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Four women appointed members of Qatari Shura Council

10-11-2017

The Prince of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani issued yesterday an emiri decree renewing the membership of a number of Shura Council members (Parliament) and appointing 28 new members including 4 women for the first time in the history of the country. The women appointed are, Hessa Jaber, previously communications and IT minister, Aisha Mana’I, director of the Muhammad Bin Hamad Al Thani Center for Muslim Contribution to Civilization affiliated with Hamad Bin Khalifa University, member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, Hind Muftah, Vice President of Administration and Finance at the Doha Institute, and Reem Mansouri, Assistant Undersecretary for the Digital Society Development Sector. To note, the Shura Council is Qatar’s legislative body and consultative assembly, with 45 members. Some of its tasks include, drafting and discussing proposed legislation, decrees, the general state policy across economic, political and administrative areas referred to it from the Council of Ministers and discussing the draft budget of the main public projects. )AL Mustaqbal, November 10,2017(

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Syrian women demonstrate their presence in senior and sensitive positions

9-11-2017

AL Hayat daily published a feature on the role of Syrian women in leadership positions who were and still are racing to participate in the cultural and political life of their country. Syrian women, Al Hayat wrote, continued their struggle to reach select decision-making positions notwithstanding the blackout by media and society on their presence and efficiency and despite the backwardness enforced by political Islam and the rising influence of religion at the end of last century. In this respect, Al Hayat recorded a number of high-profile government and public jobs attained by Syrian women, especially that Syria stood out as the sole country in the region to appoint women for the following posts: deputy president of the republic; advisor to the president; parliament speaker (Dr. Hadiya Abbas) in the last legislative session of the Syrian house of representatives following April 2016 elections; head of the Consumer Protection Association for Damascus, (Dr. Sarab Uthman); and president of the Central Control and Inspection Authority (Judge Amneh Shammat). The share of women judges in the Judiciary, AL Hayat went on to say, reached 30% by midyear, and 75% in the Damascus courts of appeal, in the forefront of which came advisor Khadija Badrakhan as first-time president of the court of appeal; Judge Salwa Qadib as head of the Judicial Inspection, and Judge Zahira Bashmani who was appointed, by virtue of a presidential decree to head the Counter Terrorism Court. In conclusion, the newspaper argued that the presence of females in key positions does not reflect the true reality of Syrian women. However, it can be understood as an unprecedented step, in the sense that Syria is the first Arab or Islamic state to give women access to senior-level posts. It is more of a determination on part of the government rather than a progressive recognition of women by these governments who do not hesitate to invest in the presence or absenteeism of women in decision-making positions for their own interests. (Al Hayat, November 9, 2017)

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Sub-parliamentary committee to study drafts on marriage of minors

9-11-2017

The Parliamentary Justice and Administration Committee headed by MP Robert Ghanem decided yesterday to assign a sub-committee with reviewing two draft bills regulating the marriage of underage children as well as the protection of children from early marriage and submit their report back to the Committee to take the necessary decision accordingly. After revision of the two draft laws and their explanatory statements, and after consultation with the ministries of justice and interior, the National Commission for Lebanese Women and the Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering, and after examining the relevant laws, the Justice and Administration Committee found that both drafts tackled the same topic, a statement by the Committee said. Furthermore, the statement added, the Committee discussed the relevance of the draft laws to Article Nine of the Constitution which stipulates that “the State shall guarantee to its inhabitants regardless of their community, the respect of their civil status and religious interests,” while noting that this same article has instigated sectarian discrimination among the Lebanese, and noting that there is no unified personal status law in the country. Every religious sect is entitled to adopt its own system according to the indoctrinated beliefs. (Al Mustaqbal, An Nahar, November 9, 2017)

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Russian female film producer to promote relations with Lebanon

9-11-2017

In its November 7 edition, Al Akhbar newspaper spotlighted MyLebanon project by Russian documentary film producer, Maria Ivanova, to show this country to Russians who have little knowledge of it. Ivanova explained that her story with Lebanon started during her filming of “City of Strangers”. After that, her visits to the country increased as well as her encounters with the Lebanese business and political elite who proposed the creation of a joint Russian-Lebanese cultural undertaking. Thereafter, she, and the team she built, decided to set-off the project and launch the website http://mylebanon.ru/, which included publications about Lebanon. She also mentioned that the team organized multipurpose tours which covered yoga and fitness activities, Arabic language studies, best nightclubs in Beirut, Roman temples, skiing and corporate tours, including conferences. The project organizes trips in the other direction for Lebanese who wish to visit Russia, she went on to say, revealing keenness on part of the Lebanese ministry of tourism to support the projectp. Besides tourism, Ivanova said, the project seeks to help Russian entrepreneurs bolster their business in Lebanon, pointing out that she has a partner in Lebanon for strengthening business relations between the two countries. The Lebanese partner will help Lebanese business owners in the lookout for an investor or partner in Russia. She concluded by saying that cooperation in trade will pay off in the near future, indicating that in two months only she facilitated work for 6 successful projects. (Al Akhbar, November 7, 2017)

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Promoting gender economic equality in the Emirates

