Women’s Position Across Lebanese and German Culture (International Perspective)

Germany and Lebanon have unexpected similarities when it comes to female empowerment. Of course, social and religious roles are adjusted to differences in culture and governmental structures but Lebanon has proven itself to follow a more progressive path than widely anticipated. In the future, Lebanon is expected to improve significantly, while Germany continues its steady progress towards equality.

In the public eye, the comparison of women’s position in culture in Lebanon and Germany is distinctly predisposed—where both sides are at opposite ends of the spectrum. However, similar to any other political issue, the complexity of the problem is often overlooked. Recalling common stereotypes, like the anti-female Muslim culture Lebanon is often claimed to inhibit, and the progressive equality allegedly developing in Germany, comparing the two seems to be a vain practice. Nonetheless, though the differences based on religion may be significant, the domesticity of improvement can seldom be judged with the sole aid of statistics.

In this comparative article, we will juxtapose the standpoints of Germany and Lebanon on the basis of social, religious and political roles of women in culture.

Taking a look at domestic issues, German women have claimed several significant victories over the past 100 years: Unprecedented, in 1919, women voted for the national assembly of Germany, nearly 40 years later, they were finally allowed to open their own bank accounts, and in 1977, all legally prescribed role distributions within the family were annulled. Germany has not been on the direct fore-front of change but has now reached a global standing of admirable emancipation progress. The protection of mothers and children is a principal matter in German law but in practice, the statistics still reveal obstacles. In 2019, 2.2 million mothers were raising their children alone, compared to 407,000 fathers. That same year, shocking figures arose, claiming that one woman an hour is a victim of domestic violence in Germany.

Compared to global numbers, these statistics tend to seem low but it is of major importance to realize that equality on paper is directly discrepant from equality in reality.

In Lebanon, a number of legal institutional and social hurdles remain in the path towards women’s total freedom. Lebanon has maintained reservations on the CEDAW Article 9 (2), regarding nationality; several subparagraphs of Article 16 (1), related to personal status laws; and Article 29 (1), on the settlement of disputes on the interpretation of Convention to the International Court of Justice— In other words, Lebanese mothers cannot give their children Lebanese citizenship due to political and economical reasons rather than social. The labour force participation rate for women aged 15 years and above is 29% compared to 72% for men. It is broadly acknowledged that despite the progression and acquired rights, Lebanese women continue to face discrimination at numerous levels, keeping gender equality in Lebanon an elusive objective. The weakness of the State is felt in the areas of civil affairs and personal status, especially in their relevance to women’s civic rights, family matters and gender relations. Such affairs have been formally relegated to the religious authorities as part of a confessional system rooted in an acknowledgement of the representational rights of registered sects and their respective power over their subjects. The Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World states that by keeping family matters within the jurisdictions of religious courts, the Lebanese Constitution detaches itself from its role as a guarantor of equal rights and creates a buffer between the citizen and the State.

Beyond these domestic issues, religion plays a big part in the social injustices. Not too long ago, a phrase that is still known today dominated women’s role in society in Germany. The “Three K’s of the woman”: Kinder (children), Küche (kitchen), Kirche (church). Germany is a dominantly Catholic country. When it comes to the Catholic church, they have been known for their traditional values and worldviews – one that does not inherently include women. Though the backbone of the church in many Christian communities had been distinctly female-dominated, more and more Christian women have spoken up about the less than favorable positions they still find themselves in. The movement “Maria 2.0” has been formed to battle unequal rights and treatment in the Catholic Church.

Of course, Germany is the home of many other religious worldviews as well. Here, however, not only women have received immense discrimination. Added to the general hardships of a woman’s role in Muslim society, the stigma that comes with their religion has furthermore decreased the social standing of both male and female German Muslims.

As Lebanon is a muslim predominant country, Islam plays a big role in most Lebanese society. Similar to Christianity, in Islam women are considered to be the weaker sex. Inequality between both genders is clearly shown in the Islamic Sharia (Islamic Law). An example of this is that men are asked and allowed to marry four women at the same time while a woman is only allowed to marry one. Also, in heirdom, each male’s rights in the Sharia is equal to the rights of two females. In Lebanon, civil marriage is not legalized, so Lebanese do still marry religiously. So most Lebanese, who are Muslims, do marry under the Sharia Law. Islamic marriage is a contract between the groom and bride’s parents, and the groom pays a certain amount of money to legally “buy” the women from her parents.

When taking a look at women in politics worldwide, it is inevitable to at one point mention Angela Merkel, Germany’s Chancellor since 2005. As she enters the home-stretch of her 15-year-tenure, a study of the Pew Research Center claims that a median of 75% across 14 surveyed countries have confidence in Angela Merkel. She is a prime example of female representation in governmental structure.

With these staggering statistics, it seems implausible that in 1973, she was part of a mere 3% female students entering her major, Physics. Even 45 years later, that number was still unable to pass the 20% mark. Germany’s school system has long suffered from an inability to improve equality in STEM classes. Now, how can those numbers translate in Politics, another male dominated field around the world?

In 2019, the number of women in the Bundestag was less than one third. Only two parties had a female majority, both on the left side of the political spectrum. The conservative far-right had a 8:1 male/female-ratio. For these reasons, a so-called “women’s quota” has been approved for implementation, and surfaced in many different forms since 2015.

Though Lebanon is not directly famous for its female political participation, a closer look into the governmental structure reveals increasingly active female participation. Lebanon enjoys one of the most vibrant feminist movements in the Arab region. The right of Lebanese women to vote was recognized in 1952, and since then Lebanese women have made great strides in advancing the women’s empowerment agenda. Lebanon’s ratification of the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1997 catalyzed a greater awareness of women’s rights within Lebanese society, followed by the establishment in 1998 of the National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW), which is affiliated with the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. Today, primary school enrollments of girls and boys are equal and 83% of Lebanese women are literate. Unlike most Arab countries, Lebanon does have an average of five female ministers out of 20 in each government the last six years. Last but not least, some Lebanese political parties have been led by women.

To conclude, stereotypes only answer the question to some extent. Indeed, Germany has revealed itself to take a much more progressive stand towards equality than Lebanon, severely impacted by religious practices and social norms in the different regions they geographically inhibit. Still, it would be unreasonable to deny the progress Lebanon has made over the past years or to make the assumption Germany had reached the peak of equality. In fact, Lebanon is considered to be the most progressive Middle Eastern / Arab country when it comes to women empowerment.

Even though feminism has become increasingly controversial with the flourishing of the internet, no informed citizen would be unable to dismiss the remaining concerns. Equality cannot simply be reached by putting it on paper, a fundamental change in the mindset of the people is inevitable.

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Written by Vivien Jung & Adonis Assaad.