As I was walking in one of the many exhibitions held in Beirut, I bumped into an acquaintance of mine that I had met on Instagram.
I cannot really recall how we got into the subject of me being a single mother, but her question came to me as a shock: “Do you know who the father is?”
WHAAAAT???
To her defense, she has lived abroad most of her life, and in that part of the world one of the definitions of a single mother can be due to a one night stand where one is under heavy influence of alcohol and does not recall much of the evening up until the day comes and the woman finds out that she is knocked up!
Not really the scenario here, for somehow the men in our society consider their daughters and sisters to be untouched even when married.
This gave me the need to write about who single moms really are.
Well, we all know that a mom is someone that has birthed a child.
And the single part in single mom is an uncoupled woman.
So technically a single mother is someone that has lost her husband to death, divorced, or the less common situation in Lebanon, the country of my origins, is the unplanned pregnancy with a man who is not a partner.
Does this really sum up single mothers?
How about the case that has been all over the news the past week about a mother being imprisoned because she kept her baby boy with her after: ( bare with me here for I’m still trying to grasp the idea)
1- The boy is over 2 years which in Shiaa law gives the custody right to the father
2- The mother kept the boy with her hence got taken by the police and thrown in jail
But hang on a second here, isn’t divorce or separation in any form the first rule to custody rights?
for fact number 3- is: The boys parents, meaning the woman in jail is still married to the man claiming custody over the child, Yaani her HUSBAND!!!
I am really lost and confused, this woman is still married but falls under the penalties of divorce?
How is that even possible???
This got me realising that we are very ignorant regarding laws, our rights vs responsibilities when it comes to all of these “قانون الاحوال الشخصية” which translates as Law of Personal Status so i decided to team up with a few lawyers to learn and raise awareness regarding it.
I need your help here.
If anyone has any special question or wonders about any specific situation please do raise it for that is the only way we can cover as many topics as possible that are relevant to each and every single one of us.
Going back to the big title here, Single Mothers, regardless of the situation that has put the lady in that category, all I can say is that these women deserve all the respect and support that can be given.
Some are lost and in need of guidance, others are burdened and need to be heard and that is not to mention the emotional support that is vital for we are the softest creatures and nothing can make us feel better than lots and lots of love.
