Ezzeddine Proposes Abolishing Marital Status Requirement for Diplomatic Corps Entry

Head of the Parliamentary Women and Children Committee, MP Aynaya Ezzeddine, announced that she "submitted a draft law aiming to abolish the marital status requirement imposed on female candidates seeking to join the diplomatic corps at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants."

Ezzeddine confirmed, following a meeting of the Parliamentary Women and Children Committee dedicated to discussing the draft law regulating private nursery operations, that research into the proposal would continue in the coming weeks. She stated that "this condition constitutes discrimination based on family status and contradicts the Lebanese Constitution and international conventions ratified by Lebanon."

She clarified that "the Civil Service Board announced a new competition to fill third-category positions in the diplomatic corps at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, including a condition requiring female candidates to be single," noting that "this condition dates back to the law issued in 1971 concerning the organization of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants."

She further considered that "this condition conflicts with the principles of equality and equal opportunity enshrined in the Lebanese Constitution, particularly paragraph 'C' of its preamble and Article 7, which states that all Lebanese are equal before the law, and Article 12, which guarantees every Lebanese citizen the right to hold public office, provided that preference is based on merit and competence."

She pointed out that "the Constitutional Council affirmed, in multiple decisions, that equality in holding public office is a constitutional principle," and highlighted "the conflict between the marital status requirement and Lebanon's international obligations, particularly International Labour Organization Convention No. 111, which emphasizes adopting policies aimed at eliminating provisions, legislation, and practices that undermine or limit the effectiveness of the principles of equality and equal opportunity."

Ezzeddine emphasized that "the aforementioned condition deprives married women of the right to apply for jobs solely due to their family status, regardless of their academic qualifications, professional competence, or fulfillment of other required conditions. It also leads to discrimination among female candidates themselves, as well as discrimination between women and men."

She expressed hope that "the draft law will proceed through its path to approval in the relevant committees to which it was referred, and subsequently in the General Assembly, thereby contributing to the removal of this discrimination and ensuring women's right to access public offices and participate equally in public and economic life."