Women have taken part in a series of sessions of the United Nations General Assembly. Table 2 below shows the number of Libyan women taking part in the 53rd to 63rd sessions (1998-2008).7

Table 2

Number of Libyan women taking part in United Nations General Assembly

Date of session	Number of session	No. men	No. women
1998	53	16	1
1999	54	18	1
2000	55	16	2
2001	56	8	—
2002	57	—	—
2003	58	6	3
2004	59	12	2
2005	60	14	2
2006	61	17	3
2007	62	16	1
2008	63	8	2

In addition to the foregoing, Libyan women have taken part in numerous sessions of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York and in 2003 a Libyan woman chaired the United Nations International Human Rights Commission. They have also participated in many Arab, African and international meetings and conferences. Libyan women have assumed a number of diplomatic positions overseas, including those of the representative of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to the United Nations Office at Geneva and ambassador to Austria, Malta and the Netherlands. A woman currently holds the office of ambassador in Serbia, while many other women occupy various diplomatic positions in our embassies abroad.

Nationality

14. Please provide information on steps taken by the Higher Committee regarding the adoption of a rule that would allow a Libyan mother to transfer her nationality to her child. Please also indicate whether the current legislation allows Libyan women to transfer their nationality to their foreign husbands.

With respect to steps taken to allow Libyan women to transfer their nationality to their children, as decided by the Higher Committee, the Nationality Law does not differentiate between men and women under any circumstances with respect to the acquisition of nationality, because a woman has guarantees independently of her husband. She therefore retains her nationality after marriage, her family name and her financial independence.

In Law No. 18 of 1980 concerning nationality, pursuant to which (Libyan) Arab nationality is granted in accordance with the conditions and under the circumstances specified by the executive regulations, article 1 provides that citizens of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya have Arab nationality, while article 6 provides that an Arab woman who marries a foreign national shall retain her Arab nationality, unless she elects to acquire her husband’s nationality, in which case the relevant law shall apply. Should the marriage end, she shall reassume her Arab nationality, providing she forfeits her foreign nationality and duly informs the Secretary of the General People’s Committee for Justice.

With respect to stateless women, Law No. 7 of 1989 ratifies the following conventions, to which the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya is therefore bound:

1.Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

2.Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons.

3.Convention on the Nationality of Married Women.

The children of a Libyan woman married to a foreign man do not enjoy their mother’s nationality because, in accordance with norms and religious and genealogical concepts, children trace their ancestry to their father and acquire his nationality.

The Charter on the Rights and Duties of Women in Libyan Arab Society that was issued by the Second Women’s Liberation Conference that was held on 16 March 1997 states in article 20 that the children of a Libyan woman married to a foreign man enjoy all the same rights as Libyans, and in article 21, that Libyan women affirm the right of the children of a Libyan Arab woman married to an Arab to enjoy the same rights as Libyans and bear the same responsibilities. A nationality bill has been drafted that gives men and women equal rights in respect of nationality, without discrimination.

It is worth noting that Law No. 18 of 1980 concerning the provisions of the nationality law and its executive regulations guaranteed the rights of the children of Arabs married to citizens other than those of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to obtain nationality, in accordance with the conditions and precepts provided for in article 3 of the executive regulations, which accords that right to a child that has reached majority. Minor children do not have that right because, in accordance with religious and genealogical concepts, children trace their ancestry to their father and acquire his nationality.

Pursuant to Law No. 18 of 1980, article 2, and article 1 of the executive regulations, the non-Libyan husband of a Libyan woman may acquire Arab nationality, in accordance with the relevant conditions and precepts, if he is of Arab origin or a national of an Arab country. That right is not accorded to any husband of a Libyan woman who is not of Arab origin.

It should be noted that the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya is in the process of amending Law No. 15 of 1984 concerning marriage to non-Libyans, with a view to guaranteeing to Libyan women that any children they have by a non-Libyan man will have the right to acquire citizenship.

Education

15. Please provide updated information on the percentage of primary, secondary and university graduates who are females. Please indicate the dropout rates for women at all levels of education, as well as the major causes of girls and women discontinuing their education. Please also provide data and information on the education levels and access to education of women and girls from rural areas, minorities, including women from the Berber communities and women of non - Libyan nationalities.

