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Vigil for four women killed in one week

21-12-2017

The campaign ‘kan fiha tkoun ana’ (It could have been me) fighting violence against women in Lebanon called for a candlelight vigil this Saturday December 23, 5 pm, in front of the National Museum, to commemorate the murder of four women during one week in different parts of Lebanon. The campaign, organized by feminist activists, considered that violent acts by men against women are not isolated incidents but reflect a systematic structural form of violence rooted in the macho mentality. Campaign participants expressed their grief over the death of the four women, voicing concern about their own fate in the wake of the latest killings. They also lamented the failure of the laws in deterring and penalizing perpetrators of such crimes, including verbal and physical abuse, rape and sexual harassment. To recall, the four victims are; Yumn Darwish (22 years), who was found dead on December 13, in the Akkari town of Arida, her husband is held for questioning; Nazira Tartousi (married, 15 years), found dead on December 15, in Jamous town, Akkar, news circulated that she committed suicide; the British diplomat, Rebecca Dykes, found dead and strangled after a rape attempt by a taxi driver, who is also detained for questioning, and Fatmeh Abu Hasaneh who was killed by her brother in law on December 18, in Mishmish, Akkar. (Al Akhbar, December 21, 2017)

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‘Women beyond the lens’ photo competition to unveil the realities of women

21-12-2017

The minister of state for women’s affairs, Jean Ogassapian, distributed during a ceremony held yesterday the prizes to the winners of the ‘women beyond the lens’ photo competition organized by his ministry. The photos spotlighted the reality of women in relation to the goals set by the ministry’s national strategy aimed to achieve gender equality. These are: Poverty; power and decision making; economy, employment and entrepreneurship; health; environment; natural crisis and disasters; legal reform; education; gender-based violence; media and culture; peace and security and institutional mechanisms. Participants in this competition were students from the various Lebanese universities. The event included an exhibition for the winning pictures and the distribution of the 2018 calendar featuring the selected photos. On the occasion, Ogassapian stressed the importance of the project as it portrays the true image of Lebanon which is that of education, progress, art and innovation. And in his address to the winning young men and women, the minister said: “You represent the hope for Lebanon and we rely on you in building a promising future abounding with your capacities that will contribute to the development of the country …”. (Al Mustaqbal, December 21, 2017)

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Lebanon ranks best in ME in terms of women’s integration in the workplace

20-12-2017

Lebanon came in the first place in the Middle East in terms of women integration in the workplace, according to the “Working women in the MENA region’ survey by Bayt.com, the leading Middle East job site, and the YouGov, the global online market research company. Data for the survey was collected online from October 26 to November 26, 2017 covering some 4053 female respondents in each of Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia and the UAE. Nearly 88% of the respondents in Lebanon reported having a mixed working environment between men and women, bringing the country to the lead in this field. A large majority of women in Lebanon (82%) said they were contented to work in a mixed setting, with two thirds (nearly 66%) saying they were extremely comfortable, 15% said they were neutral and only 2% claimed the environment was uncomfortable for them. This placed Lebanon first, regionally, in terms of female integration at work. And while three quarters (74%) of women respondents working in a mixed-gender environment said they had a male manager, 73% reported they have no gender-based references for the manager. On the number of working hours, nearly two thirds (64%) of respondents in Lebanon pointed out that they worked almost an equal number of hours as their men colleagues, 9% indicated that they worked less hours, 18% said they worked more hours and 10% had no answer. (An Nahar, December 20, 2017)

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Lazetta Abu Haidar Gefinor Rotana new sales director

20-12-2017

Gefinor Rotana Hotel, Lebanon, announced that it has appointed Lazetta Abu Haidar as its new sales director. Abu Haidar holds a bachelor degree in tourism and hotel management from the Lebanese University and a tour guide certificate from the ministry of tourism, a statement by the hotel said. She started her career in 1999 driven by a passion for the hospitality industry where she worked at the Holiday Inn - Dunes, in sales and marketing related positions. Abu Haidar joined Rotana hotels in 2006 as a director of sales but quit in 2011, to return after five years of taking care of her family, the statement went on to say. Abu Haidar is back filled with enthusiasm and greater focus on building strong corporate relations and a determination to promote the hotel’s brand in local and international outlets, in addition to playing an important role in the upcoming renovation plan of Gefinor Rotana, the statement added. Abu Haidar has proven competence for the new position largely reflected in her past efforts which inspired the hotel’s management to rehire her to guide it to more successes, thanks to her longstanding hospitality experience, the statement ended. (Al Mustaqbal, December 19, 2017)

