A woman’s testimony

• Sunnis: marriage is concluded in the presence of two adult witnesses, either two men or one man and two women.
• Shiites: marriage does not need witnesses; whereas proving marriage requires the testimony of two men.
• Druze: marriage can be concluded in presence of four male witnesses.

Unregistered marriage (Zawaj Orfi)

It is an unofficial marriage contract which fulfills all the legal requirements except for the Court’s former authorization (this contract is not officially registered in Court). For a wife to obtain her legal rights, she has to file proceedings to prove the marriage before the Sunni Sharia Court or the Druze Religious Court.

Temporary marriage (Zawaj Moutaa)

It is applicable only to the Shiite community. It is a marriage concluded under a limited term contract which does not provide women with any of the wife’s rights. She is only entitled to alimony when such is clearly stipulated in the contract.

Polygamy

It is only applicable to the Sunnis and the Shiites. However, contrarily to the Shiites, a Sunni woman may specifically include in the contract a clause forbidding the husband from taking a second wife; in which case the first or the second woman are considered divorcees, while the contract and the requirement remain valid. The wife could also ask for separation if the husband breaches the clauses of alimony and equality at home.