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New labor law needed to free migrant women domestic workers from bondage

5-9-2017

In its edition of today, L’Orient Le Jour shed light on the heartbreaking story of a Sri Lankan migrant domestic worker, Shandra, who was forced to leave Lebanon a year after her arrival as a result of the ordeal she went through at her employer’s house because the current labor regulations prevented her from taking on another employer. In this respect, the newspaper spoke to ILO Beirut experts, Sofia Kagan and Zeina Mezher, who revealed that work is underway between the Lebanese government and the international organization on a project that enhances recruitment conditions based on respect for the rights of MWDWs. According to both experts, and in best case scenarios, workers should be subject to a labor law or any similar law that observes and protects their rights, pointing that their employment should be based on a clear job offer or contract, enclosing the salary, job description or tasks and weekly day-off or holiday. MWDWs, Kagan and Mezher stated, have the right to choose the workplace, change their job like any other employee or staff member and personally renew their papers, stressing their free choice of accommodation at their employer or any other place. Regarding the payment procedure, it should observe a mechanism that protects the rights of both parties, ILO experts said. For the reference, Lebanon did not sign the ILO Convention No. 189 on domestic workers issued in 2011, while it ratified the two UN fundamental conventions related to forced labor. To note, Lebanese labor law excludes the categories of MWDWs. (L’Orient Le Jour, September 5, 2017)

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Ogassapian submits draft to amend articles 505, 518

31-8-2017

After repeal by the Parliament on August 16 of Article 522 of the Penal Code which exonerates a rapist should he marry his victim, the minister of state for women affairs, Jean Ogassapian, submitted to the Cabinet yesterday a draft for amendment of Articles 505 and 518 of the new bill. The draft provides for severe punishment of a person who sexually assaults a minor or any girl under seduction of marriage.  It also revokes the provisions of above articles that exempt the assailant from punishment if he marries his survivor, given that the punishment for the felony of rape should be irrevocable. To recall, the repeal of article 522 was faced with objection from a number of community and women associations based on the fact that it retains its effects under Article 505 which pardons sex with a minor who completed 15 years if he married his survivor, and also Article 518 related to forced sex by deception or marriage.  (Al Mustaqbal, L’Orient Le Jour, August 31, 2017)

 

Previous related news: 
MP’s divided over pardoning the rapist
Repeal of Article 522 is but a sectarian swap
 

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Even artificial intelligence is gender biased!

31-8-2017

A recent study entitled, ‘Men Also Love Shopping’ has shown that popular photo and data collection used in the training of artificial intelligence lead to sexism and gender discrimination, according to the British Daily Mail. The study by computer science professor at University of Virginia, Vicente Ordonez and two of his colleagues started when they noticed a disturbing gender stereotype in the presumptions made by the image recognition software that was under construction. “Artificial Intelligence (AI) developed photos which associated women with cooking and kitchen,” Vicente said, adding, “not only this, but also it linked women with images of shopping, washing and even kitchen utensils, like forks and spoons, while it linked men with masculine activities, like sports, hunting and coaching, and to objects related to sporting equipment.” Researchers who studied the two collections of photos ImSitu (created by the University of Washington) and COCO (developed by Microsoft and Facebook) found that they contained over 100,000 images of complex scenes with descriptions attached. Besides the biases in the (AI) training sets, AI further exaggerated these biases. The study indicated that the images suggested female’s involvement with the kitchen 33% more than males, and that the trained model has amplified the rate to become 68% at test time. In conclusion, the study advised for caution in publishing or disseminating similar data to prevent strengthening and worsening the existing social bias. You can find the study at: https://homes.cs.washington.edu/~my89/publications/bias.pdf )Al Akhbar, August 31, 2017(

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Gender equality in inheritance rifts Islamists

