Subscribe to newsletter

Custom Search 1

You are here

Home

News updates

Partnership between local associations and women MPs

10-7-2018

The Lebanese League for Women in Business (LLWB) and Stand For Women association organized a panel discussion yesterday entitled ‘Partnership between local community associations and women in parliament’ which hosted the minister of state for administrative development affairs, Inaya Izzedine, and MP Dima Jamali. The discussion centered around controversial issues that elected women MPs could face and the significance of their appointment in dynamic parliamentary committees, including committees for finance, budget, education, culture, economy, industry and planning. Izzedine and Jamali outlined their first experience as women members of the Legislature, and expounded their role in terms of forming a pressure group that seeks reform and the enforcement of fair laws, in addition to, benefiting from parliamentary skills to promote gender equality and address the just causes aimed to advance the status of women in Lebanon. Both MPs stressed the importance of similar panels that bring together the private sector and civil society to the end of promoting women’s issues and achieving concrete progressive actions. (An Nahar, Al Akhbar, July 10, 2018) 
 

Previous related news: 
Lebanese women MPs’ agendas
Only six women candidates voted to Parliament
 

Share on

Decision to deport battered Kenyan MWDW cancelled

9-7-2018

In a statement issued last week, the Anti-Racism Movement (ARM) asked the General Security and the Ministry of Justice to suspend a decision taken earlier on July 2 to deport a Kenyan migrant domestic worker who was beaten last June along with her national by a man found to be a military in the neighborhood of Burj Hammoud (c.f: https://bit.ly/2m1Z3J1). The statement said that the violation is not only restricted to downplaying the incident as a minor assault, but also to detaining the two MWDWs and denying them the right to appoint an attorney to prosecute the thugs and defend themselves by extraditing one of them and keeping the other in detention. The incident, the statement went on to say, constitutes a clear infringement on human rights, including the right to self-defense. Similarly, Amnesty International stated that the GS decision demonstrates the injustice practiced against MWDWs in Lebanon, demanding the presence of a lawyer at the court hearings. In turn, the General Security issued a statement in which it did not deny the deportation decision, but clarified that the Kenyan women have defied the residency regulations, adding that, one of them who has children from a Lebanese husband has been released pending her status is legally settled, while keeping the other in custody. According to Al Akhbar newspaper, the GS has withdrawn its deportation ruling on Friday, while the defendant is still under arrest for not possessing legal papers. (Al Akhbar, July 7, 8, 2018)

 

Previous related news:
Two Kenyan women subjected by a military to physical violence in Burj Hammoud
 

Share on

Cynthia Asmar appointed chief representative of Standard Chartered in Lebanon

6-7-2018

Standard Chartered said it has appointed Cynthia Asmar as its new chief representative of operations in Lebanon. Asmar to recall has more than 20 years of banking experience and has held many senior posts in commercial and financial institutions, besides her extensive experience in strategy development, business growth and relationship management. On the appointment, the Middle East CEO of Standard Chartered commented: “I am pleased to welcome Cynthia Asmar as the new chief representative for our business in Lebanon,” adding, “through her leadership, Asmar will seek to consolidate and deepen relations with our partners and decision makers in the country. She will also be responsible for boosting Lebanon’s position as an active market within the group.” Meanwhile, the Association for the Promotion and Exhibition of the Arts in Lebanon (APEAL) announced in a press conference yesterday the names of three winners out of 18 talented female students who were selected to receive the APEAL/ Maria Geagea Arida Scholarship for the Academic Year 2018 due to their distinguished academic performance, professional excellence and pioneering artistic skills. The three winners are: Philipa Dahrouj and Natasha Gasparian, who will be admitted to the Masters program in Art history and Curation at AUB, and Nadia Asfour who will be admitted to Harvard University for a Masters program in Art Design and Public Domain. (An Nahar, July 6, 2018)

Share on

Working 45 hours a week increases the risk of diabetes in women

6-7-2018

A recent study by researchers from the University of Toronto and St Michael’s Hospital in Canada has shown that working over 45 hours in a week could increase the risk of diabetes type 2 in women, while it protects men against the disease, An Nahar reported today. On the study, Dr. Mahee Gilbert-Ouimet head of the research team said that findings have been reached after tracking the health of 2,065 workers aged between 35 to 74 years over a period of 12 years, noting that it is the first time researchers study the extent to which long working hours contributed to developing Type 2 diabetes. Gilbert-Ouimet also maintained that 10% of participants in the study developed Type 2 diabetes, noting that the risk to develop the disease was rare among men, and rarely was it associated with their lifestyle. As for women, the study showed that those who usually work 45 hours or more a week had a 63% higher risk than women who work between 35 to 40 hours. (An Nahar, July 6, 2018)

Share on

International campaign to change personal status law

6-7-2018

The Women’s Learning Partnership (WLP) held on Saturday a consultative meeting organized and hosted by the Collective for Research & Training on Development-Action (CRTDA) in the presence of concerned stakeholders. The purpose of the meeting was to launch an international campaign ‘Gender equality begins in the family” seeking to reform the discriminatory personal status laws and family laws across the globe and standardize them in conformity with the relevant international conventions on human rights and women. Participants noted that current laws curtail the freedom of millions of women and girls and fosters violence against them in many forms, including: child marriage, domestic violence, reproductive rights and health, divorce, children custody and other related violations. The meeting discussed upcoming moves by the above campaign and the basic messages or lessons it carries. It was agreed also that the amendment of personal status laws was an essential step to bring about real change that is supportive of women’s rights and that fights violence and all forms of discrimination and prejudices against them in order to attain a world of justice and equality. (An Nahar, July 4, 2018)

