Parliament endorses raising maternity leave to 70 days amidst a jovial atmosphere

The Lebanese Parliament endorsed during the second day of its sessions the law which raises maternity leave to 10 weeks, i.e. 70 days instead of 40 days.  Sami Gemayel described the new law as a major achievement in Lebanese legislation even if it was not possible to raise the maternity leave period to 12 weeks as initially intended.  This law did not herald any struggle unlike the case of the domestic violence bill.  MP Boutros Harb stood up to endorse the proposal to raise the period of paid maternity leave to 10 weeks and noted that this is important for safeguarding women’s rights and equality.  This was perceived as funny by Harb’s peers whilst the Speaker of the House continued with an anecdote about men becoming pregnant.
Source: Al-Hayat, Al-Safir, Al-Nahar 3 April 2014