According to the Secretariat of the General People’s Committee for Higher Education, there were 9,133 students in institutions of higher learning during the 2006-2007 academic year, of whom 2,916 were male and 6,217 female. The number of students in universities during the same period was 231,762, of whom 96,532 were male and 135,230 female. For further information, please refer to the table in the annex which shows the numbers of students and faculty at institutions of higher learning and universities for the academic year 2006-2007. Also attached are statistics from a CD-ROM prepared by the National Information Office which break down the figures for all regions of the country.

Employment

16. Please provide information on whether the State party has put in place a policy aimed at accelerating de facto equality of women in the area of employment. If so, please indicate what steps have been taken to implement this policy.

17. Please provide information and statistics on women’s labour force participation in the informal sector, including non-Libyan citizens. Please also describe the types of legal, social, or other services and protections available to women in the informal sector and any measures to increase their availability and accessibility.

The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya has adopted a number of legislative and executive measures to eliminate employment discrimination against women and guarantee them equal employment opportunities. They include the following:

(a)The Constitutional Proclamation of 11 December 1969, article 5, provides that all citizens are equal before the law. Article 4 provides that in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya work is a right, obligation and privilege of every able-bodied citizen. One article of the Great Green Document on Human Rights in the Age of the Masses states that work is a right and a duty for every individual to the best of his ability, individually or collectively with others, and that every individual has the right to choose the work best suited to him.

(b)The right to equal employment opportunities is contingent on fulfilment of qualifications for employment as provided for by the Labour Act, the Civil Service Act and employment regulations. Those include such qualifications as minimum age, medical fitness and good character and conduct. No distinction is made in that regard between men and women.

(c)Article 2 of General People’s Congress Decision No. 2 of 1988 concerning women’s employment regulations provides that work is a duty owed to society by able-bodied women. Women have the right to engage in occupations and jobs in any economic or social activity in society. They have the right to all professional and vocational training opportunities that such occupations or jobs might require. They have the right to choose a job consistent with their skills or wishes. They may choose part-time or full-time work. All that is regulated by legal provisions contained in the above-mentioned Decision.

(d)There is discrimination between men and women with respect to wages and benefits, and there is a right to equal pay for equal work, a right to equal treatment and evaluation of work, and an equal right to raises and promotions. That is regulated by a single law and a single set of regulations that are applied equally to all without discrimination.

(e)The right to social insurance in case of retirement, illness, old age or incapacity is guaranteed to all contributors to the social security system in accordance with Law No. 13 of 1980 concerning social security, specifically, article 1 thereof. Retirement age is set at 60 for women and 62 for men, given their respective natures.

(f)With regard to safety in the workplace, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya has promulgated the following legislation:

1.Law No. 65 of 1974 ratifying the Arab labour convention on the health and protection of workers and the protection of women;

2.Law No. 93 of 1976 on industrial safety and the protection of workers;

3.A Revolutionary Command Council Decision ratifying the International Labour Organization Convention concerning the Employment of Women before and after Childbirth.

The Labour Law (No. 58 of 1970) seeks to provide protection to working women and create suitable conditions for women given their childbearing responsibilities and other family duties. The Law provides for the following privileges, that are intended to protect working women:

•Women many not be employed in strenuous or hazardous jobs.

•Women’s working hours are limited. Women cannot be employed more than 48 hours a week, including overtime. Working hours during maternity are regulated by General People’s Congress Decision No. 164 of 1988, article 5, on the regulation of employment for Libyan Arab women, which provides for the part-time employment of women in the administrative, service and production sectors for four-hour daily shifts that fall during official working hours. Employers must coordinate the scheduling of shifts with women who work part-time. Working hours should not exceed four hours in a single day or 24 hours in a week, and may not be at night.

•Women may not be employed at night, between 2000 hours and 0700 hours, except in jobs and under conditions specified by the competent authorities.

•Working women who are nursing have the right to two half-hour periods per day for an 18-month period in order to nurse their infants. Those periods are to be counted as part of their working hours.

•Employers who employ 50 or more workers must provide day care facilities for the children of women employees.

•Women employees have a right to a fully paid maternity leave of three months. Women may not work in the 30 days subsequent to delivery. (That has been changed to 14 weeks in the new labour relations law.)

•Women may not be terminated from employment during maternity leave. That has been reaffirmed by the new labour relations law, which prohibits termination of a woman employee on grounds of pregnancy or childbirth.

