Lebanon: Update to Response to Information Request LBN18762.E of 28 February 1995 on the treatment upon return to Lebanon of an unmarried woman with three children born out of wedlock, and on access to protection from the state

The following information on Muslim women was provided during an interview with the DIRB on 10 October 1995 by a representative of the Lebanese Association For Popular Action (AMEL Association) who is in charge of educational programs for women in Lebanon. The source is also an independent journalist in Lebanon who writes on women's issues.

A woman is this situation will be seen as a prostitute by the Muslim community. She is not married to a man and has three children. The children will also be considered illegitimate. Even if the woman tells Muslim clerical leaders that the father of her children died, they will ask for documentation such as a marriage or birth certificate, etc. Even if the woman has had a civil marriage in Canada and brought the certificate with her to Lebanon, Muslim clerical leaders will not consider the civil marriage as valid, and will ask her to marry under religious rules.

The clerical leaders will issue a fatwa, a religious opinion or interpretation, which is likely to give the custody of the children to her father or, if required, her brother.

The woman's life will not be in danger, although the Muslim community will regard her as disreputable. The clerical leadership will try to find a solution to her problem. A woman from a Sunni background will face fewer problems than a Shi'a woman. However, a Christian woman in this situation will have fewer problems than a Sunni woman in the same situation.

The source stated that there is no way the family of the woman will ever accept her back into the family circle. Intimate relationship between a man and a woman before marriage is not accepted in Lebanon in any religious community. Therefore, a woman with three illegitimate children will never be accepted. According to the source, even if a woman in such a situation comes from a rich and liberal family, there is no way a Lebanese family will accept her. The honour of the family will be damaged by taking her back.

Lebanese men will probably try to take advantage of her status as a disreputable woman.

If the woman wants to go back to Lebanon with her children, she must find a man in Canada to marry her before travelling to Lebanon. Lebanese society, which is patriarcal, tends to believe that a woman should depend on a man, especially a woman with three children.

The source stated that even if, once back in Lebanon, the woman lies and says that the father is dead, she will still have to provide a marriage certificate when the children register at school.

A woman in such a situation will not be able to find work and provide the material requirements for her children.

The following information on Christian women was provided during a telephone interview on 17 August 1995 with a human rights lawyer in Beirut.

The personal status of individuals (birth, death, burial, inheritance, marriage, divorce, etc.) is controlled by the religious communities in Lebanon through religious laws. The confessional legislation of the country's 17 different religious groups have been officially recognized by the Lebanese state, and are part of the legislative body of the state. Therefore, there is what can be called a "federation of legislative powers" in Lebanon between the state and the religious communities with regard to personal status. Decisions taken by a religious court in matters of personal status are recognized by the state.

In general, a person can appeal a religious court's decision before the same religious tribunal. Religious laws have been created by men and do not provide for the rights of women.

A civil tribunal would intervene in religious court's jurisdiction when there is a conflict between different religious laws. A religious court's ruling can be overruled if a civil court concludes that legal procedures have not been followed properly, or if the religious court's decision threatens public order.

A woman who had three children outside marriage would be considered a sinner by both the Christian and Muslim religious establishments.

If the woman is Christian, she would probably be prevented from obtaining any legal assistance by the Christian clergy. For example, a Christian person who divorces in a civil court would not have his/her rights recognized in a religious court.

Socially, this situation is not accepted, and it is difficult to be a mother outside marriage. However, the woman's situation will depend on the family's socio-economic status and whether they are liberal or conservative.

There are several Lebanese women who remain abroad with their illegitimate children because they are afraid that the families of the fathers will take custody of the children upon the women's return to Lebanon. If the families of the fathers can bring such a case before religious courts and win custody of the children, the mothers would have limited legal recourse because she would be judged as unfit mothers by the religious court.

For information on the Lebanese Association For Popular Action (AMEL Association), please refer to the attached pamphlet.

For information on matters of personal status in Lebanon, please also refer to the attachment.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

The Lebanese Association For Popular Action (AMEL Association). 10 October 1995. Interview at the DIRB with a representative.

Human rights lawyer, Beirut. 17 August 1995. Telephone interview.

Attachments

Dib, George. 1975. Law and Population in Lebanon. Law and Population Monograph Series, Number 29. Tufts University: The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

The Lebanese Association For Popular Action (AMEL Association). Information Brochure.