9-11-2017

The Emirati NAMA Women Advancement Establishment called on all business and societal sectors to commit to support the principles of women economic empowerment (WEE). The call came in light of preparations for the launch of the first edition of Women Economic Empowerment Global Summit organized in partnership with UN Women between December 4 and 5 at the Sharjah Expo Center. Both sides are mobilizing support from various public departments, academic institutions and local and international NGOs, SMEs, large corporations and multinationals to adopt two of the 8 principles of the UN Women and UN Global Compact that ensure economic empowerment of women. The global summit which is held every other year seeks to achieve WEE goals including women’s access to markets and provision of opportunities for success. On the subject, the director of NAMA, Reem Bin Karam, said: “Through this summit, we seek to support regional and international trends of economic gender equity,” which, she added, “is more than a goal, but in fact, is a key and core for development, poverty reduction, building peaceful societies and realization of sustainable development.” The commitment to equal opportunity between the sexes not only contribute to empowerment of women to partake in decisions affecting their lives, but also to boosting business. (Al Mustaqbal, November 9, 2017)

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Sexual harassment scandals rattle British political elite

8-11-2017

Sex scandals are rampant amongst the highest political circles in the UK resulting in the resignation of a number of ministers. To this effect, Prime Minister Theresa May met on Monday with heads of political parties to set a new grievance system at the House of Representatives to combat sexual harassment. In this respect, Al Diyar newspaper, citing AFP, reported that Labor Party MP Kelvin Hopkins (76) has been suspended from his position over allegations of harassment of a young female Party activist, who said she initially complained about this inappropriate behavior to no avail. To recall, Hopkins is the second Labor Party MP to get suspended after Jared O’mara who posted sexist and homophobic comments on online forums few years ago. Similarly, sexual harassment charges last week forced British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon to quit, along with two others, deputy prime minister, Damian Green for alleged sexual advances towards young female journalist, and the minister of state for international trade, Mark Garnier, who are now under investigation. (Al Diyar, November 8, 2017)

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The body of an Ethiopian worker was found in Hadath

8-11-2017

Following the news on our website of three suicide cases by migrant domestic workers since the start of this year, the local media yesterday reported the discovery of a body of an Ethiopian MWDW in her thirties in the Hadath suburb of Beirut. The body was found on the fourth floor of a residential apartment building in the area. As per usual, the security squads arrived at the scene for investigation and the body was examined by a forensic doctor before being transferred by the Civil Defense to Baabda Government Hospital. (Al Mustaqbal, November 8, 2017)

Previous related news:
Women’s lived realities still ignored by political circles
Suicide attempt in Saida by a woman domestic worker from Bangladesh
Domestic violence monitor: A husband shoots his wife, foreign domestic worker kills herself and alleged Ethiopian woman murderer found 
 

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French advertisements reflect gender-biases

8-11-2017

Al Hayat daily highlighted on Saturday a new report on gender discrimination in French TV advertisements published by France’s Higher Audiovisual Council (CSA) on October 31. The report comes as part of a new task assigned to the Council earlier this year with regard to protection of human dignity and the rights of women with a focus on their representation on TV. According to the report, the CSA monitored for 7 months some 2000 advertisement broadcast on the various French televisions to analyze the status of such representation. As shown by the report, men still have the driver’s seat in representation compared to women (54% against 46%), reflecting some kind of disproportion. The real imbalance, the report indicated, lies in the quality of roles assigned to women and men in television ads. When it comes to inviting ‘experts’ and ‘political guests’, publicists and advertisers automatically choose men (in 82% of cases), whereby sexually explicit adverts are assigned to women (67% of cases). The proficiency of a male in advertising appears in the automotive, technology, insurance and banking areas, while females are portrayed as more experienced in fashion, fragrances and skin care items. On the subject, the CSA president hoped the above survey will contribute to changing reality, calling for an in-depth and continuous dialogue of the issue and meetings with advertising representatives/ workers to develop a strategy to be adopted that enhances the image of women in adverts. (For the full report, kindly visit the following link: http://en.calameo.com/read/004539875531654f87801 (Al Hayat, November 7, 2017)

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Conservative amendments of Iraqi personal status law draw feminist criticisms

7-11-2017

The Iraqi Parliament last Wednesday voted, in principle, endorsing amendments to the personal status law No. 188 of 1959 decreed by the Iraqi State after the republican revolution on July 14, 1958 (the full text of the amendment is on the following link (http://www.nrttv.com/Ar/Detail.aspx?Jimare=62698). This provoked angry reactions from a number of MPs and activists. Farah Saraj, MP for the district of Mousil, noting the many defects in the amendment, said that while the law in effect has set a 9-year custody period for the mother of a boy after which he has to choose between the two parents, the amended bill forces the mother to hand over her two-year old boy to the father. Furthermore, Saraj explained, in relation to the marriage of underage children (aged between 12-13) which the law sanctifies, the current amendment raises the marriage age from 9 years to 12 years, stressing that the new amendment violates international conventions protecting human rights and the rights of children. Passing the draft will be a disaster sending the country 100 years backward and will consecrate the rules introduced by ISIS in the areas liberated from terrorist control, Saraj warned. For her part, MP Rizan Sheikh Dalir, and in criticism of the amended bill, described it as a replica of the Jaafari Personal Status Law which enforces the Jaafari jurisprudence that clearly fosters child marriage. If applied, this law shall be similar to the laws of ISIS legitimizing marriage of young girls to their members. Majida Jabouri, a democratic activist, in turn explained that the Jaafari law not only discriminated against women but also against men and women based on religion and sect. (Al Akhbar, November 7, 2017)

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Three women elected for the Notary Public Council

7-11-2017

The second office for the Notary Public Council was elected yesterday in Beirut including 3 women out of the 8 member-council and they are: Nisrine Ayoub, Nisrine Skaf and Faten Khalifeh. Some 93 out of 149 accredited notaries public and 32 out of 46 retirees who are entitled to be part of the General Assembly cast their ballot. To note, the winning members will meet to elect the new president and committee within 3 days. (Al Mustaqbal, November 7, 2017)

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