The Civil Service Law (No. 55 of 1976) addresses the question of job security. It specifies conditions for retirement for women working in public institutions, companies and administrative agencies. The retirement age for women employees is 60. Retirement may take place at the age of 55 either at the woman employee’s own request or if the post in question is covered by a decision issued by the competent authorities. A pension must be paid for the rest of the employee’s life.

Health

18. Please provide information on the measures taken by the State party to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, including through sex education in schools and awareness - raising campaigns. Please also indicate the percentage of women and girls affected by HIV/AIDS as compared to the male population.

19. Please provide information and data on the access to health services for women and girls from rural areas, minorities and women of non-Libyan nationalities, including migrant women, as well as on maternal mortality and morbidity rates for all women, including trends over time.

The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya has taken effective health-care steps and measures and adopted a number of laws, starting with the Health Law (No. 106 of 1973), article 1 of which provides that health care is a right guaranteed to all citizens by the State, and that the Ministry of Health shall work to improve the level and quality of health and medical services to meet the needs of citizens and keep pace with scientific developments in accordance with the country’s development plans. The Ministry shall also supply medical clinics with the requisite technical staff. General People’s Congress Decision No. 24 of 1995 provides for the adoption of a national strategy to provide health care for all (see annex). Regulations on medical treatment were issued on 9 June 1975 by decision of the Council of Ministers, in implementation of article 1 of the Health Law, which provides that free medical treatment is the right of all citizens on an equal basis, and shall be provided by health clinics in the Jamahiriya.

Law No. 37 of 1975 ratified several International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions, including Conventions C102 concerning Minimum Standards of Social Security and C103 concerning Maternity Protection.

The Social Security Law (No. 13 of 1980), which was amended by Law No. 8 of 1985, provides in article 25 for several short-term benefits for contributors who are self-employed, including short-term cash payments to make up for estimated income lost as a result of temporary incapacity caused by illness, on-the-job injury or childbirth, including 100 per cent of estimated lost income for three full months prior to and after giving birth. Article 27 of the same law provides for lump-sum payments to which contributors are entitled in certain circumstances, which include a birth benefit. Table No. 3 below shows the value of the birth benefit for the years 2001-2006.

Table No. 3Value of the birth benefit in Libyan dinars for the years 2001-2006

	Year
Type of assistance	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	Total
Birth benefit	429 613	369 114	417 790	455 800	440 951	310 625	2 006 103

Average life expectancy for Libyan women has risen steadily over the past three decades. The 1995 Census indicates that life expectancy at birth for females was 66, compared with approximately 48 at the end of the 1960s, and close to 72 by the year 2000. By the same token, the maternal mortality rate has declined sharply, from 77 per 1,000 in 1983 to 40 per 1,000 in 2000.

The following figures may be taken as evidence that health services are provided fairly to all:

■80.8 per cent of women of reproductive age receive medical care.

■92.5 per cent of women of reproductive age receive general medical care.

■99.6 per cent of births take place in hospitals under medical supervision.

There is no significant difference between urban and rural areas with respect to the foregoing figures.

Furthermore, the first report of the Libyan National Family Health Survey of 2008, conducted as part of the Pan-Arab Project for Family Health that is being implemented by the League of Arab States with the cooperation of all Arab States, showed that 93.9 per cent of women were aware of HIV/AIDS, and that of those, 95.9 per cent had learned of it through visual media. It also showed that 53.3 per cent of clinics have educational material on HIV/AIDS available.

Rural women

20. Please provide updated information on any special programmes which have been developed to meet the needs of rural women, in particular in the area of education and vocational training. Please indicate what percentage of rural girls and women are enrolled in primary, secondary and university levels and how these percentages compare with urban enrolment.

21. Please indicate what specific provisions exist to ensure adequate living conditions for rural women, in particular with regard to access to safe drinking water. Please also provide information on steps taken to facilitate access of Amazigh women to safe water in the regions of Nefoussa and Zouara.

In keeping with the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya’s comprehensive development policies, it has placed particular importance on the development of rural areas through rural development centres. Such centres originally focused on rural development, but with the proliferation of educational and vocational institutions and the corresponding increase in the numbers of educated women graduates in rural areas, the development centres have been transformed into comprehensive vocational, economic and administrative training centres under the supervision of the Secretariat of the General People’s Committee for Manpower, Training and Employment.

