Article

A White Dress Does(n’t) Cover the Rape. Factors effecting the abolishment of Article 522

In Lebanon, a rapist could avoid criminal prosecution by marrying their victim. That was until August 16th 2017 when the Lebanese Parliament voted on the abolishment of Article 522. Thereby, Lebanon joins a number of other Arab states. Given that marital rape and underage marriage remain legal, it is a benign step towards the protection of women’s rights only, but a primer.

The activism focusing on discriminatory articles against women dates back to the 1990s. Yet it was a surprising development that this article was suddenly abolished in 2017 after the activism triggered a powerful movement. What are the factors that ultimately led to the abolishment of Article 522?

Product details
Date of Publication
June 2018
Publisher
Heinrich Boell Foundation - Middle East
Number of Pages
10
Licence
Language of publication
English
Table of contents

Introduction - p.1

2 Article 522 of the Lebanese Penal Code - p.1

3 The process ofp.abolishing Article 522 - p.2

3.1 The driving force in starting the process - p.3

3.2 One good turn deserves another - p.3

3.3 #undress522 - p.4

3.4 The dice is cast - p.4

4 Factors implementing the abolishment of Article 522 - p.5

4.1 Media - p.5

4.2 Timing - p.6

4.3 Regional developments - p.7

4.4 Civil Society - p.7

4.5 Article 522 itself - p.8

4.6 Instrumentalization - p.8

4.7 Interpretation - p.8

5 Findings - p.9

6 Perspective - p.9