Proposal for a ministry for women affairs to tackle equality issues in Lebanon

Future Lebanon association, in coordination with the Middle East Office of the Francophone University Agency in the Middle East (AUF), organized a round table to discuss the possibility of setting up a ministry for women’s affairs in Lebanon. The event which took place in UNESCO Palace in Beirut, under the title of “Political Commitment of Women, a Prospect for Democracy”, was run by former Jordanian Minister for Women’s Affairs, Nadia Hashem Al 3aloul, Dean of the Higher Institute of Law in the Middle East, Professor Leila Saadeh, AUF Middle East Office Director, Professor Hervy Saburan, and Chairman of Future Lebanon, Lawyer Patricia Smida, and in the presence of Jordan Ambassador to Lebanon, Nabil Masarweh. In the opening session, Saburan revealed the formation of a network to promote the access of women to leadership positions. The new network, Saburan said, will be headed by Professor Saadeh with the aim to enhance those values which help to support women against general public indifference. For her part, Saadeh outlined two main proposals: the first is commitment to women’s active participation in political life as a prospect for democracy and the second is the creation of a ministry for women’s affairs in Lebanon. Smida emphasised the need for such a ministry, which will be entrusted with the development of equal opportunity policy that will be imbedded in the constitution. She went on to say that most of the current Lebanese laws are discriminatory against women, adding, that Afghanistan, Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, France and England, all have such ministries for women affairs. She noted that women have repetitively proven that they are capable of leading the nation, while underlying that the law is not the obstacle, but the absence of a political will is. Finally and in her presentation, Al 3aloul focused on women’s achievements adding that the round table meeting is part of a campaign to support and empower women, politically, socially and economically. She also presented a quick review of Arab women struggles throughout history. (Al Diyar, Al Mustaqbal, 13 March 2015)