The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya has taken significant measures to eliminate discrimination against women. It has been assisted in that endeavour by the Basic People’s Congresses throughout the country, which have given rural women the right to take part in development planning and implementation at all levels.

Rural women have the same access to education and vocational training as urban women. Surveys show that participation by rural women in the agricultural sector has become extremely rare. Not only have labour and production methods and techniques in the agricultural sector developed, but school enrolment has increased, with many rural girls moving on to secondary and higher education. Rural society is, increasingly, assuming urban characteristics.

We stress that there is no discrimination between rural women and men, or between rural and urban women, in access to education, training, health or social insurance services provided to State employees, or the social solidarity that cares for the weaker members of society.

There are no discriminatory barriers or restrictions on women obtaining agricultural loans, acquiring agricultural land, or engaging in any lawful disposal thereof, whether through sale, purchase, inheritance, gift, allocation by the State, compensation, or membership in agricultural and other cooperatives. Nor are there any barriers to rural women taking part in social activities, as is attested by their participation in all spheres of life and their presence in all fields of employment. They also take part in women’s associations and various other civic associations.

Marriage and family relations

22. Please provide information on steps taken to ensure equality between women and men in matters of personal status, in particular regarding marriage, divorce and inheritance.

23. Please indicate whether the State party is considering abolishing the practice of polygamy, in accordance with the Committee’s general recommendation No. 21 (1994) on equality in marriage and family relations.

Marriage contracts in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya are regulated by the Islamic sharia. The Constitutional Proclamation of 11 December 1969 provides in article 2 that Islam shall be the religion of the State. The Declaration of the Establishment of the People’s Authority of 2 March 1977 provides in paragraph 2 that the Holy Qur’an shall be the law of society in the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. The Great Green Charter on Human Rights in the Age of the Masses, principle 21, provides that marriage is an equal partnership between two equal parties, and that no one may marry another person without that person’s consent. Law No. 20 of 1991 on the enhancement of freedom, article 25, provides that every male and female citizen has the right to form a family on the basis of a marriage contract agreed by both parties.

Law No. 10 of 1984 regulating marriage, divorce and the effects thereof, article 8, provides that no man or woman shall be compelled to marry against his or her will. The fact that women’s marriages are contracted with the consent of guardians is consistent with that, because a marriage contract is a legal instrument governed by the Islamic sharia, and cannot compel a woman to marry against her will. If a woman’s guardian insists upon or refuses to agree to a marriage with no reasonable legal grounds, the woman has the right to appeal to the courts, and can be granted permission to contract marriage without her guardian’s approval. Under the same law, a woman may, just like a man, seek a divorce on grounds of abandonment or other type of injury.

In the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, men and women do not have the same rights and responsibilities during marriage and at its dissolution. The rights of a husband differ from those of a wife in accordance with Law No. 10 of 1984. Article 17 of that law provides that a woman has the right to expect her husband to do the following:

(a)To provide maintenance and associated expenses within the limits of the husband’s means in accordance with the provisions of that law;

(b)To permit her to dispose freely of her own wealth as she sees fit;

(c)To refrain from causing her physical or psychological harm.

Article 18 provides that a man has the right to expect his wife to do the following:

(a)To provide maintenance and associated expenses if the wife has means and the husband does not, in accordance with the provisions of that law;

(b)To attend to his comfort and physical and psychological well-being;

(c)To supervise, organize and maintain the marital home;

(d)To nurse, raise and protect their children, unless medically unfit to do so;

(e)To refrain from causing him physical or psychological harm.

Article 35 of the Law provides for the following rights and responsibilities in case of divorce:

(a)Divorce shall be by the agreement of both parties in each other’s presence or in the presence of duly authorized representatives;

(b)A divorce by mutual consent shall be certified by the competent court;

(c)If the two parties do not agree to a divorce, each of them has the right to sue for divorce before the appropriate court in accordance with the legal provisions in force.

