By Olivia Alabaster
BEIRUT: New research has shown that
many women in Lebanon are still consigned to a traditional role within the
family, with men making the majority of decisions. However, a woman’s
independence increases with economic power and a solid education.
The research, led by Professor
Fahmia Charafeddine, president of the Follow-up on Women’s Issues Committee,
and Professor Lamia Shehade, was conducted over two years, and includes
interviews with 645 people from every region of Lebanon.
The project, “Develop a Culture of
Dialogue and Democracy within the Lebanese Family,” was designed, according to
project manager Nada Makhi, to “look at the relationships between husbands and
wives and their differing roles within the family.” It was supported by the
Foundation for Future/Amman and was held in partnership with the Social Affairs
Ministry.
The results were released Friday,
accompanied by a multimedia campaign that urges people to, “Be a family, don’t
be prisoners.”
“Overwhelmingly we found that the
role of the woman is still related to ... old traditions,” Makhi said. This was
largely due, she added, to the myriad laws which work against women, and the
portrayal of women in the media. Women are still often viewed as objects, and
not equals, she said.
After conducting the study, the
researchers held roundtable discussions with people across Lebanon to discuss
some of the issues raised, and the researchers then developed conclusions and
an action plan, including recommendations. Presenting the findings Friday,
Charafeddine said that, “We are still stuck in the last century. The family today
is not developing.”
The interviews saw husbands and
wives answer, separately, questions on their relationship, decision-making
within the family and the common causes and solutions to arguments.
“Even if there are discussions
between husband and wife about important issues, it is not normally ultimately
her who makes the decision,” Charafeddine said.
While men make the majority of
decisions, and in cases where the husband was the main earner, the woman had a
lower profile within the family, “As the education level of the women rises, so
her spending power increases, and her role within decision-making.”
Women with personal bank accounts
were more likely to have gone to university and to have been employed, the
research found, and were also more likely to be actively involved in family
decision-making.
Arguments between married couples
were most commonly sparked by discussions about family issues – accounting for
60.9 percent of arguments. Social issues were next, accounting for 39.7 percent
of arguments, with emotional reasons coming third at 28.5 percent. Discussions
about money were least likely to lead to an argument, the research found,
accounting for only 7.6 percent of arguments.
During the focus group sessions,
discussions on why such arguments happen revealed that men “saw the most common
cause of conflict as women wanting to increase her power,” Charafeddine said,
with women citing violence and a “masculine society” as causal factors for the
outbreak of disagreements.
Men also believed women became
involved in such arguments due to a lack of maturity, a lack of respect, sexual
dissatisfaction and a difference in political beliefs. However, women said that
they commonly got dragged into such arguments due to a desire to avoid a
violent resolution, to prevent interference by other family members and to not
want men to take control.
In terms of how such arguments were
commonly resolved, the research showed that dialogue was the most oft-cited
solution, accounting for 70.9 percent of resolutions. In 10.2 percent of cases,
men made the ultimate decision, and in 1.2 percent of cases, women made the
final decision.
The study concluded with
recommendations to allow women greater independence and an increased role
within the family, including legislative change, scrapping patriarchal systems,
such as granting women the right to pass their citizenship on to their
children, as well as wider societal changes.
It was urgent and should be made a
“cultural priority,” the researchers said, for equal rights to be taught in
schools and in society. A woman’s image in school textbooks, which often
portrays her cooking and cleaning, Charafeddine explained, must be updated and
modernized. So too should a woman’s portrayal in the media, which often depicts
her as little more than an object.
“To raise awareness on equal
rights,” Charafeddine said, would eventually lead to an “equal level of
dialogue within the family.” It was also necessary, she added, for women
themselves to have greater awareness of their rights, which would help “empower
women to discover her role and capabilities.”
Dr. Jinan Usta, at the American
University of Beirut Medical Center, who specializes in family relationships
and domestic violence, agrees to a large extent with the study’s findings, but
also believes society is slowly progressing. While “the change is slow and
gradual, more education about roles and about respect of other human beings,”
is definitely needed, she said.
“Younger generations are much more willing to
adopt role’s traditionally assigned to the other gender, such as men helping in
the kitchen and changing babies’ diapers and women working and sharing in
household expenses and taking decisions at home.”http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Feb-21/164048-greater-awareness-of-gender-equality-needed-within-families-study.ashx#axzz1n0z4CCop
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