Law Allowing Lebanese Women to Pass on Citizenship to be Considered

Bill to allow Lebanese women to pass on citizenship to their children (AFP/File Photo)

A bill to allow Lebanese women to pass on citizenship to their children when married to non-Lebanese nationals - a right women have demanded for years - will be presented to Cabinet Wednesday, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil announced.

Bassil said the proposal would amend a 1925-era law that barred Lebanese women from passing their citizenship to their children. “There are strange, unacceptable and illogical [provisions] in our Lebanese law that lead us to try to address them,” Bassil said.

The right provided by the new law would not apply to Lebanese women who marry men from “neighboring” countries. The exception is a provision to restrict “naturalization” in general, and particularly of the minimum 997,905 million Syrian refugees and over 174,000 Palestinians residing in Lebanon, so as to “preserve the Lebanese entity,” Bassil said. He added that the Lebanese should be wary of “collective naturalization” of these groups in lieu of their returning to their lands of origin.

The minister also called for Lebanese men to no longer be able to pass on their Lebanese citizenship to spouses from neighboring countries as part of the proposed law. “What is not allowed for women should not be allowed for men,” Bassil said.

Bassil said the move was in line with the Lebanese constitution, which prevents discrimination on the basis of gender, in addition to “international agreements,” such as the 1979 United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women.

The announcement was made at a news conference at the Foreign Ministry in Beirut’s Ashrafieh district on the occasion of Mother’s Day. It follows years of protests by Lebanese women under the slogan "my citizenship is my dignity.” Protests have increased in recent weeks as Lebanon heads towards the country’s first parliamentary elections in nine years.

Bassil said he expected “a lot of talk” on the law, and acknowledged the timing of his proposal – just 46 days before elections on May 6. He indicated voters could pressure MP’s to adopt the bill before elections are held.

This article has been adapted from its original source.