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NCLW slates absence of women in key political meetings

25-6-2020

Following the latest security developments in the country (https://lkdg.org/ar/node/19365), President Michel Aoun invited political party leaders to a national meeting today, with a main theme, ‘Preserving civil peace’ to avoid security setbacks that could be destructive to the country. The meeting is reported to be held in an incomplete quorum of parties after many political factions announced their boycott, namely the Lebanese Forces, Kataeb, Marada and Future Movement alleging that the projected meeting lacks a clear vision or agenda. On the subject, the National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW) appealed in a statement on June 23 to all political forces to reflect on the nearly complete absence of women in the above national meeting called upon to discuss the latest skirmishes. The political pluralism represented by these factions… is not matched by a parallel representation of women and men within their leaderships, the statement said, describing women’s absence from the broad national meeting as a “weakness in the Lebanese political life.” It demanded the heads of political parties to give the issue adequate attention to prop female representation in decision-making positions. The NCLW statement pointed out that employing women capacities in various fields benefits their parties, as well as the country at large. This is especially true in terms of female participation in national dialogues and mediations in peace processes to reach national unanimity, which is one of the main goals of the National Action Plan to Implement UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security agreed by the Lebanese government. (NNA, June 23, 2020)

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Evacuation of Ethiopian women workers in stalemate

24-6-2020

The head of the Owners of Recruitment Offices, Ali Amin, disclosed yesterday information that action for the repatriation of migrant workers, especially Ethiopians, is still in deadlock. Speaking to Al Markaziya portal, Amin said however that the Ethiopian government’s promises to secure planes remain unfulfilled. As per the mandatory quarantine of the returnees, the Ethiopian state has withdrawn its decision to cover the expenses due to the overwhelming number of returnees. It further required PCR tests to be conducted 72 hours ahead of the flights. Amin also stressed that any delay exacerbates the situation, noting that with the rocketing price of the dollar against the Lebanese lira (nearly LBP 6000), many sponsors are now unable to bear additional burdens and pay the wages which have touched one million LBP. Yet, they are willing to return their MWDWs to their country if flights can be organized, he added. In a related development, Caritas announced that around 13 of 35 Ethiopian MWDWs (https://bit.ly/31feW4z), housed by the organization decided to leave and stay in front of the consulate of their country. According to Ruba Dirana, Caritas media officer, they wanted to put pressure on their government to speed up repatriation. (Al Diyar, June 24, 2020)
 

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Women pay the price for corona's economic fallout

23-6-2020

In its issue of today, An Nahar published an AFP feature on Corona and women’s work, noting that, compared to men, they bear the economic brunt of Covid-19 pandemic. Women are more vulnerable to lose or quit jobs in order to care for and teach their children at home. According to a study released last week by the British think-tank, the Institute of Fiscal Studies, women received the biggest blow as a result of coronavirus because they assume a larger share in the vulnerable services sectors and workplaces, like bars, conference venues, hairdressing salons, hotels and restaurants. This was also confirmed by Nicole Mason, head of the US-based Institute for Women’s Policy Research. AFP cited a concerned message in the Times of Higher Education magazine by a group of renowned international women scientists denouncing sexism and the return to patriarchal society which they have struggled against since the outbreak of the pandemic. The signatories voiced concern that the huge progress women achieved in sciences has become a silent sufferer of the crisis, and charged the media with inviting men to talk about the coronavirus, albeit less qualified and accomplished than their women peers. (An Nahar, June 23, 2020)

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Gaelle Ghanem French Young Writers Award finalist

23-6-2020

Lebanese Gaelle Ghanem and Tareq Bou Omar were qualified to the Prix des Jeunes Ecritures finals organized by Radio France International (RFI) and Francophone University Agency (AUF). The competition attracted some 1000 short stories by young people from 212 universities in 45 countries, including Lebanon which reaped two out of 30 places in the finals. According to An Nahar daily, the fictional narratives of contestants will be assessed by a jury headed by exile francophone Afghan writer and director, Atik Rahimi, winner of Goncourt prize for his novel, ‘Patience Stone’. The name of the winner will be announced on June 30 and will receive a trip to France including a life encounter with Rahimi. Gaelle, 21, from Halat, Byblos, who is studying civil engineering at the Lebanese University (LU), told An Nahar that writing has been her passion since she was 9. Five years ago, Gaelle recalled, she won the global Generation Bilingue competition organized by the French Institute with the participation of some 5000 contenders. This, she boasted, facilitated her travel to France to represent her country in the Prix des Jeunes Ecritures. For his part, Tariq, from Heri, North Lebanon, electrical engineering student at LU, explained that he wrote a short story during the quarantine period imposed by coronavirus, saying, reading is food for the writing talent. (An Nahar, June 22, 2020)

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Abolishing kafala, towards a unified work contract for women migrant workers, 

22-6-2020

As part of the “Kafala System Reform” initiative, the labor ministry organized a workshop on Friday with the theme, “The unified work contract for migrant men and women domestic workers”. Participants included the International Labor Organization (ILO), Amnesty International, Caritas, Kafa and Human Rights Watch. During the workshop, the minister of labor Lamia Yammin disclosed that her ministry has recently completed a draft of the unified work contract as a first step in dismantling or abolishing the kafala (sponsorship) system. Similarly, a senior immigration specialist pointed out that the issue of migrant women domestic workers (MWDWs) is controversial, complex and diverse, stating that developing a solution for that purpose is not easy. “We may not be able to achieve this in the near future, but we have embarked on the reform plan since last year but the latest developments in Lebanon have delayed our work,” he said. (Al Diyar, June 22, 2020)
 

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Boosting women entrepreneurship in agro-food sector

