Mother’s Day: a day to celebrate mothers, a day of gifts and flowers, of warm hugs and kisses, a day to honor the maternal bonds and to thank mothers for their contributions. Unfortunately in Lebanon, it is also a day in which mothers are reminded of the civil rights violations that continue to impair their interest and the well-being of their families.
Last year, as a token gift to Lebanese women on Mother’s Day, Prime Minister Najib Miqati declared his support for the reformation of the nationality law and to thus recognize Lebanese mothers’ right to pass their nationality onto their children. The cabinet, which for the first time in history promised activists to lend support to their cause, have since failed to do so, and in a statement of dismay, Lebanese mothers are vowing to deny these politicians their votes during the upcoming elections.
“We are here today to urge every candidate for parliamentary elections in June to publicly take a stand on supporting or opposing the draft law which grants Lebanese women the right to pass their nationality onto their spouses and children,” said Ghada Kaakani, amid the crowd of women who protested in front of Beirut’s Grand Serail on Thursday. “Should a candidate oppose the law,” Kaakani emphasized, “we will lobby voters not to elect him or her.”
Ghada Kaakani, a Lebanese woman now 60 years old, has become a personification of Lebanese women’s struggles for their right to nationality. At the age of 20, Kaakani married a Palestinian refugee and went on to have four children unaware of the challenges she and her family would face.
“It has been 40 years now, and I have not been granted my right as a Lebanese woman to pass on my nationality to my children and my husband. My two daughters are citizens now; they have married Lebanese men and have therefore gained the citizenship. But my sons have not, they remain refugees in their own country,” said Kaakani.
For over 13 years, Kaakani has been at the forefront of the campaign entitled ‘My nationality is a right for me and my family,’ whose proponents have been active in both Lebanon and the region. While most Arab countries have granted women the right to pass nationality to children, Lebanon remains among the few holdouts.
Despite Miqati and his cabinet’s landmark expression of support last year, activists tell NOW that the only results of this declaration have been recommendations and a set of services.
Lina Abou Habib, the executive director of the Beirut-based Collective for Research and Training on Development-Action (CRTDA), points out that the ministerial recommendations set a dangerous precedent for both women and civil rights in Lebanon.
She explains that the commission pointed mainly to sectarian concerns and fears that allowing women to pass on their citizenship would be a step toward ‘naturalizing’ Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon, a step that they believe would be “dangerous,” and a “threat to both safety and stability,” because it would disturb the sectarian demographic balance in the country. That is, if Palestinians were ‘naturalized’, more Muslims than Christians who would be benefitting from the state and its system.
“Therefore if the implementing of equality and international conventions poses a threat to the country’s higher national interests, then the commission sees these principles as not binding.” Abou Habib added.
Activists tell NOW that the ministerial committee offered women a bundle of services for their families to benefit from, in exchange for their rights. These services, half of which already exist, ranged from the right to education, medical care, and some work opportunities, but these are mainly in the private sector, over which the cabinet has no power. Earlier this year, Miqati agreed to the recommendations and gave the commission one month to estimate the costs of these services.
Iqbal Doughan, lawyer and women's rights activist who participated in the demonstration, expressed her dismay towards the cabinet’s decision. She believes that the state simply does not consider women as citizens.
“The Lebanese government is looking into granting the Lebanese diaspora the right to regain their nationality. The law stipulates that the right is given to those descending from a father who is Lebanese, not the Lebanese mother. Again, here the state is discriminating. But if they are to consider allowing the women to pass nationality to the diaspora I believe it would create a balance between those inside and those abroad given that the majority of the diaspora is believed to be Christian.”
In the meantime however, the National Commission for Lebanese Women continues to call on all Lebanese women to engage vis-a-vis the elections and to understand the position of their candidates on the issue of nationality and vote accordingly.
NOW talked to different political parties about their stances towards the nationality law. Many support the law, while some have their concerns towards the potential demographic imbalance. The Future movement, the Kataeb Party, and the PSP stress their full support for the right of Lebanese women to pass their nationality to both spouses and children; the Lebanese Forces and the FPM on the other hand support the right in general but continue to have their reservations.
“Talk of support is not enough anymore,” stressed Abou Habib. “This year our votes will be dedicated to those who not only talk the talk but who walk the walk.
