Gender equality in Lebanon

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Gender Equality in Lebanon is the attempt that all men and women should receive equal treatment in all aspects of the society without discrimination on their sex. Equality in Lebanon has witnessed controlled attempts towards achieving gender equality. For example, Lebanon was a leading country in the middle east region and pioneered female rights to be enrolled in politics in 1953. Another important date in the Lebanese context to fight gender biases was 1996 where Lebanon endorsed the Convention on the Elimination all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). [1] One of the main reasons for this gap in promoting gender equality is attributed to the over all education policies in the country where the present curricula is irrelevant to advocate for gender equality. Adding to this, some believe that cultural concerns play a big role in this educational tendency of overshadowing gender equality where still women's' roles in society are viewed with a lot of biases and discriminations perceptions. [2]

Contents

Personal status laws also play a crucial role in shaping gendered modes of citizenship by reinforcing gender disparities in citizenship rights and perpetuating the intertwining of sex and sect in legal frameworks. [3]

Active role of women in supporting local causes WomenLine RiadElSolh 19Nov2019.jpg
Active role of women in supporting local causes

History

Lebanon is considered as one of the most active countries in the middle east calling for women empowerment and gender equality both on the legal and societal levels. These attempts for change has been influenced by many conflicts and wars that took place within and around the country. [4] Discrimination is practiced among different sectors and professions and this gap differs from one sector to another. [5] Culture plays a big role in widening the gender gap in Lebanon. [6]

Gender equality and education

The UNDP and other partners of UN global community made gender equality a major concern within the Lebanese context. There was an increase number of female enrollment in primary education compared to what it was like 15 years ago. Females today represent around 41 percent of paid employees in different industries. [7]

Related Research Articles

Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing different behaviors, aspirations and needs equally, regardless of gender.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in the workforce</span> All women who perform some kind of job

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Gender inequality is the social phenomenon in which people are not treated equally on the basis of gender. This inequality can be caused by gender discrimination or sexism. The treatment may arise from distinctions regarding biology, psychology, or cultural norms prevalent in the society. Some of these distinctions are empirically grounded, while others appear to be social constructs. While current policies around the world cause inequality among individuals, it is women who are most affected. Gender inequality weakens women in many areas such as health, education, and business life. Studies show the different experiences of genders across many domains including education, life expectancy, personality, interests, family life, careers, and political affiliation. Gender inequality is experienced differently across different cultures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in Lebanon</span>

The roles of women in Lebanon have evolved throughout history. The legal status of women transformed over the 20th century, but traditional patriarchal norms and conservative versions of Islamic law continue to influence women's rights in Lebanon.

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The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity charged with working for gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women is charged with advocating for the rights of women and girls, and focusing on a number of issues, including violence against women and violence against LGBT people.

The OECD Gender, Institutions and Development (GID) Database, or GID-DB, contains more than 60 data indicators of gender equality. The GID-DB was introduced in 2006 by the OECD Development Centre to provide a data tool to help researchers and policy makers determine and analyze obstacles to women's social and economic development. It provides these gender-related data for up to 162 countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, thereby covering all regions and country-income-categories of the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gender Inequality Index</span> United Nations index for gender inequality

The Gender Inequality Index (GII) is an index for the measurement of gender disparity that was introduced in the 2010 Human Development Report 20th anniversary edition by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). According to the UNDP, this index is a composite measure to quantify the loss of achievement within a country due to gender inequality. It uses three dimensions to measure opportunity cost: reproductive health, empowerment, and labor market participation. The new index was introduced as an experimental measure to remedy the shortcomings of the previous indicators, the Gender Development Index (GDI) and the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM), both of which were introduced in the 1995 Human Development Report.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gender pay gap</span> Average difference in remuneration amounts between men and women

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in Benin</span>

Women in Benin have gained more rights since the restoration of democracy and the ratification of the Constitution, and the passage of the Personal and Family Code in 2004. These both overrode various traditional customs that systematically treated women unequally. Still, inequality and discrimination persist. "Girls from the age of five or so are actively involved in housekeeping, sibling care, and agriculture." Society could think about of a woman's role are a housemaid, caretaker, or babysitter. A woman's role is to be a housemaker and nothing at all, but women have much potential to be more than a housemaker. With laws taking charge of what a woman can be as a career of how they are being useful more in the house than in a men's job position. Moreover, these rules apply to women by their gender that has not changed for a while. And there has been inequality based on being the opposite gender which these rules should immediately change if the society wants to get better to have equality for the female race.

The evolution and history of women in Asia coincide with the evolution and history of Asian continent itself. They also correspond with the cultures that developed within the region. Asian women can be categorically grouped as women from the Asian subregions of Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Western Asia.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's empowerment</span> Giving rights, freedom to make decisions and strengthening women to stand on their own

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in media</span>

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References

  1. Melki, Jad; Mallat, Sarah (2013), Byerly, Carolyn M. (ed.), "Lebanon: Women's Struggle for Gender Equality and Harassment-free Newsrooms", The Palgrave International Handbook of Women and Journalism, London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 432–448, doi:10.1057/9781137273246_31, ISBN   978-1-137-27324-6 , retrieved 2021-06-05
  2. "Performance Management and Support Program for Lebanon(PMSPL II)". USAID Lebanon. 2019.
  3. Mikdashi, Maya (2022). Sextarianism: Sovereignty, Secularism, and the State in Lebanon. Stanford: Stanford University Press. pp. 24–47. ISBN   9781503631557.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  4. nanor (2020-02-28). "Setting the Agenda towards Gender Equity". Civil Society Knowledge Centre. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
  5. Melki, Jad; Mallat, Sarah (2013), Byerly, Carolyn M. (ed.), "Lebanon: Women's Struggle for Gender Equality and Harassment-free Newsrooms", The Palgrave International Handbook of Women and Journalism, London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 432–448, doi:10.1057/9781137273246_31, ISBN   978-1-137-27324-6 , retrieved 2021-06-06
  6. "Can Women Speak Out in Lebanon?". iwpr.net. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
  7. "Goal 5: Gender equality | UNDP in Lebanon". UNDP. Archived from the original on 2022-10-05. Retrieved 2021-06-07.