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Al Farah Social Association, jointly with the Progressive Women Union – Shuf District and Food Heritage Foundation, organized last week a training course on food procession in B3aqleen under the supervision of expert trainers. The purpose is to empower women economically and create jobs, in addition to familiarizing them with required safety and quality standards. Around 20 women from the towns and villages of Manasef participated in the 3-day event during which they learned techniques to dry and preserve veggies and fruits, make food the traditional way (mouneh) and prepare healthy meals. On the occasion, agriculture engineer, Farah Abi Mosleh, from Al Farah Association, said the session is part of a series of activities launched in partnership with different societies with the aim to achieve self-sufficiency. She underlined the importance of similar workshops in creating jobs for women in food manufacturing, particularly the traditional Lebanese panty. Likewise, the head of the Progressive Women Union, Manal  Saeed, stressed the importance of the training course in introducing women to the criteria of food quality and safety in the preparation of mouneh recipes. To note, training will extend during the coming weeks to cover various other regions. (NNA, July 28, 2020)
 

Louna Abu Sweirih, from Gaza, the general director of the Arab Unity Studies Center, Beirut, since May 2017, will be the guest of Zahi Wehbe this coming Saturday on his program “Beit al Qassid”, Al Mayadeen channel, Al Akhbar reported today. Abu Sweirih, Al Akhbar reminded its readers, has worked at the United Nations for years before she resigned in order to express her political views free of pressure. She holds a master’s in public and international affairs from the US and an international development degree from the Netherlands. Wehbeh, according to Al Akhbar, will be asking his guest about several topics, including her outlook of a possible Arab unity and the liberation of Palestine as a persistent aspiration and goal? How she views resistance, and is it the only way for freeing Palestine. She will also speak about the reality of publishing in the Arab world. (Al Akhbar, July 24, 2020)
 

NCLW president, Claudine Aoun Rukuz, stressed in an article published today in An Nahar, that the subject of domestic violence has always been a priority for the Commission and for her, personally, as part of her advocacy for human rights, specifically women's rights. Choosing the headline, “Why we persist on proposed amendments to the Law on Protection of Women and Family Members from Domestic Violence,” Aoun said that NCLW’s efforts to protect women and children shall remain the core of struggle to achieve gender equality in the country. With the rise in domestic violence incidence during the coronavirus lockdown, the need arises, now more than anytime, to improve the said law, Aoun wrote, thus adding it to the July 22 meeting of the joint parliamentary committees. Aoun said she entrusts members of the legislature with improving the domestic violence law, urging them to place the provision of protection for the victims of domestic violence abuse, women and children, among their main concerns. In these dire times, Aoun concluded, our representatives should bear witness to the suffering of victims of domestic violence. (The article can be found on the following link: https://bit.ly/2WFENQ4). (An Nahar, July 22, 2020)
 

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that the Covid-19 pandemic could imperil the significant progress made by women over the past three decades in terms of reducing the economic gender gap. In a statement released yesterday, the IMF said women in the Mediterranean region are mostly affected because of they perform the larger part of unpaid domestic work, at a rate of 2.7 hours per week. Hence, it is of utmost importance that policymakers take measures to reduce the costs of coronavirus on women, the statement maintained. The IMF also stressed that the health crisis anticipated to cause a shrinking of the global GDP (by 4.9%), will weigh heavily on women more than men. Noting, that women occupy more jobs in industries largely hit by Covid-19, such as the services, retail and hotels sectors. In the USA alone, nearly 54% of women work in sectors that don’t support remote work, while about 67% of women in Brazil are unable to work remotely. The IMF statement hailed the Latin American Alliance, founded last April at the request of Colombia, Costa Rica and the Economic Commission for South America and the Caribbean, for promoting the status of women. It also praised steps taken by Italy, Austria, Portugal and Slovenia to grant paid leave, albeit partially, to parents of children under a specified age. (An Nahar, July 21, 2020)
 

In a special feature published today, An Nahar newspaper talked about women political participation, reminding its readers that in June 2020, 22 countries around the world had a woman president, prime minister or political advisor. In the fifties of the past century, An Nahar wrote, the participation of women in politics was uncommon. Today, however, they have forced their presence in decision-making positions, An Nahar said, while pointing out that the majority of countries referred to as great powers are largely patriarchal. Expounding on this, An Nahar wrote that in 1960, Sirima Bandaranaike in Ceylon (presently Sri-Lanka) became the first democratically elected woman head of government in modern history. She entered politics after the assassination of her husband, Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike who was shot and killed by an extremist Buddhist monk after serving three years since 1956. Sirima remained as head of the government until 1965, and assumed respectively two other terms in the same position between 1970 to 1977, and from 1994 to 2000 during the presidency of her daughter, Chandrika Kumaratunga. (More info on the following link: (https://bit.ly/2OHYS40). (An Nahar, July 20, 2020)