19-6-2020

The minister of environment and administrative development, Demianos Qattar, Wednesday visited the Agri-Food and CleanTech (ACT) Smart Innovation Hub in Lebanon launched back in January by Berytech and funded by the Netherlands. During his visit, Qattar said the main focus now should be on fast, feasible and cost-effective local initiatives which present a sustainable solution to a specific problem. Addressing the youth, Qattar said they are the glimpse of hope which will contribute to finding solutions to environment, agriculture and energy impasses. He stressed that Lebanon has always made a comeback supported by the robustness of the private sector. Similarly, the CEO of Berytech, Maroon Shammas, explained that the incubation and acceleration company currently adopts a sectoral approach to achieve economic growth through motivating innovators and entrepreneurs to invest in agri-food and clean energy industries. The present situation in the country, Shammas maintained, suggests the need to boost innovation and create jobs for the young generation, saying, “ the agri-food and clean energy sectors are a priority to Lebanon in which we invest willingly.” Recalling, that the duration of the ACT Smart Innovation Hub program is from September 2019 through August 2022, and consists of two acceleration programs, namely Agritech and Clean Energy. It aims to create around 200 direct and 400 indirect job opportunities with at least 50% targeting the youth and 25% women. (Al Diyar, June 19, 2020)

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Japanese geisha to the virtual world because of coronavirus

18-6-2020

An Nahar newspaper yesterday spotlighted the Japanese Geishas and the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on their activity which pushed them to go online. Noting, that geishas are known in Japan as Geisha “Chacha” and they are skilled artists, athletes, musicians and dancers. The geisha, An Nahar wrote, perform the traditional dance carrying herself with grace while artfully fluttering her fan. The audience is usually older wealthy men, who watch the shows inside a traditional parlor lined with woven mats. But today, An Nahar went on to say, due to the coronavirus pandemic, customers watch geisha perform from the computer screen. The audience is no longer restricted to one category of people, but has become diverse, including women, children and entire families. The coronavirus was a major blow to the geishas who lost their income and are waiting impatiently for government aid, which brought up the idea of the online shows. (An Nahar, June 17, 2020)

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Rose Bechara receives “2020 Gold Medal” at IOOC 

17-6-2020

Lebanese Rose Bechara received the “2020 Gold Medal” at the International Olive Oil Contest (IOOC) at Palmi, Italy. In an interview with An Nahar daily, Bechara, founder of the Darmmess Extra Virgin Olive Oil brand in October 2019, boasted that she is a native of Deir Mimas (Marjeyoun, South Lebanon), a beautiful small village nested between hills covered with ancient olive trees (600 to 2000 years). Bechara recounted that since her childhood, olive oil has been highly appreciated in her village and in demand in Lebanon. She researched and learned more about olive oil and its multiple health benefits. Eventually, “I decided to promote this green gold which I started dreaming of since 2017,” Bechara said. “I was delighted by the idea of promoting it locally and internationally to people who appreciate it. I started my journey with the one-of-a-kind extra virgin olive oil developed exclusively for true connoisseurs,” she concluded. (An Nahar, June 17, 2020)
 

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Domestic Workers Union in Lebanon seeks to abolish Kafala

17-6-2020

The Founding Committee of Domestic Workers Union in Lebanon revealed in a statement yesterday the suffering of migrant women domestic workers (MWDWs) brought about by the kafala (sponsorship) system. The Kafal system, the statement said, deprives workers of their legitimate rights, starting from the confiscation of their IDs to denying their weekly day-off, their freedom of movement and fair pay, ending up in racial discrimination and bullying. The above committee demanded official parties to work to abolish the kafala system and end exploitation of MWDWs to this effect and treat them as laborers rather than slaves. The committee also asked the labor ministry, embassies and consulates of the labor sending countries to work to shut down recruitment offices and restrict all MWDW matters to concerned public departments. It called for the suspension of all prosecutions against workers, the cancellation of fines and allowing them to change their employer to the time they leave Lebanon and return to their countries after the corona pandemic eases. In conclusion, the committee pointed out that the amendment draft laws currently under deliberation, including the unified work contract proposal do not safeguard the rights or dignity of MWDWs. It stressed the need to sign the license required to recognize the Domestic Workers Union which has been inactive for five  years in the drawers of the labor ministry, as well as sign the ILO Convention No 189 related to decent work for MWDWs. (NNA, June 16, 2020)
 

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Western embassies call for a fair MWDW labor contract

16-6-2020

On the occasion of the International Day of Migrant Domestic Workers which falls on June 16 of each year, the ambassadors of Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and the UK delivered a mutual message via An Nahar daily saying it is an “opportunity to alleviate the anguish of migrant women domestic workers in Lebanon.” In its content, the letter said Lebanon is going through a financial and economic crisis which has hit all its citizens… It clearly presented the appalling living conditions of the MWDWs in the country more than ever, pointing to the reported evacuation process enforced by Covid-19 pandemic. “No one can overlook the plight of MWDWs who are stranded outside the embassies of their countries lacking any identification papers, nor can one ignore the number of workers who have lost their income and shelter and found themselves in the streets, helpless, facing utmost misery and despair and unable to leave the country.” The message also cited news about prevalent suicide incidents and abuse of migrant workers in Lebanon, focusing on the kafala (sponsorship) system. The latter, the message said, reduces the role of the state in regulating the sector, which leaves the fate of those workers completely to their employers. It revealed the formation of a committee of experts from the ILO and civil society organizations led by former and current labor ministers, that is seeking to develop feasible arrangements to eradicate aspects of abuse from the kafala system. The first of these recommendations suggests the revision of work contracts and adoption of a unified model which is in agreement with Lebanese laws and international standards, and protects the rights of MWDWs and employers. (An Nahar, June 16, 2020)

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