The Campaign against the Lebanese rape-marriage law Article 522, officially known as "A White Dress Doesn't Cover the Rape", was launched by the Lebanese non-governmental organization Abaad MENA in December 2016. Its aim was to abolish Article 522 of the Lebanese Penal Code, which allows a man to avoid punishment for rape if he produces a valid marriage contract with the victim.Massena, Florence "Lebanese activists succeed in first step to repealing controversial 'rape law'" Al-Monitor, December 12, 2016. Accessed January 20, 2017. The campaign included street protests, the hashtag #Undress522 in social media, and a video of a raped women covered in bruises turned into a bride.
A month before the launching of the campaign, the NGODomat, Chloé "Campaign grows in Lebanon to abolish law enabling rapist to marry victim" Middle East Eye, December 29, 2016. Accessed March 12, 2017 executed a country-wide plan to raise awareness on the article, to which only 1% of Lebanese population were discerned of.
It is not the first time that Lebanon repeals a law considered to be against human rights.النهار "الموافقة على الغاء المادة ٥٢٢ من "العقوبات" مكسب لنساء لبنان... فماذا بعد؟" An-Nahar, December 7, 2016. Accessed March 10, 2017. Article 562 of the penal code was amended in 1999,Welchman, Lynn and Hossain, Sara (2005) Honour Crimes, Paradigms and Violence Against Women. London: Zed Books, pp. 117. which legalized honor killings whenever a man found his spouse, sister, ascendants or descendants in a situation of unlawful sexual intercourse.Welchman, Lynn and Hossain, Sara (2005) Honour Crimes, Paradigms and Violence Against Women. London: Zed Books, pp. 115. Furthermore, on April 1, 2014, the parliament passed a law with the aim to protect women against domestic violence.Massena, Florence "Lebanese women not safe despite domestic violence law" Al-Monitor, December 31, 2014. Accessed March 10, 2017. There are no accurate figures about sexual assaults on women since most women do not report due to the sensitivity of the topic.
Within the first few weeks of the campaign, influential figures expressed their support for the movement against Article 522; for example, Prime Minister Saad Hariri did so on his Twitter account.Human Rights Watch "Lebanon: Reform Rape Laws Prevent Rapists From Escaping Punishment by Marrying Victims" Human Rights Watch, December 19, 2016. Accessed January 21, 2017 Despite the fact that Lebanon ratified the 1979 United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women,United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. "Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women" UN Women, Last Updated December 28, 2007, Accessed March 3, 2017 and other international treaties such as the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, which supplements the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime,"Ratification of International Human Rights Treaties - Lebanon" University of Minnesota Human Rights Library. Accessed March 12, 2017. the country used to maintain what it has been described as ‘crimes of honor.’Welchman, Lynn and Hossain, Sara (2005) Honour Crimes, Paradigms and Violence Against Women. London: Zed Books, pp. 111.
In 2017, Lebanon abolished Article 522 and declared reexamination of Articles 505 and 518.
Article 522 of the Lebanese penal code During the Ottoman Empire, Lebanon was a region subject to Ottoman legislation, which was inspired by the French Penal Code of 1810. After World War I and the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon was established in the country. During this period, the Ottoman law continued to be applied until the creation of the Lebanese Penal Code in 1943, which was drawn from the French Penal Code of 1810.Welchman, Lynn and Hossain, Sara (2005) Honour Crimes, Paradigms and Violence Against Women. London: Zed Books, pp. 114-115.
Article 522 of Lebanese Penal code allowed men, who had been convicted of sexual assault, abduction, or statutory rape against a woman,Human Rights Watch "Lebanon: Reform Rape Laws" Human Rights Watch, December 19, 2016. Accessed February 19, 2017. to avoid penalty of no less than five years of hard labor if a valid contract of marriage could be provided. Article 522 was officially admitted to the Lebanese Penal Code in February 1948. Its original form stated: "If a valid contract of marriage is made between the perpetrator of any of the offenses mentioned in this section, and the victim, the prosecution is suspended. If judgment was already passed, the implementation of the punishment is suspended."Equality Now "Ending Sex Discrimination in the Law" Equality Now, January 2015, Accessed February 19, 2017. Original;
In December 2016, the Lebanese Parliamentary Committee for Administration and Justice made the announcement that an agreement had been made to repeal Article 522 from the Lebanese penal code. For the law to be repealed, the parliament has to confirm the committee's decision.
On August 16, 2017, Parliament abolished Article 522.
Activism "A White Dress Doesn't Cover the Rape" did not only aim abolishing Article 522, but it also defended the right of victims who refuse to marry their rapist. The campaign also intended to eliminate stigmatization and shaming regarding rape. The campaign sought to gain cooperation by raising awareness of the distinction between rape as a crime and what society views as honor. It also stressed that forced marriage legitimizes sexual assault against women.
