It's a man's world

So, the wife forwarded me this link.

My response to her: “It sucks to be you.”

Seriously.

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Women cannot pass on citizenship.

Women cannot leave the country if their father or husband bars them.

There are no provisions made for domestic violence.

Marital rape does not exist.

Women cannot be the aggressors in a rape case.

Women cannot conduct an ‘honour killing’. That is to say, if they kill someone to avenge a crime, for example rape, these are not counted as mitigating circumstances.

Women can be jailed for up to three years if they chose to have an abortion.

However, they will benefit from mitigating circumstances if they are having an abortion as a result of an ‘honour crime’… which directly contradicts a previous point. – According to the article, it hasn’t happened yet.

Women can be jailed for up to three years for adultery. Note, the male equivalent has to take place in the marital home and carries a sentence of 1-13 months.

If she happens to be sleeping with another woman, the potential sentence is longer (this is same for both sexes).

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There are others, but those are the stand outs to me. It also gets more complex when you add in religious law.

And to think, I thought it was 2010. Apparently not.

It’s when reading articles like this that I am profoundly thankful my wife and I are married by British law. The darker side of me also reflects upon the fact that, were my children able to hold Lebanese citizenship, my (potential) daughters might at some point be subjected to the above. And, the darker side of me, in our case, is quite grateful that the first rule exists.