The Participation of Lebanese Women in Political Life and Local Governance
National Roundtable, June 15^th , 2006, Press Club, Beirut, Lebanon

CAWTAR, in collaboration with its partner The Maharat Foundation in Lebanon, organized a national roundtable on June 10th, 2006 in the Press Club, Beirut. The roundtable was attended by 25 participants representing committees and associations, activists in political life, women heads and members of local councils, and women candidates for parliamentary elections and researchers.

The objective of the roundtable was to present the study on the Participation of Lebanese Women in Political Life and Local Governance and it was commissioned by CAWTAR under its regional project; The Participation of Arab Women in Local Governance..

Aline Farah, the national project coordinator, welcomed participants and presented Maharat activities at the local level.

Dr. Ziad Baroud, the consultant who conducted the study, presented the main findings which included: the available data on the participation of Lebanese women in local governance and the obstacles impeding their candidacy. His presentation proceeded to discuss the mechanisms necessary in order to reinforce female participation in political life and the new proposal of the Lebanese elections laws as a departure point to introduce the quota system, yet the percentage provided by it is disputable among different  women organizations in Lebanon.

The discussion on the quota system covered its two types, that is, the appointment system and the reserved quota.  With respect to the former, the presenter elaborated that its results are guaranteed. However, it limits women's competition over other undesignated seats and it compromises the balance of representation of women from different sects. For the reserved quota, the presenter illustrated its role in the transformation of attitudes in terms of creating a space for voters to elect women, and it obliges political parties to seek women cadre to be nominated in their membership. However the 30% provided for in the new proposed election law should be raised to 50% at least to guarantee the representation of the aimed 30% of women. The main discussed disadvantages of this system are that its results are not guaranteed and that it risks the monopolization of seats by the heavy weighted sects.

While reflecting on this presentation, the participants considered that the weak participation of women relates to the regression of democratic practices in Lebanon, the reality of political powers to restore democracy, and the extent to which the opposition can hold leadership accountable.  The participants then turned to the discussion of the quota, which they consider critical to influence change of electoral culture, and they agreed upon the complexities of the political reality when it comes to eliminating discrimination against women.

With respect to the limited participation of women in local governance in Lebanon, the discussion focused on three categories of obstacles. The political obstacles include: the uninviting political environment; the masculinity of corruption; the unilateralism of sects representation; and the weak power of political parties.  The economic constraints include the difficulty to maintain the work-life balance, low wages of women, unemployment and unpaid family work. With respect to the socio-cultural challenges, the traditional image of women's role; the social legitimization of male domination; violence against women and their intimidation to abstain from their candidacy; and the lack of confidence on women as capable agents. The psychological factor is the  lack of self confident women.  Those obstacles relating to women movements include the absence of a cadre to take leadership and the focus on defending women’s rights rather than strategic planning to attain rights. Finally,with respect to citizenship, there are barriers facing women to pass their nationality to their children as well as  discriminatory employment laws and the  constraining family and criminal codes.

Main recommendations:

• For Maharat to document the experiences of the existing women organizations in promoting the participation of women in local governance.
• For Maharat to organize another roundtable to discuss the findings of the final study.