Subscribe to newsletter

Custom Search 1

You are here

Home

News updates

Film Censorship bans same sex kiss scene

23-7-2018

An Nahar newspaper reported that Mount Lebanon Appeal Court’s ruling stating that homosexuality was not a felony (http://www.lkdg.org/node/17638) did not seemingly reach the film censorship authorities. The latter affiliated with the General Security and formed of representatives of concerned committees and ministries, has banned the screening of Calling ID, a student film directed by Charbel Raad, during the Lebanese Independent Film Festival (LIFF) in Metropolis Sofil. The reason is that it included a few seconds of a kiss between two male actors. Raad voiced regret over the continued restrictions imposed on Lebanese works of cinema in an era of freedom, promising to release his film soon in US movie theatres with the backing of LIFF. On the other hand, Helem association, the Legal Agenda, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Arab Foundation for Freedoms and Equality (AFE) lauded the recent decision of Mount Lebanon Court of Appeal that decriminalized homosexuality, and described it as indicative of a fresh outlook for the LGBT community in Lebanon. In this respect, HRW pointed out that with the imminent formation of a new cabinet, the Lebanese legislature have a duty to abolish Article 534 of the Penal Code which states that sexual acts that contradict the laws of nature are punishable by one month up to a year in prison and by a fine ranging from LBP 200 thousand and LBP one million. (An Nahar, July 21, 2018)

Share on

17 women to run for Bahraini elections

23-7-2018

Some 17 women from Bahrain expressed their willingness to run for parliamentary (Lower House) and municipal elections projected for next November, Al Ayyam reported on Saturday. The newspaper pointed out that the process of nomination of Bahraini women is in general independent, as political associations in the country exclude female candidates from their electoral lists, contrary to the Gathering of National Unity which recruited one woman back in 2014. MP Ro’ua Hayki and former MP Ibtisam Hajros reportedly plan to run for the upcoming elections, according to Al Ayyam, which wrote that to date, the capital Al Manama claims the largest share of female nominees, referring to six women candidates. To recall, during the previous 2014 parliamentary battle, 23 women ran for parliament and 10 women for the municipal council, of which only 7 women reached the second round of elections, three managed to reach the national assembly and one the municipal council. (Al Diyar, July 22, 2018)

Share on

Morocco appoints 299 women marriage notaries

23-7-2018

After the decision to allow women to participate in a state exam for the position of Mazoun (marriage notary) following a rare religious decree or fatwa issued last January to this end (c.f: https://goo.gl/aQPukx), the Moroccan ministry of justice announced on Saturday that it has recruited 299 women as legal notaries to register marriages from among the candidates. According to a statement published on the ministry’s official website, some 800 contestants passed the 2018 exam including 299 women, at a rate 37.38% against 501 males at 62.62%. The statement explained that this year’s competition is noted for endorsing females for the first time on par with their male peers in execution of the royal decree to this effect. The woman notary could from now on officiate contracts including marriages, divorces and legacy division, the statement added, describing the development as historic. (Al Hayat, July 22, 2018)

Share on

Butterfly Project to empower refugee girls in Lebanon

20-7-2018

Lebanese student at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, Firyal Birjawi, launched her humanitarian initiative the BetterFly Camp for which she was awarded the Lang Opportunity Scholarship to be funded as one of the best proposed projects by university students. The programme aims at raising awareness among refugee girls and motivate them to become pioneers of change in their own communities. The undertaking implemented in partnership with Smart Center kicked off in July 28 over a period of six weeks, and covers diverse educational and psychosocial support activities targeting 30 underprivileged adolescent girls from Syrian refugee camps in Lebanon, in addition to awareness sessions for their parents. Elucidating her project, Birjawi said participants were selected from Syrian and Palestinian refugee girls living in camps who at the start of the project have filled out questionnaires which showed that only 20 percent of them knew their rights, two thirds objected to the idea of sharing housework between the husband and wife and that half of the respondents believe the woman is not a key decision maker in matters related to marriage and reproduction. Birjawi pointed out that the project also seeks to spread awareness on sexual violence, sexual and reproductive health as well as enhancement of the beneficiaries’ physical and psychological safety. (Al Mustaqbal, July 20, 2018)

