UNICEF reports that worldwide, every year:
9M adolescent girls are subjected to forced sex and 12M girls are married before they turn 18.
The high numbers of girls forced into sex and in child marriages may stem from laws such as #Article522 of the Lebanese Penal Code.
9M adolescent girls are subjected to forced sex and 12M girls are married before they turn 18.
The high numbers of girls forced into sex and in child marriages may stem from laws such as #Article522 of the Lebanese Penal Code.
Article 522 states that any man convicted of sexual assault, abduction, or statutory rape could avoid the minimum punishments if a valid contract of marriage is provided.
Surprisingly, over 50 countries are known to have had these so-called “marry-your-rapist” laws. While some countries, including Lebanon have appealed this horrific law, many others have yet to provide this simple right to women.
Creative protests were necessary to bring Article 522 to the forefront of governmental debates. @AbaadMena accepted the challenge by staging a flash mob on November 13th, 2016 during Beirut's annual marathon which draws nearly 50,000 participants each year.
Their style of dress added depth to their protest, using the boxes to represent an abstract “jail” women were forced into when forced to marry their assailants.
“Can you imagine marrying the man who raped you? Having children with him? It’s like being raped for all your life!”
“Can you imagine marrying the man who raped you? Having children with him? It’s like being raped for all your life!”
The media buzz fizzled out quickly, perhaps due to societal norms. 73% of Lebanese view Article 522 as a reflection of the country’s superior concern for preserving familial honor over equal women’s rights. Afterall, it was only 20 years ago Lebanon criminalized honor killings.
It wasn’t until ABAAD’s strategic release of a video on November 29th, 2016 that the protest obtained significant media coverage. The video flew across social media under #undress522 while racking up over 3 million views within just a few short days
November 30th there was a second protest of battered women dressed in wedding gowns settled in front of Lebanon’s parliament. Shortly after the video release, Lebanon’s Prime Minister, @saadhariri, took to Twitter to announce his stance on the issue.
Lebanon’s Minister of State for Women’s Affairs (ironically, a man), @jeanoghassabian, denounced the law saying it was something “from the stone age”, and he has a point.
Article 522 was issued in Lebanon in 1943. Where did they get such a horrendous idea from? The French Napoleonic Code of 1810. Lebanon was under french mandate at the time, which also held a similar law (repealed in 1994).
As the government twiddle with the idea of abolition, 31 wedding dresses were hung by nooses at Beirut’s famous seafront during March 2017. They represented each of the 31 days a month women have their life and hope brutally snuffled out of them because of Article 522.
The strategic and skillful development of a creative protest combining advocacy, lobbying of stakeholders, and public sensitization of the topic enabled ABAAD to successfully convince the Lebanese government to finally abolish Article 522 on August 16th, 2017.
