Political rights for all women

18 February 1953 – More legal reforms were implemented and stipulations promoting gender equality were laid down in Decree no. 37. The provisions in Article no. 2 of the decree gave both educated and uneducated women the right to vote and run for elections at the parliamentary level. In practice, however, women continued to vote accompanied by their fathers and spouses who often influenced their votes(1)Beyond Reform and Development, “Patriarchy and Sectarianism Gendered Trap: Baseline of Women  in Politics – the Case of Lebanon,” 2017, p. 17, available at: https://www.beyondrd.com/assets/publications/Patriarchy%20and%20Sectarianism%20-%20A%20Gendered%20Trap%20-%20Part%20I%20-%20BRD.pdf (last accessed 28 December 2017). The literature on gender in Lebanon indicates that Lebanese society maintained the view that women were not suitable for public office, hence they should not be involved in the elections(2)Suad Joseph,“Political Familism in Lebanon”, The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 636, 2011, p.150-163.

8 – Political rights for all womenتعديل انتخاب – 1953 – BAU JR