The Portrayal of Gender and Violence in Lebanese Curricula and Textbooks

The topic of gender/gender roles has gained interest among researchers and advocates of true equality between men and women across all fields in society.
Significant efforts have been made so that equality is reflected in applicable laws. This can also be said about violence (in all its forms), which may be gender-based, mainly targeting women who are viewed as weak, submissive and inferior in the eyes of perpetrators. In broader terms, violence is a widespread social and political phenomenon affecting communities, individuals, countries and nationalities, and imposing itself on national and international institutions given its negative repercussions. To address these two critical and influential topics in the Lebanese society, as in any other, it was imperative to examine the root causes of such destructive and unacceptable practices in a time of civilizational development worldwide.

That being said, the following two topics arise: gender and violence, especially at the level of curricula and textbooks used in Lebanese youth education, as officially adopted documents in this field. The “National and Civic Education”
subject for the third elementary cycle (Grades 7, 8 and 9) was selected for study and evaluation.