Future in Baalbek laments the absence of a unified personal status law

The Women Sector of the Future Movement in Baalbek organized a seminar on the negative implications of early marriage. The event was attended by assistant of organizational affairs, Nawal Mdalali, Baalbek Coordinator, Uzaina Shalha and members of the Coordination Council in addition to representatives of civil society. Expressing regret over the absence of a unified personal status law in Lebanon, Mdalali said that early marriage constitutes a clear violation of the basic rights of girls. Each religious confession in Lebanon, she added, has its own family law and some even approves of marriages of less than 18 years old. This situation, she noted, is in stark contradiction with the principle of equality stipulated by the Lebanese Constitution, in Article 7, which states that ‘all Lebanese are equal by law, and enjoy this equality in political and civil rights’. For her part, Rana Mbayid, considered that putting an end to this situation starts with enacting laws that set a unified minimum age for marriage for all citizens, men and women. She urged civil and human rights organizations to raise awareness on the danger of early marriage and its negative impact on underage girls. (Al Mustaqbal, 9 May 2015)