Lebanon's women have made progress, but more power to them

The appointment of four women to cabinet positions in Lebanon is a great move, especially in a country that has been bogged down by years of civil war and has faced a lot of difficulties in forming a government. However, the country still has a long way to go in terms of inclusion of women. It's about time for the government to reach out to its people instead of governing from a pedestal. For far too long, the citizens have been neglected and their rights have been ignored.
Now that a government is in place, the leaders should concentrate on making lives of the citizens better and more importantly empower the women in the country. Gender inequality is pervasive. Right from laws to cultures to attitudes of people, women are discriminated on several fronts. Women should have a say; in fact, this should be the case for every citizen. All Lebanese should be made part of the nation-building process and given equal rights. It is only by empowering its citizens, and women folks in particular, that Lebanon can hope to find solutions to its many problems. It's been 15 years since the civil war ended, yet the country continues to grapple with a lot of problems. People are clueless. There's litter on the roads, and lack of adherence for road rules. People seem to lack knowledge of their civil rights and hence ignore their duties. One might question, how can we talk about women rights and improve lives of one section when the country is in such a mess?
Lebanon has faced multiple obstacles in the formation of the government and during the nomination of the president. Political paralysis had brought governance to a standstill. However, now with the government in place important issues should be addressed swiftly, and it includes important bills such as the one against child marriages and another supporting the rights of women to pass on their nationality to their children in case of marriages to foreigners.
Lebanon has made some progress in the past to empower women. Nevertheless, Article 9 of the Constitution which stipulates that every religion has the right to apply their own laws proves to be a major a hindrance to women's rights. To be precise, Lebanese women suffer discrimination under 15 personal status laws based on religion. While Christian communities have their own religious courts, Sunni and Shiite communities refer to Islamic courts for personal issues.
So, in matters of child marriage or other practices there is no specific Lebanese law by the state. People cling to their beliefs and this challenges compliance with international human rights norms. In fact, women in Lebanon enjoy more rights in the labour code than in the personal status codes. Today, the Lebanese law guarantees equal pay for women and men - which is quite impressive. The law also prohibits an employer from terminating a woman from work if she is pregnant. There are also many NGOs fighting for women's rights in Lebanon but this is not enough. The media has a role to play, and needs to highlight the needs of the society, issues that need to be addressed and familiarise citizens about their rights and duties. The appointment of Raya Al Hassan as the Minister of Interior is a step in the right direction, and should encourage the government to take more steps to empower the women.
Christiane Waked is a political analyst based in Beirut