Earlier this year, Kholoud Succarieh and Nidal Darwich initiated Lebanon's first civil marriage [1]on Lebanese soil, in a country where only religious marriages could be contracted until then, and where civil status is administered by religious authorities. The couple argues that their contract is legal according to Lebanese law, and submitted it to the Interior Ministry.
Following contradictory information about the outcome of the submission of their marriage contract to the Ministry of Interior, Kholoud Sukkarieh contacted blogger Abir Ghattas to clarify some points about the status of their marriage. Ghattas posted this explanation [2] in her blog on February 14, 2013:
according to Kholoud: “the decision was not taken yet..it is not refused.while legally it is legislated“
On February 25, President of the Republic Michel Sleiman was following up on the issue according to a tweet [3] from the President:
@SleimanMichel: عرض سليمان مع وزير العدل موضوع تسجيل عقد زواج نضال وخلود والمراحل التي بلغتها هذه المسألة. #civilmarriageleb #lebanon #presidency
@SleimanMichel:: Sleiman discussed the issue of registering the marriage of Nidal and Kholoud with the Minister of Justice and the current status of the procedure #civilmarriageleb #lebanon #presidency
And in response to a question, Kholoud tweeted [4] an update more recently, explaining the marriage contract has been recognized by the Ministry of Justice but that they still need the recognition of the Ministry of Interior:
@KONi16: @RimaTarabay it was approved by justice but we need the interior to register it so we can get a family ID as husband and wife
More importantly perhaps, it looks like the couple is getting ready to welcome a new addition [5] to the family!
@KONi16: #happyday #happyheroes am becoming a mummy feeling happy with my pregnancy