WUNRN
http://www.learningpartnership.org/lib/lebanon-womens-nationality-citizenship-november-2013-protest
Lebanese Women's Right to Nationality and Full
Citizenship Campaign Holds Record-breaking Sit-in
December
6, 2013 - This November theLebanese Women's Right to Nationality and Full
Citizenship Campaign, led by WLP Lebanon/CRTD.A, realized important new
achievements in its mobilization efforts, including record-breaking numbers of
protestors in its November 25 sit-in. The Campaign, started by CRTD.A in 2011,
seeks reform of the country’s discriminatory nationality laws, which prevent
women from passing on their citizenship to husbands and children. As a result
of CRTD.A’s two-year capacity building program with Campaign volunteers, using
WLP leadership and political participation trainings, these volunteers launched
the most successful protest mobilization the Campaign has seen to date.
Following completion of the WLP program, volunteers formed a Campaign General
Assembly to facilitate outreach throughout the country and stimulate widespread
grassroots support for women’s equal right to nationality.
Over
the past several months, the General Assembly has tirelessly conducted
awareness raising activities across the country, with volunteers going door to
door, passing out informational pamphlets in front of stores, and setting up
"friendly roadblocks," to inform the public of the injustice of
women's unequal citizenship rights in Lebanon and to encourage them
to make their voices heard at the upcoming protest. As a result of these
efforts, busloads upon busloads of women, men, and children came from all over
the country to participate in the Nationality Campaign sit-in in front of the
seat of government on Monday, November 25, 2013. While the Campaign provided
estimates to security service of 300 protest participants, 1300 supporters in
fact participated - by far the largest protest to date. Additionally, due to
years of outreach and relationship building with media, major Lebanese
newspapers covered the protest, in addition to national and regional television
and radio. Furthermore, CRTD.A Executive Director Lina Abou Habib conducted a
primetime newshour interview on the Campaign with Al Jazeera, and interviewed
with the French Arabic-language Radio Montecarlo (akin to the
While
legal reform for women’s equal nationality rights was the launching point of
the campaign, it has evolved into expressing and advocating for an even more
fundamental understanding about the relationship between women, as citizens,
and the state. Namely, women shall be equal under the law as citizens, a
category undefined by gender, and the state has an equal responsibility to all
of its citizens. The Campaign has also stimulated a greater understanding and
appreciation of women’s important role as active citizens.
The
protest was held in conjunction with national celebrations for the country's 70
years of independence. The Campaign capitalized on this, using the slogan,
"Enough 70 years of exclusion and marginalization of women," and
stressed that there is no real independence if half the population isn’t given
her rights. The Campaign also highlighted the fact that the discriminatory
citizenship laws themselves are a relic of French colonial rule.
According
to Abou Habib, this mobilization of women, who had traditionally remained
silent in the face of discrimination, was a true victory. Those active in the
Campaign have internalized their right to have their voices heard, and the
power they can exert by going into the streets to demand their rights. For Abou
Habib, the leadership and political participation trainings along with the
volunteers’ work with the Campaign has shifted their thinking. “Before when
they came [to volunteer] they would be discouraged. These past few months their
faces were beaming - they were enthusiastic all the time, they would do
interviews with media. They feel entitled to demand their rights,” said Abou
Habib.
WLP
is now working on developing this highly successful mobilization as an advocacy
case study to be shared with activists across the Global South through WLP's
forthcoming advocacy toolkit.