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Christmas artisan fair in Dbayeh

20-12-2017

The president of the Federation of North Matn Municipalities, Mirna Murr Abu Sharaf, inaugurated yesterday the Christmas artisan fair at the Conference Palace Hall in Dbayeh, east of Beirut. More than 150 exhibitors from the various associations and municipalities of the area participated in the event. Murr stressed in her opening address the significance of the expo in the period of holidays, as it aims to promote and support handicrafts and artisan industries with all the hope it imparts to talented craftspersons. Moreover, Murr said, the exhibition “reflects attachment to the country’s traditions and the professions and trades of our ancestors.” Similarly, Miriam Saliba representing Btigrine municipality said she was happy to partake in a such an exceptional Christmas experience, describing it as a positive gesture by the North Matn municipalities. To recall, the artisan fair which runs until this evening, Wednesday December 20, from 5 pm to 10 pm, houses many booths showcasing food products, sweets, Christmas decoration items and hand-made garments. (An Nahar, December 20, 2017)

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Lebanese creative award goes to researcher, writer Fahmiya Sharafiddine

20-12-2017

The Lebanese writer and university researcher Fahmiya Sharafiddine received the Lebanese Creativity award for 2017 granted by the Lebanese Cultural Forum in Paris. To recall, that for the past two decades, the Forum has been presenting two respective annual symbolic prizes, for the Lebanese Creativity and the Arab Creativity that have gone to distinguished figures in the fields of arts and literature. On the occasion, the head of the Forum, Nabil Abu Chakra, told AFP that Sharafiddine is doing serious and modern work and anticipates the future in all that she does, adding that “she sincerely writes what she thinks, and has been given this award for all these special qualities,” Abu Chakra maintained. Dr. Sharafiddine teaches at the Lebanese University and is very well known as an advocate for human rights and for Arab women causes. Recently, she has staunchly fought for the rights of the Lebanese women to give nationality to their children, Abu Chakra said. Commenting on the award, Sharafiddine told AFP that it gave her an incentive to keep her work hoping that she truly deserves what she received. (An Nahar, December 20, 2017)

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Curie award goes to Lebanese Maud Kamal

19-12-2017

Maud Kamal, the scientist of Lebanese origin, received the first edition of the Curie award in recognition of her dynamic and distinguished work in medicine. The award marked the 150th anniversary of the birth of the pioneer Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist, Marie Curie. Kamal has been working for the past six years in fighting cancer at the Institut Curie hospital group which embraces nearly 33,000 researchers. Her daily tasks include, coordinating teams in various projects and monitoring patients, as well as, following up studies and drafting scientific reports. What enabled her to assume multiple missions has to do with her upbringing in Lebanon where she learned to be independent and responsible for herself, working and studying at the same time, Kamal told L’Orient Le Jour. She graduated in biology from the American University of Beirut (AUB) and followed up her studies in Canada before moving to France to complete her PhD in molecular biology from Universite Paris 12. She expressed pride in Lebanese women science researchers in various fields, especially since they were not as lucky to get the support she received. (L’Orient Le Jour, December 19, 2017)

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Ain Ebel women export carob molasses to the world