On November 13, 2016, Abaad MENAAbaad and Arab Institute for Human Rights "Regional seminar on Child Marriage during democratic transition and armed conflict" 2015, Accessed March 12, 2017 organized a flashmob coinciding with the 14th edition of the Beirut Marathon. Dozens of girls and women marched wearing white T-shirts that read in Arabic and/or English "Abolish #522." The participants had their heads covered with white boxes and held pink balloons with the slogan "الإغتصاب جريمة" (rape is a crime). The activists were led by participants while playing drums and a banner in Arabic with the same slogan on their T-shirts and balloons.ABAAD's Flashmob at the Marathon Accessed March 3, 2017.
Abaad MENA was founded in 2011 in Beirut, Lebanon. They work on gender equality as a sustainable economic and social development in the MENA region. Abaad MENA seeks to promote women's participation through policy development. It has a network of activists, social workers and lawyers who work on issues which marginalized groups encounter in the Lebanese societyPeace Direct "ABAAD (Dimensions) Lebanon" Insight on Conflict, January 2017, Accessed January 20, 2017
On November 30, 2016, a woman dressed like a bride with bruises covered in blood stained bandages stood in front of the Parliament of Lebanon in Downtown Beirut, where the Administration and Justice Committee was discussing the draft law to abolish Article 522.Obeid, Ghinwa "MPs discuss abolishing law protecting rapists who marry their victims" The Daily Star Lebanon December 1, 2016. Accessed February 20, 2017. Abaad MENA organized a similar public protest on December 6, 2016, in which around a dozen of women gathered in front of the Parliament wearing white dresses and bandages around their eyes, hands and knees stained with fake blood. The activists held banners that read "الأبيض ما بيغطّي الإغتصاب / White won't cover rape," "نعم لإلغاءالمادة 522 / Yes to abolition of Article 522," and "ما تلبسونا ٥٢٢# / #Undress522."
A week before the street protest on December 6, Abaad MENA released a video directed by Danielle Rizkallah and according to the director, the video was conceived to start with a rape and finish with another one.C.H. "#undress522 : la claque" L'Orient-Le Jour, December 2, 2016. Accessed February 18, 2017. The video shows a naked woman on the ground dragged by different hands that cover her bruises with white bandages until she ends up dressed like a bride. In the end, there is a message displayed in Arabic that reads "Article 522 of the Lebanese Penal Code exempts the rapist of its prosecution if he marries his victim." Finally, the model screams and another two messages in Arabic appear, the first reads "White doesn't cover the rape" and the second "#Undress522."
The campaign also activated #Undress522 on Social media. The same hashtag has been employed to set up a petition webpage against Article 522. The supporters of the campaign can sign the petition to abolish the law.
In March 2017, the sculptor Mireille Honein hung 31 wedding dresses in Beirut's Corniche to denounce that every day women are raped and forced into marriage. The dresses were made of paper and hung from nooses between four palm trees.
Media coverage Although the Lebanese Forces MP Elie Keyrouz had suggested the annulment of law 522 in July 2016,The Daily Star "Parliament panel postpones discussion on controversial rape law" The Daily Star November 30, 2016. Accessed February 20, 2017. the media specifically focused its attention on the campaign after the Abaad MENA's public demonstrations. The NGO's first public appearance on November 13 went almost unnoticed, as well as the protest carried out by one activist in front of the parliament when the MPs were discussing the draft law. An increased attention of both national and international media arose when Abaad MENA organized the protest of around a dozen women in front of the Parliament in December when the video directed by Danielle Rizkallah was released. Furthermore, local media such as The Daily Star (Lebanon) reported other related aspects of the campaign like the declarations of MP Robert Ghanem, chair of Parliament's Administration and Justice Committee before the Parliament's examination of the law,Obeid, Ghinwa "Fate of 'rape law' to be determined in decisive session" The Daily Star Lebanon December 7, 2016. Accessed February 20, 2017. the declarations of a lawyer working in Abaad MENA once the Committee guaranteed the reviewing of the article,Obeid, Ghinwa and Khaledl, Hanan "Committee agrees to abolish 'rape law'" The Daily Star Lebanon December 8, 2016. Accessed February 20, 2017. and the reexamination in February 2017 of the so-called "Assaults on Honor" from Articles 503 to 522. Moreover, the French-language daily newspaper L'Orient-Le Jour conducted an interview with Danielle Rizkallah shortly after the video was published on social media. The newspaper also reported the deputies' statements regarding the reviewing of the article and their participation in the protests launched by the NGO.OLJ "Un sit-in de Abaad, pour que les violeurs n'échappent plus à la condamnation" L'Orient-Le Jour December 1, 2016. Accessed February 20, 2017. The newspaper reported the amendments of Articles 503 to 521 along the two exemptions to which Article 522 are still applicable.OLJ "L'article 522 abrogé, mais ses effets maintenus dans deux situations" L'Orient-Le Jour February 16, 2016. Accessed February 20, 2017.