WUNRN
Syria - Laws & Penal Code Need Changes for Women's Rights - Civil vs. Religious Law Issues +
By Rebecca Murray
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"He
beat me for no reason, just when he got stressed, and sometimes in front of the
children," she says. Even when she landed in a hospital emergency room
after he cut her face with a vase, she refused to tell the doctor what
happened.
"It
would make things much worse - they would take him to prison and then he would
make more trouble. I was frightened of my husband. Also, it’s a kind of
shame."
Wannouss
finally filed for divorce in a Muslim court upon the urging of her children,
but according to the law she had to relinquish all her rights and belongings.
"Syrian society looks at divorce in a very negative way," she says.
"Women get blamed all the time."
Her story is
devastatingly common among women in
In 2002
These
reservations include the Personal Status Law that administers family matters.
First established in 1953 and rooted in Islamic law (Shari’a), the Personal
Status Law encompasses issues from birth to death, and allows Muslim, Druze and
Christian sects space to implement their own religious regulations for
marriage, divorce and custody.
The rules
vary according to religion; some enable 13-year-old girls to marry and men to
take up to four wives, with the ability to divorce easily. For certain wives
divorce is impossible, while for the majority divorce is exceedingly difficult
and looked down upon. Inheritance and child custody matters favour men across
sectarian lines.
"While
women’s active participation in political decision-making positions in public
life is being promoted, and equal access to education and health have greatly
improved, the Personal Status Laws and the Penal Code prevent women from
enjoying equal rights to men," the Euromed Gender Equality Programme
reported from Syria this year.
Women’s
rights organizations, activists and the governmental Syria Commission for
Family Affairs successfully blocked a more conservative draft of the Personal
Status Law in 2009. But the current law remains, and while the state is harsh
on trafficking and prostitution, articles in the penal code assure near
impunity for those who commit violence against women.
For
instance, while rape or sexual assault on a victim under 12 can carry a
conviction up to 21 years, if a man rapes an adult woman he can be absolved of
the crime if the woman, often feeling shamed or pressured, agrees to marry him.
"Men
can be exempted from punishment if they kill or hurt their spouse, sister, or
any of their female ascendants, whom they unexpectedly discover committing
adultery or out-of-wed sexual relations with another person, as well as in a
doubtful situation with another person," says the Euromed report.
"This provision leaves room for interpretation and is at the onset of
widespread abuse."
In July
2009, days before the conservative revised draft of the Personal Status Law was
shelved, President Bashar al-Assad increased the sentence for honour crimes
under Article 548 to two years. However, activists say this does not go far
enough, and recommend the abolition of related articles that can lessen or
waive convictions.
Yahya
Al-Aous is the editor of Al-Thara e-magazine, published by progressive printing
house Etana Press. He says tracing honour killings is difficult because many of
these are not registered as honour crimes, or made public. Al-Aous says he has
monitored 52 so far, but they could run into the hundreds annually.
Al-Thara is
run out of a basement in a crowded
"Women
are writing us emails telling their stories and asking us for help," Al-
Aous tells IPS. "For example, I have a problem with my husband, I have a
problem with the court, I can’t get a divorce, I have a problem with my
father…"
Al Aous says
Al-Thara needs to focus on a variety of fronts: "There is no law for
domestic violence, nothing. Honour crimes carry a light sentence. The marriage
age for girls needs to be raised. Women need to get equal inheritance… all
these issues are intertwined."
"We are
working step by step," says Sawsan Zakzak from the Syrian Women League,
who along with activists and NGOs plays a crucial role lobbying the government
to revise gender laws. "We are asking to have civil law for all Syrians.
People could have the choice between religious law and civil law, but the
official law should be civil."