19-12-2017

In a special feature yesterday, Al Akhbar newspaper drew attention to the unique production of carob molasses by some 11 women working within the collectively-managed Agricultural and Food-Processing Cooperative of Ain Ebel, Bint Jbeil in the South, Al Akhbar wrote. The coop is the exclusive owner of a carob press in the region which has turned it into an authorized center for local farmers, agricultural associations and municipalities involved in carob tree cultivation. On the subject, the newspaper spoke to the leader of the above coop, Tamam Maroun, who stressed that “the female-run association has inspired many to cooperate with us.” Women, she said, guarantee hygiene, honesty in services against fraud and unfair trade prices, in addition good quality products. Maroun pointed out that most women in the nearby towns and villages would have had to move to urban areas because of scarce livelihood prospects. Suzy Farah, a co-partner in the coop, explained that it all started with a vocational training program implemented by YMCA in the liberated part of the South when 11 women beneficiaries have been shortlisted and have later in 2002 set up the said cooperative. Terese Atmeh, 71 years, also boasted that the coop has changed her life. But while financial gains from the coop are not high, the activity and networking have become unlimited in terms of expanding on the immediate local scene and also with cooperatives in Lebanon and the world, Al Akhbar wrote. The reputation of the southern carob molasses has reached as far as the pharmaceutical industry in Italy. To this effect, an Italian pharmaceutical company is importing carob seeds for pharmaceutical purposes, and another Italian research association is currently conducting a study on the benefits of the carob waste in agricultural composting, Al Akhbar said. (Al Akhbar, December 18, 2017)

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Calls for criminalization of sexual harassment in Jordan

18-12-2017

Al Hayat newspaper highlighted today the efforts by Women’s Solidarity Association of Jordan Institute through explicitly demanding the criminalization of sexual harassment in the penal code. The Association also appealed to civil society organizations and women and children rights advocates to adopt a clear strategy with specific sets of goals and actions to counter harassment, and also for the media to expose acts of sexual harassment and the risks they pose. A study by Mahmoud al Jundi published in 2014 by the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies and entitled, ‘Sexual harassment, a crime with no evidence’, concluded that 53% of Jordanian women have been sexually harassed. The study indicated that one of the most common forms of harassment is verbal harassment, followed by unwelcome touching or physical contact, unwanted sexual looks or gestures and finally, harassment through resorting to different forms of communication. Al Hayat newspaper mentioned another study portraying sexual harassment at the workplace conducted in 2013 by a research team from the Hashemite University in cooperation with the Canadian International Development Agency, CIDA’s Equal Opportunity Initiatives Program. The study has shown that 14% of Jordan’s working women are verbally harassed, 0.7% are harassed by physical touching and 8% are subjected to verbal abuse. On the subject, the Women’s Solidarity Association pressed the need to change the societal perception of sexual harassment victims whereby the focus would become on sexual harassers and abusers rather than on their victims. “This male chauvinist condemnation”, the association maintained, “prevents victims from reporting incidents and breaking the culture of silence and passivity around sexual assault which encourages sexual predators to repeat their offenses”. (For full article in Arabic, check: http://bit.ly/2ySICTu). (Al Hayat, December 18, 2017)

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The feminization of Iraq through renaming public spaces

18-12-2017

Following the recent suggested amendments of the personal status law in Iraq which provoked angry feminist reactions (https://goo.gl/3MaAXD), the National Group for Cultural Policies in Iraq launched the ‘Feminization of Iraq’ initiative which covers the complete official correspondence to this effect. The goal is to remind Iraqi members of Parliament of the importance of women and their role starting from celebrating creative or militant feminist figures, as well as, emerging or successful new experiences. The above group clarified in a statement that, as the news and press releases refer in writing to Iraq as masculine, the initiative extends a space for Iraqi women present in governmental and non-governmental institutions. It demands that the streets or town halls be named after distinguished women in the media or martyrs in countering terrorism, the statement said. To this effect, the initiative asked the municipal council of Karada district to name a street after the late architect Zaha Hadid, and requested from the administration of Hadid’s Rahibat al Takdima elementary school in central Karada to name one of the halls in her name. Also, Al Mansour municipal department proposed naming one of its streets after the fine artist Wadad Urfali. On the above initiative, the general coordinator of the National Group for Cultural Policies, Hussam Seray, disclosed that the first accomplishment of the group was the voting by the municipal council of Karada to honor Hadid with a street. The Group which was launched back in 2015, anticipates interaction and response to the initiative to the end of celebrating not only the names of late renowned women but also those of promising new talents, Seray explained. (Al Hayat, December 18, 2017)
                                                                                                                             
Previous related news:
UN urges Iraq to safeguard women’s rights
Conservative amendments of Iraqi personal status law draw feminist criticisms
 

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