The law specifies the following other cases in which divorce may be granted without the consent of both parties:

1.Divorce at the request of either spouse based on a claim of injury caused by the other (article 39);

2.Divorce at the request of the wife if she was unaware of the husband’s lack of means prior to the marriage, once he has been granted a reasonable period of time in which to improve his situation (article 40);

3.Divorce at the request of either spouse if some deficiency in the other prevents consummation of the marriage, regardless of whether that deficiency pre-dated or was subsequent to the conclusion of the contract (article 42);

4.Divorce at the request of the wife if the husband absents himself without a reasonable excuse, after he has been granted a reasonable period of time to return to his wife (article 43);

5.Divorce at the request of the wife if the husband abandons his wife for four or more months without cause (article 43).

Law No. 10 of 1984 on marriage, divorce and their effects contains provisions on eligibility for marriage, registration of contracts and the minimum age of marriage. Article six of that law provides as follows:

(a)To be eligible for marriage a person must be of sound mind and have attained the legal age of majority.

(b)To be eligible for marriage a person must be at least 20 years of age.

(c)A court may, with the consent of the guardian, approve a marriage before that age if it determines that there is a compelling interest or need.

(d)A person who marries in accordance with the preceding two provisions becomes eligible to litigate in respect of any matter relating to marriage and its effects.

Therefore, the law sets a minimum age for marriage.

Islam neither prohibits nor permits polygamy categorically. It pursues a middle way by placing limitations and conditions thereon. Law No. 9 of 1993 amended certain provisions of Law No. 10 of 1984 to make them consistent in spirit with the legislator’s restrictions on polygamy. There must be a compelling reason or need, such as prevention of harm, for permitting marriage to a second person. Article 1 of the aforementioned law on polygamy therefore includes provisions that require either the first wife’s consent before the competent court or a court ruling on an objection lodged by the first wife. If neither of those two conditions is met, the law considers the second marriage null and void and grants the first wife the right to demand that the second wife be divorced. It should be noted that the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya is in the process of amending some of its laws, including Law No. 10 of 1984, with a view to instituting even greater restrictions on polygamy in order to ensure that it occurs only when there is a compelling need.

Annex 1

Law No. 4 of 1990 concerning the national information and documentation system

This law provides that the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya shall have a national information and documentation system that provides access to all statistical data and documents. An institution was therefore established as the official body responsible for collecting and storing data and for analysing it using the newest technology. The data issued by the institution are of the greatest importance to decision makers, researchers and students in the fields of planning and development, and a valuable depository for the community.

The law on the establishment of the general institute for information

The institute was established pursuant to General People’s Congress decree No. 149 of 1993, which provided in paragraph 1 that a general institution should be established and called the National Institute for Information and Documentation. The institute was to have a legal personality and to be independent, under the authority of the General People’s Congress. Its headquarters were to be in Tripoli, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, and it could establish branches or offices.

That decree was amended by decree No. 7 of Libyan year 1373 (A.D. 2005), pursuant to which the National Institute for Information, Documentation and Communications was established. Pursuant to decree No. 116 of Libyan year 1374 (A.D. 2006), the name of the Institute was amended to National Institute for Information.

The responsibilities of the Institute:

•To implement and follow up the main decisions and conferences of the people in the fields of information and documentation.

•To collect and store data and documents, using scientific precepts, methods and means, and make them available to the public and private user.

•To establish national databases and resources in the fields of human resources, technology and other matters that reflect the experience and expertise of the Jamahiriya.

•To prepare and manage a reference database for documents with a unique file number, to be regularly updated.

•To develop and organize databases and information that will assist in decision-making and facilitate study, research and planning in economic, social, scientific and other fields.

•To prepare the national data guide.

•To organize the flow of data and information between the various information centres in the Jamahiriya and elsewhere.

•To propose and determine schedules for and ways of conducting social activities and determine schedules for and ways of disseminating their outcomes that will ensure their integrity, accuracy and suitability, make them more generally employed and reliable.

•To carry out the population census and other statistical operations and qualitative censuses; to take the measures necessary for those censuses in coordination with the relevant authorities.

•To prepare the Human Development Report, in accordance with the Millennium Development Goals and indicators.

•To document the literature of the revolution and collect and classify the related information and documentation.

•To prepare an atlas of development in the country, on the basis of economic and social sector indicators.

•To spread statistical awareness and improve the quality of statistics throughout the country.

•To contribute to the development of e-administration in keeping with the international system.