Share on

Women athletes in South Korea subject to harassment

20-7-2018

In its today’s edition, Al Akhbar newspaper wrote that despite South Korea’s repute as a global sporting power, however, society remains hierarchical and patriarchal in many respects, especially in the male dominated sports sector. The newspaper said many incidents including rape and sexual harassment clandestinely occur within sports camps and institutions, where many young women athletes are forced into silence because speaking up could mean an end to their aspirations to become sports stars, until a bold female athlete decided to go public. On this issue, Al Akhbar said, Kim Eun Hee, 27 years, recounted to an international news agency the repeated sexual assaults by trainers against their students, stating that she was only 10 years old dreaming of tennis stardom when her coach raped her for the first time. In a related context, a 2014 study by the Korean Sports & Olympic Committee has shown that one in seven female athletes were subjected to sexual harassment in the previous year, but that 70% did not seek help. For his part, a prominent sports commentator Chung Hee joon revealed that parents of underage victims refrain to press charges when faced with the question, do you want to see your child’s future as an athlete destroyed?. (Al Akhbar, July 20, 2018)

Share on

Veiled women barred from beach resorts

19-7-2018

In its issue of today, Al Akhbar newspaper reported that as usual every summer incidents related to racism and discrimination appear in beach resorts and pools. These places, Al Akhbar wrote, bar the entry of certain people based on their ethnicity, race or external appearance, pointing especially to the ban of the veil in some of these resorts even if the veiled woman simply wants to enjoy the sun, on the pretext that this is the institution’s internal policy! The newspaper recounted what happened to Ali Farhat and his family who were insulted when they attempted to enter La Siesta beach in Khaldeh south of Beirut. It started when one of the staff asked Ali: “Is this (veiled woman) with you?”, making clear that should he let her in, she should stay by the porch. What is important he said, is that she should not be seen by beach goers. In brief, Al Akhbar said, resort owners prevent veiled women from entering their property, and in case they agree, it will be reluctantly, and on condition they stay invisible! This is a clear discriminatory and demeaning attitude against a significant segment of the Lebanese society, and is simply an antipathy towards the looks of a muhajabah in water, Al Akhbar wrote, adding, this bigoted behavior continues in the absence of any deterrent action on part of the government. It concluded by saying, “All this carries on under the excuse, ‘the rules and regulations of the institution’, while noting that the beach access is a universal right for the public.” (Al Akhbar, July 19, 2018)

Share on

MP Dima Jamali promises Tripoli a sensible share from Cedar conference

18-7-2018

In its issue of today, Al Diyar newspaper published an interview with the only former and present member of Parliament from Tripoli, Future Movement MP Dima Jamali. The latter spoke about the appeal challenging the constitutionality of her victory in the elections filed by Naji Taha recruited on the list of Jam’iyyat al Mashari’ al Khayriyya al Islamiya, in addition to many economic and development undertakings planned for the northern capital. On the first issue, Jamali said she accepts any decision the State Shura Council renders, stressing that so far, all uncertain reports remain hearsay. Concerning the future projects for Tripoli, Jamali disclosed that the city has a balanced share from the Cedar donor conference, pointing out that prime minister Saad Hariri has prioritized this matter through a number of initiatives, including the construction of a large shopping mall anticipated to generate jobs and stimulate commercial activities in the city. Jamali also underlined the importance of Lebanon’s participation in the Conference on Sustainable Development in New York where the Lebanese delegation will present its first report on Lebanon’s commitment to the SDGs. Among the projects she is following up, Jamali also mentioned My Nationality is A Right For Me and My Family campaign, emphasizing the right of every Lebanese woman to grant nationality to her children without exception, in addition to the file of persons with special needs including the ratification of Law No. 220/200 which requires that all institutions integrate people with disabilities within them. (Al Diyar, July 18, 2018)

