Women in Lebanon have long been sidelined from formal political participation, despite their undeniable contributions to society, governance, and crisis response. This exclusion is not coincidental but the result of entrenched structural barriers that make political representation and leadership nearly unattainable. From the absence of a quota system to the overwhelming burden of unpaid care work, Lebanese women remain politically marginalized, even as they shoulder the weight of the country's socio-political crises.
The Absence of a Quota and the Erasure of Women from Politics
One of the most obvious obstacles to women’s political participation in Lebanon is the absence of a gender quota system that guarantees a minimum number of parliamentary seats for women. In contrast to many other countries in the region that have implemented quotas to ensure female representation in legislative bodies, Lebanon remains stubbornly resistant to such measures. As a result, women’s participation in Parliament has consistently hovered at minimal rates, with few female politicians often serving as the exception rather than the rule. Without structural guarantees, women are left to compete in an electoral system dominated by sectarian and patriarchal gatekeepers who rarely see them as viable candidates.
However, the exclusion of women from political decision-making extends beyond elections. In Lebanon’s public administration, women are significantly underrepresented in senior positions. Despite making up a considerable percentage of the civil service workforce, women are rarely appointed as director generals or ministers, effectively barring them from the highest echelons of policymaking. Their labor and expertise are systematically overlooked, reinforcing a cycle where men remain the dominant figures in both the political and bureaucratic spheres.
Unpaid Care Work: The Silent Barrier to Political Participation
Beyond formal exclusions, societal expectations regarding women’s roles further limit their ability to participate in politics. In Lebanon, as in much of the MENA region, unpaid care work is overwhelmingly assigned to women. The burden of childcare, elder care, and household responsibilities falls disproportionately on them, leaving little time or energy for political engagement. Politics, after all, is not only about winning elections or holding office, it requires an immense amount of time spent on networking, attending meetings, and engaging with communities.
Informal political institutions and networks, which are crucial to entering and sustaining a political career, remain largely inaccessible to women. These spaces are often male-dominated, opaque, and at times unsafe, further alienating women who wish to engage in public affairs. Female political aspirants must make double the effort such as balancing their care responsibilities at home while simultaneously fighting for a seat at the table in an exclusionary political system. For many, the choice becomes clear: either abandon political aspirations or sacrifice personal and family obligations in an unfair trade-off that men rarely if ever, face.
Women in Crisis: The Unrecognized Role in Peacebuilding
The exclusion of women from political power is even more glaring in the realm of conflict resolution and peacebuilding. Lebanon has experienced decades of instability, war, and socio-economic crises, with women often at the forefront of relief and recovery efforts. Women have been key actors in grassroots mobilization, humanitarian aid, and crisis management. They have shouldered the burden of ambiguous loss, navigating life with missing, detained, or deceased family members, while simultaneously assuming roles as heads of households in times of conflict.
Yet, despite their direct involvement in managing the consequences of war and instability, women are consistently absent from formal peacebuilding processes. Historically, negotiations, ceasefire agreements, and post-conflict reconstruction have been the domain of male elites, sidelining the very individuals who have worked tirelessly to hold communities together. The ongoing Israeli aggression against Lebanon since October 2023 is yet another reminder of this pattern. Women are on the frontlines, caring for displaced families, providing humanitarian aid, and mitigating the impact of violence, yet they remain absent from the formal political discourse shaping the country's response and future.
The Unrecognized Labor of Women in Politics
Lebanese women are not just absent from politics: they are merely unrecognized. They are active in civil society, in local governance, in crisis response, and in peacebuilding, yet they remain systematically excluded from formal power structures. Their labor is invisible, their contributions unacknowledged, and their potential deliberately stifled.
The conversation around women’s political participation in Lebanon must move beyond symbolic representation. Structural changes, such as gender quotas and reforms in public administration, are necessary to break the cycle of exclusion. Additionally, shifting cultural perceptions around unpaid care work and increasing support for women in political spaces are essential for ensuring that female leaders do not have to choose between their personal responsibilities and their political ambitions.
Women are already doing the work. It is time for the system to recognize, support, and elevate them to where they belong: at the center of decision-making, where their leadership is desperately needed.
By Sarah Al Bouery, senior researcher & gender specialist