30-8-2017

Following the questioning the intentions behind Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi’s call for amendment of the inheritance law to ensure gender equality and for revoking the decree prohibiting marriage of a non-muslim man and a muslim woman (http://bit.ly/2wI5s2W), a number of Tunisian women expressed doubts about real change given the fierce opposition to such kind of social reform. Balkis, a university student studying English literature from Carthage, said she feels that gender discrimination is still institutionalized in her country, and this would hamper endorsement of similar laws. For her part, Lilia, a university student residing in the capital, expressed doubts over the President’s pledges. “I am confident that these two laws will not be approved given the wide opposition from the Tunisian community and certain politicians," she said. On the other front, Rothna Begum, women’s rights researcher for the Middle East and North Africa at Human Rights Watch, welcomed Essebsi’s initiative, lauding Tunisia’s progressive position in a number of areas related to women’s rights. Discarding some of these discriminatory provisos, Begum said, could help Tunisian women and could serve as a role model for the  region. In a related context, Al Hayat daily wrote the President’s call instigated a rift between Islamists inside Tunisia and those abroad. The Islamic Renaissance Movement, led by Rashid Ghannouchi, criticized Wajdi Guneim, member of the International Muslim Brotherhood, for addressing the president as an ‘unbeliever’. In response, Guneim attacked the secularists, labelling them as infidels just as the country’s independence leader, Al Habib Bourguiba, was an infidel. (An Nahar, Al Hayat, August 24, 2017)

 

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Tunisian president’s call for gender equality questioned
Call for gender equality in inheritance in Tunisia steers controversy
Tunisian President stands up for gender equality in inheritance, Al Azhar objects
 

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“She Scores” sport campaign for gender equality

30-8-2017

The minister of state for women affairs, Jean Ogassapian, launched yesterday an awareness raising campaign jointly with players of Al Riyadi Club women basketball team. #She_Scores#, which is the name of the campaign, aims to raise awareness on the pillars of the gender equality strategy developed by the ministry. To note, the campaign comes ahead of the team’s expected participation in the Eastern European Basketball Championship as the first Lebanese and Arab team and the first women's team to the tournament. On the occasion, Ogassapian said the campaign is one of a kind in the Middle East and constitutes a two pronged achievement. Firstly, it spotlights female athletes who through their avant-garde sports activities are challenging stereotypes in order to realize objectives leading to gender equality for women in Lebanon and the Arab world in general, Ogassapian said. Secondly, it stresses the players’ commitment to promoting the rights of their daughters, Ogassapian added, noting that his ministry has set 12 goals to that end with each player adopting one goal and presenting herself as an ambassador for the ministry. The campaign will reportedly focus on raising awareness about laws related to women that should be modified or changed. (Al Mustaqbal, An Nahar, August 30, 2017)

Previous related news: 
Structure, vision of ministry for women’s affairs launched
 

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‘Be a Man’ campaign against women in Egypt

29-8-2017

Al Hayat newspaper drew attention yesterday to banners spotted in many neighborhoods and streets in Cairo related to so-called ‘estargel’ (best translated as ‘Be a Man’) campaign. It is not a soft drink sales promotion, or a call for return to “authenticity” and modesty, but rather a multi-variate crusade pressing men to prevent their daughters from wearing tight or ‘revealing’ outfits, Al Hayat wrote. In its analysis, the newspaper said the campaign has recently introduced new terms to the urban Egyptian dictionary imparting a depraved dimension that sexualize women and girls by associating them with sex and indecent or inappropriate behavior. Such vocabulary has upset many parties, thrilled others or just did not appeal to the majority of Egyptians. Al Hayat cited professor of political sociology, Dr. Huda Zakaria, who, in a televised interview, described the campaign as an “immoral scandal exposing to men their unmanliness”, criticizing those who stand behind it as being women-haters. “Why not have a campaign called for example: ‘man up and treat women politely’!” Zakaria said, pointing that the campaign clearly conveys provocative messages against women. It is an Islamic society, she said, but campaigners have encroached on how Islam views a woman by “simply reducing her to a sex doll that ought to be covered," Zakaria sarcastically said. They are rabble-rousers and a disgrace, and therefore should be held accountable by law, Zakaria warned. (Al Hayat, August 29, 2017)

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Bassil warns against the collective granting of citizenship to children of Lebanese women