Annex 2

Statement on women’s rights and responsibilities in Libyan Arab society

First issued in Sabha on 16 March 1997

O Mankind, be conscious of your duty to your Lord, who created you from a single soul, created of like nature his mate and from the two created and spread many men and women, and be mindful of your duty to Allah whose name you appeal to one another and to (the ties of) the womb. Verily, Allah watches over you.

Quran. An-nisaa’ 4:1

While the female masses in Libyan Arab society live their lives in accordance with the Holy Quran, the sharia and the Green Book, they declare that the natural basis for the equality that has become firmly rooted in society in the Jamahiriya is clearly the right to self-determination, given that the ultimate goal in life for the human being is to be free and happy.

The female masses in Libyan Arab society believe that discrimination between men and women is a gross injustice and that freedom is sacrosanct and cannot be withheld. That belief is based on the precept that human freedom is inalienable, the pronouncement of Colonel Muammar Al-Qadhafi, leader of the glorious 1 September revolution, and the recommendations made at the conference on the liberation of women that was held in Sirt on 8 March 1996 under the slogan “Motherhood, productivity, struggle”, the aim of which was to equip women with freedom, knowledge and principles and outline their present and future lives, guided by holy Islamic principles. A further aim was to achieve the public interest by establishing dogmatic and scientific bases to enable women to take control of events both now and in the future and to exercise their authority, make choices, advance, oversee and direct, and eradicate all forms of injustice.

On the basis of the foregoing, Libyan women declare the true beginning of the exercise of their independence and their control over their social, legal, political and economic capacities, and release a liberation statement on the basis of the following principles:

1.Pursuant to the Great Green Document on Human Rights, women in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya enjoy the same rights as men, without differentiation.

2.Women in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya stress the absolute right to exercise authority in their own person at people’s conferences and in people’s committees, not through a representative. Democracy is the rule of the people, not the expression of the people.

3.In accordance with their capacities, expertise and efficiency, women have the right to occupy leadership positions, thereby ensuring the true participation in society of both men and women.

4.Women, with their intelligence, vision and standing, can be worthy pioneers in all social institutions and update the administrative and executive infrastructure that implements and follows up programmes and activities related to women’s issues.

5.Education and its type, and work and its type are issues that must be left up to the capacities and desires of women.

6.The role of women in struggle must be emphasized, with particular emphasis on their role in jihad.

7.Women in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya are obliged to undertake the duty of national defence: death for the homeland cannot be delegated.

8.Women constitute the foundations of the family, which is the nucleus of society. They therefore bear the burden of bringing up children that are capable of shouldering social, political and scientific responsibilities.

9.A married woman has the right to choose the situation that is most appropriate to her should her husband take another wife. That must not infringe her legal rights.

10.A married woman has the absolute right to her dowry. The sharia insists that it must be paid to her without delay: the husband must pay it as soon as it is due.

11.A woman’s right to enjoy independent wealth is legally guaranteed and must be respected. She has the right to buy, sell, own, pawn and deal as she wishes with her property in any legal manner, as provided for by the Islamic sharia.

12.The woman is a human being who has senses and feelings that are no different from those of a man. She must therefore enjoy equality and the same rights as a man, pursuant to the penal code that was issued by the Basic People’s Conferences.

13.Libyan women disdain treachery and view rape as a violation of dignity and chastity and an affront to the honour which is the foundation stone for constructing a virtuous society. Anything else is a shameful crime against which society must be protected by the punishment of the perpetrator.

14.The marriage contract is a document drawn up on the basis of equality and mutual satisfaction. Its termination must be agreed by the contractual parties or by legal order.

15.The Islamic sharia, on the basis of the Prophet’s practice, gives married women the right to terminate the marital relationship. Any limitations to that right are contrary to the sharia. If a woman exercises that right, she continues to have the right to care for her children, otherwise the natural role in life of women is abused.

16.A woman who is caring for children has the right to look after her children and grandchildren provided she fulfils the relevant legal conditions.

17.A divorced woman has the right, while caring for children, to obtain a family record booklet.

18.Women in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya affirm the need to establish special family courts, in order to expedite the resolution of such issues and carry out the relevant judgements.

19.Old age, disability, industrial accident and work-related disability benefits are guaranteed to both men and women equally. Both have equal right to security benefits when they have no means of support and in the case of disaster and emergency. The beneficiaries of a deceased woman enjoy the same rights as those of a deceased man.

