University of Lebanon.’ The Regulation specifies that: The University should not demonstrate unequal treatment on the basis of gender or sexual preference during the hiring of employees, the recruitment of students and the conditions for admission (new policies file to be approved by the president).
Additionally, a force labor legislation is established at the IUL, where all its articles don’t discriminate between the genders and even doesn’t mention it for the employee criteria, rights or duties. All the criteria mentioned in this legislation for an academic or staff position, promotion, salary, vacation, etc… are identified regardless of the gender, they are based only on the eligibility of the persons for any of these submissions , articles 68 – 77.
The IUL’s policy of women’s Access and participation plan, this IUL’s policy of women’s Access can be summarized as follows: