The Coalition of Women MPs from Arab Countries to Combat Violence against Women congratulates the Lebanese Parliament, Lebanese people, and Lebanese women on repealing Article 522 of the Penal Code, which discharges the rapist from penalty if he marries the victim. The Coalition hails the efforts of one of its founding members, The Chairperson of Women and Children Committee, MP. Gilbert Zoein, who had proposed a memo to repeal the article since 2007.

The Coalition also extends its deepest thanks and appreciation to the Lebanese Speaker of the House, H.E. Nabih Berri for his continuous efforts in supporting women’s issues. The coalition also values the efforts of the parliamentary committees and civil society.

The coalition will seek to exert all efforts to support the repeal of Article 398 of the Iraqi Penal Code that has similar contents. The coalition is proud that MP Intisar al-Jubouri, a founding member of the coalition, had proposed a memo to repeal this article. On this occasion, we would like to congratulate the Arab women on their recent victories by repealing Article 308 of the Jordanian Penal Code and canceling the same article in Tunisia. The Tunisian Parliament repealed the same article through passing a bill to Combat Violence against Women. Today, we are celebrating repealing Article 522 of the Lebanese Penal Code. These successes represent fundamental steps that must be completed to achieve equality at the level of criminal justice. Hence, the Coalition of Women MPs is committed to proceeding at the national and regional levels and building bridges with all the key actors to advance the status of women and society.