20.On the basis that freedom is an inalienable human right for both men and women and in order to assert the humanity of the person in Libyan society, women assert their right to movement and to residence without condition or restriction.

21.The children of Libyan women married to other Arabs have the same rights and responsibilities as the children of Libyan men.

22.Libyan women are committed to the contents of this statement, which may not be departed from. Any act in contradiction of those principles and rights is a crime, and every woman may have recourse to the law should any of the rights and freedoms contained therein be infringed. The female masses undertake to issue a document guaranteeing the rights of women in Libyan society everywhere.

Issued in Sabha on 16 March 1997

Table 1 Distribution of the population over the age of 15 years (Libyan and non-Libyan nationals) working in every Sha’biya

	Employed persons over the age of 15 years
	Libyans		Non-Libyans
Sha’biya (Administrative district)	Male	Female	Total		Male	Female	Total
Al Batnan	30 865	16 448	47 313	3 337	332	3 669
Darnah
Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar
Al-Marj
Benghazi
Al-Waha
Al-Kufrah
Sirt
Misratah
Al-Marqab
Tripoli
Al-Jifarah
Zawiyah
Al-Nuqat Al-Khams
Al-Jabal Al-Gharbi
Nalut
Sabha
Wadi Al- Hayat
Marzuq
Ghat	4 166	2 851	7 017	807	41	848

Table 2 Number of students in institutes of higher education in 2006-2007

	Number of students
Institute	Male	Female	Total
Tripoli Health Institute	17	261	278
Benghazi Health Institute
Zahrah Health Institute
Al-Bayda Health Institute
Surman Health Institute
Gharyan Health Institute
Misratah Health Institute
Tobruk Health Institute
Ajdabiya Health Institute
Marzuq Health Institute
Sabratah Health Institute
Al-Qarabulli Health Institute
Sirt Health Institute
Hun Health Institute
Bani Walid Health Institute
Sabha Health Institute
Al-Jamil Health Institute
Wadi Al-Hayat Health Institute
Al-Marj Health Institute
Al-Shati Health Institute
Yafran Health Institute
Al-Kufrah Health Institute
Khums Health Institute
Tiji Health Institute
Jalu Health Institute
The Higher Institute for Medical Sciences
Hun Higher Institute for Engineering
Bani Walid Higher Institute for Electronics
Higher Institute for Civil Aviation and Meteorology
Misratah Higher Institute for Medical Technology
Al-Bayda Higher Institute for Sharia Law
Darnah Higher Institute for Medical Technology
Misratah Higher Institute for Technology
Total	2 916	6 217	9 133

Table 3 Number of Libyan students and classes in basic education levels in 2006-2007

	Class		Libyans
Year	Male	Female	Mixed	Total		Male	Female	Total
1	131	123	5 119	5 373	54 369	51 936	106 305
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Total	3 427	3 541	40 408	47 376	533 280	510 373	1 043 653

Table 4 Number of non-Libyan students and classes in basic education levels in 2006-2007

	Class		Non-Libyans
Year	Male	Female	Mixed	Total		Male	Female	Total
1	131	123	5 119	5 373	2 271	1 869	4 140
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Total	3 427	3 541	40 408	47 376	19 261	16 640	35 901

Source: National Centre for Planning and Education.

Table 5 Number of primary and middle schools by Sha ’ biya, 2006-2007

Sha’biya	Primary	Middle	Primary and middle	Total
Tripoli	256	81	31	368
Benghazi
Misratah
Sabha
Al-Nuqat Al-Khams
Al-Batnan
Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar
Al-Waha
Al-Marqab
Darnah
Al-Jufrah
Al-Kufrah
Wadi Al-Hayat
Jifarah
Marzuq
Sirt
Wadi Al-Shati
Zawiyah
Al-Marj
Nalut
Al-Jabal Al-Gharbi
Ghat
Total	3 154	807	337	4 298

Source: National Centre for Planning and Education.

Table 6 Number of students in the first, second and third years of specialized secondary education by department, 2006-2007

	Overall total
Department	Male	Female
Basic sciences	1 941	21 260
Social sciences
Economics
Engineering
English language
Arabic language
Life sciences
Sharia
Total	105 346	136 928

Source: National Centre for Planning and Education.