Share on

First woman mayor of Tunisian capital, youngest woman of Turkish Parliament

4-7-2018

Souad Abdel Rahim which topped the list of An Nahda Islamic party in the recent municipal elections, was elected yesterday as mayor of the capital Tunis, to become the first time women to hold the post. Abdel Rahim, 54 years, who manages a pharmaceutical company, is a former lawmaker for An Nahda party and has contributed to drafting her country’s new constitution. In a brief statement, Abdel Rahim described her victory as a pride for every Tunisian woman and a triumph for all the women of Tunisia. “I extend it to all Tunisian citizens and to the Tunisian woman… to all the women of my country and the Tunisian youth,” she said. Meanwhile in Turkey, 20 year old Kurdish woman, Dersim Dag, became Turkey’s youngest member of Parliament in the history of modern Turkey. To recall, Dag who entered the parliament as deputy for the Peoples’ Democratic Party in the Diar Bakir city of Kurdish majority, pledged to be the voice of the youth and women in the legislature. Elucidating her engagement in the world of politics at a young age, Dag said political persecution was the key motive. The absence of representatives of young people in the assembly and the very few women out there who can represent their peers were among the reasons which prompted her to consider taking this difficult road. (Al Diyar, Al Mustaqbal, July 4, 2018)

Share on

Women in Sawwaneh learn traditional soap making

4-7-2018

In coordination with UNIFIL, the Better Society association in the southern town of Sawwaneh organized last week a training session on traditional soap making for the benefit of 20 residents in addition to women in the Indonesian, Spanish and Nepalese battalions in the UNIFIL. The trainer, engineer Mariam Fakih, praised the contribution of UNIFIL forces in the workshop and similar programs to the end of enhancing local communities within the area of operation of UNIFIL in South Lebanon. For his part, the head of the Military and Civil Cooperation Unit in the Indonesian battalion pointed out that the training course provides mutual benefits, increases the economic capacities of locals and allows UNIFIL soldiers to acquire knowledge and life skills. (Al Mustaqbal, July 4, 2018)

Share on

Labor reiterates its warning to MWDWs recruitment companies and employers

2-7-2018

In a statement issued on June 30, the ministry of labor repeatedly warned employers and offices recruiting domestic workers (MWDWs) against eceiving any direct or indirect payments from workers. The statement said the ministry has learned that some employers and recruitment agencies are still getting the monthly salaries of workers for the first months of their work. This new circular which comes after 5 months from a similar official warning (c.f: https://bit.ly/2Hj7yYj) by the ministry, made clear that any violations of provisions of this circular will be faced with maximum punitive measures up to cancelling the license of the non-compliant party or putting it on the blacklist. (Annahar 30 June 2018)

Share on

Yasmin Idriss launches ‘Solana footwear’ to inspire young designers

29-6-2018

The founder of Solana footwear Yasmine Idriss took part in Beirut Design Week (June 22 and 29) through an exhibition held at Kalei café in Beirut’s neighborhood of Mar Mkhail. The event, according to Idriss, was launched from the Lebanese capital to encourage young designers and prop the national industry. The exhibition, she said, highlights national heritage, the alphabet legacy and the Lebanese folk dance, the dabke, which were all displayed in the designs of participating stylists. Idriss stressed the aim of the event which is to promote the image of Lebanon as reflected in the eyes of its artists and creative people and not as commercially publicized. Designers like, Jad Khoury, Tracy Shahwan, Sarah Odeimi, Lucien Baradi’ and Leen Atmeh executed their designs on shoes originally made by Lebanese artisans. Idriss maintained that besides the above aims, she seeks through Solana brand to make charity as part of her action plan by contributing nearly 5% of the proceeds of the exhibition to Malaak organization for helping Lebanese and educating Syrian refugees. (AL Mustaqbal, June 29, 2018)

Share on

Saudi Shoura blocks women from defense posts

29-6-2018

The Saudi Shoura Council rejected in its Tuesday session a recommendation submitted by the security committee to the annual defense ministry report which called for studying the availability of a number of specialized military posts for qualified women at different levels according to the needs of the ministry. 59 Shoura members said yes, 55 rejected and 11 abstained from voting, according to Okaz local newspaper. Those who opposed argued that the committee’s drafting was general, Okaz said. To recall, the security committee has adopted a recommendation presented by two Shoura members, Iqbal Darandari and Ahmad Aswad, which read the following: ‘Opening vacancies for females in the defense ministry’s military schools and the gradual acceptance of females in military posts in accordance with 2030 Vision.’ The vision of the Kingdom for the year 2030, the recommendation said, has upheld the empowerment of Saudi women, increasing their active participation at all levels and treating them equally with men to the end of achieving renaissance in Saudi Arabia. The above MPs cited successful experiences by other ministries, namely the ministry of national guard, in the appointment and training of border guard inspectors of the rank of soldier, as well as, the ministry of interior, which recently announced vacant posts for women in the traffic, road security, security patrols, regional police, Hajj and Omra security, weapons and explosives and finally, in intellectual and moral counselling departments. (Al Diyar, June 29, 2018)

Share on

Pages


Subscribe to RSS - News updates