850 civil marriages of Lebanese in Cyprus each year

In its edition of today, Al Hayat newspaper brought up the issues of civil marriage which largely is still considered a taboo in Lebanon as couples have to break sweat in convincing their parents of its importance for protecting their rights, particularly if they came from different religious confessions. Expounding on the subject, Al Hayat noted that due to existing hurdles facing them, civil wed couples usually choose to get married in Cyprus (the number of registered contracts reach nearly 850 annually). The newspaper pointed to the flourishing marriage travel with all the tourist agencies and hotels, that is remarkably growing in the peaceful Mediterranean island. Cyprus, the newspaper mentioned, receives, besides the Lebanese, nationals from neighboring countries whose governments still ban civil marriage. Speaking to Al Hayat, a number of concerned parties explained that despite the apparent effortlessness of the procedure in Cyprus, problems start to emerge once they are back to Lebanon.  Confronted with a barrage of questions, like why they chose civil marriage, and whether their marriage is approved religiously, returning couples know that things will not be easy, especially with the coming of their first born. Additional obstacles arise subsequently, like which is the right way to raise the child and his/her ability to integrate with the divergent religions or sects of the mother and father as well as their immediate environment. Civil marriage is only the first step, Al Hayat concluded, maintaining that the real challenges for civil marriage couples starts in Lebanon while facing a closed society that mostly is still attached to its sectarian affiliations. )Al Hayat, August 18, 2016(