New Lebanese Domestic Violence Law Evokes Sharp Criticism

"The Lebanese have long pointed to their democratic system and liberal state as a beacon for the turbulent Middle East region. But this week Lebanon's parliament showed how backward the country can still be – by passing an archaic and sectarian domestic violence law, activists charge. The parliament on Tuesday passed Lebanon's first domestic violence law that had been pending since 2010. The law amended a draft written by the local rights group Kafa, Arabic for enough, stripping away protections against marital rape and allowing religious laws to prevail over civil, among other issues. The current law also favors fathers in child custody battles, even if they're proven to be abusive...In the new law 'marital rape has been renamed and legalized,' said Maya Ammar, a Kafa member. Diana Mokalled, an activist, charged that the 'law assures that a woman's body is owned by her husband [by deferring civil legislation to] religious personal status laws.'"