Share on

EU recommends to Lebanon women quota, equality

18-7-2018

The president of the EU Election Observation Mission Lebanon 2018, Elena Valenciano, presented in a press conference yesterday the Mission’s final report which she handed to President Michel Aoun, pointing out that the assessment was very constructive (cf: http://lkdg.org/ar/node/17636). The report put forward 25 recommendations, including six which Valenciano described as essential. These are related to: the women quota as a transitional step to ensure better representation for women in Parliament; enhancement of the principle of gender equality; adjustment of the nationality law to enable Lebanese women to confer nationality to their family members; reform of the law to give the Lebanese woman the freedom to choose whether to move her civil status to her husband’s hometown registry or not; increasing the financial and administrative freedom of the Elections Monitoring Committee with relation to the ministry of interior and amendment of the elections law in terms of free and impartial access to the media in order to guarantee the rights of citizens in accessing relevant data. For his part, the chief observer Jose Antonio De Gabriel sustained that the above report does not necessarily reflect the official position of the EU, but rather conveys the reality in the way the election process took place, including the casting of ballots by electors, registration of candidates, political parties, electoral campaigning and media coverage of elections, the participation of women and people with special needs, the performance of local and international observers, and all the process from the ballot box to vote counting, the announcement of results and the post-election atmosphere and recommendations. (For more about the recommendation in Arabic, please visit: https://bit.ly/2LpDE7r)

Share on

MP Geagea on honor crimes: women remain victims of archaic tribal system

18-7-2018

In her comment on the latest honor killings in the country, LF MP Sitrida Geagea said that Article 562 of the Penal Code which mitigates sentences for assailants in specific cases has been annulled in the texts but is still rooted in the souls and minds of some Lebanese, pointing that today as in the past, killing a woman displays itself as a means to reinstate the honor of some criminal mindsets. Geagea maintained that in the absence of official statistics on so called crimes of honor, the mere scanning of articles published in local journals is enough to expose the gravity of the situation, noting that while names change from one victim to another, the Lebanese woman is the scapegoat that carries away the ill doings of the felonious and obsolete family and clan system. In her reference to the recent murder of Rabia Hamiyeh, Geagea said she will not be the last victim unless effective and appropriate measures are taken to counter it. Speaking for the LF al-jomhouria-el-kawiya bloc, Geagea appealed to the Judiciary to be stricter in enforcing relevant court sentences and rulings and to severely penalize the perpetrators, calling on security forces to respond adequately to any complaint filed by a battered woman or any woman subjected to any form of violence. (An Nahar, Al Diyar, July 18, 2018)

Share on

Mount Lebanon Appeal Court: Homosexuality is not felony

17-7-2018

The Penal Court of Appeal in Mount Lebanon, Room 12, headed by Judge Randa Kfouri, ruled on July 12 acquitting two persons indicted with same sex charges. It considered that a relationship between homosexuals is not a crime if it did not take place in a public space or did not involve a minor who requires protection. The decision supports an earlier ruling by Judge Rabi’ Maalouf in 2017. In its comment on the decision, the Legal Agenda said it is a first from an appellate court and not by single criminal judges, hoping it will expand the circle of progressive judges who keep with social and scientific developments at all times, including prosecutors, in order to end the prosecution of homosexuals which, in itself, is a breach of fundamental human rights and freedoms that are protected by the Lebanese Constitution and by international conventions. To recall, four lawyers from the Legal Agenda have pleaded before the court at June 18 session and they are, Yumna Makhlouf, Nizar Saghieh, Gida Franjieh and Karim Namour. Makhlouf has asked the reverse of the appeal in line with Article 534 of the Lebanese Penal Code which stipulates that sexual acts against nature are punishable by one month up to a year in prison and a fine ranging from LBP 200,000 and LBP one million but which does not consider sexual orientation as criminal.(The Legal Agenda, L’Orient Le Jour, July 13, 16, 2018)

Share on

Pages


Subscribe to RSS - News updates