29-8-2017

In coordination with involved departments and under the patronage of Minister Gebran Bassil, the foreign ministry organized a workshop last Friday to expound on the law restoring Lebanese citizenship to immigrants. Minister Bassil on the occasion criticized the norm allowing president of the republic before the end of his term to impart citizenship to some persons, wondering why this is not a weekly routine by the head of the state to give citizenship to a what he called a “deserving” person of Lebanese origin who does not hold one? He referred to many foreign businessmen of Lebanese origin, or Palestinians, Syrians and Iraqis who were brought up and lived for nearly 50 years on Lebanese territory. Bassil laid bare his objection to any collective move in this direction, a mass influx, asylum or naturalization, pressing for revoking the collective naturalization decree of the year 1994. He clearly said he is against the law allowing Lebanese mothers to pass nationality to their children and other family members in a collective manner. He pointed to dozens of Palestinians who wish to get the Lebanese citizenship, a thing “we totally disapprove,” he maintained, as it is contrary to the principle of rejecting permanent settlement and naturalization of Palestinians as stipulated in the Constitution. However, Bassil explained, should there be a Palestinian living for over a hundred years in Lebanon, is integrated in society but detached from the right of return of Palestinians and has contributed largely to the welfare of the Lebanese nation, the Lebanese State can then treat him as any citizen in any country in the world, as he put it. On giving Lebanese women the right to pass nationality to their children, Bassil said he was never critical of it, however, “we advise against any collective activity in this matter to avoid attempts of masked naturalization threatening the identity of Lebanon. (An Nahar, Al Mustaqbal, August 26, 2017)

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Egyptian homemade food startup to empower women

28-8-2017

In its Sunday’s edition, Al Mustaqbal brought to light an Egyptian homemade food venture, Mumm, through which customers can order meals prepared by housewives, mothers and independent professional chefs and delivered to their doorstep. For more on the one-year old startup, the newspaper spoke to its founder, Walid Abdel Rahman, who disclosed the first generation of Mumm partners or so-called Food Partners group. Mumm’s primary goal, he said, is to give women the option to sustain a livelihood for themselves from their homes. With the rising unemployment among women (reaching sometimes 25.5%), and the relative increase in the number of refugees to the North African state, Mumm and similar startups provide support and assistance to women by helping them build entrepreneurship without having to leave their homes, said Abdel Rahman. Besides, Mumm collaborates with Cairo-based Fard Foundation, to recruit or train displaced Syrians, Iraqis and Sudanese to become food partners, Abdel Rahman added. “Giving mothers the opportunity to support their families by doing what they are passionate about is one of the best areas of our work,” he boasted. To note, Mumm has won recognition by the World Economic Forum as one of the best 100 startups in the MENA region in the field, and last July, the company received a USD 200,000 worth of funding from a startup capital fund in the MENA region. (Al Mustaqbal, August 27, 2017)

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Morocco to develop a strategy to combat violence against women

28-8-2017

The Moroccan premier, Saadeddine Othmani, pledged on Thursday to develop a strategy for ending violence against women. His statement came in the wake of a popular uproar after a video went viral on social media. The video in question displayed a collective sex assault against a 26-year-old woman with mental disability in a bus in Casablanca, with a footage showing an impassive driver and passengers who did not physically intervene to stop the aggression. Othmani, member of the Justice and Development Party, (Islamist) uncovered that his government has started the process of thinking to develop preventive mechanisms. He made clear that the “goal is not to punish assailants but to develop preventive mechanisms to deal with violence against women to ensure that such actions are not repeated in the future”. He disclosed that the projected approach to be adopted by the Cabinet will be announced in a timely manner. Meanwhile, the minister of solidarity, women, family and social development, Bassima Hakkawi, who was criticized for her tardy reaction, denounced the outrageous attack and promised to speed up the endorsement of the draft law on elimination of violence against women. To note, the Moroccan law criminalizes sexual harassment against women at the workplace but not street harassment, according to the minister of state for human rights affairs, Mostafa Ramid. The official Morocco considers itself a tolerant Islamic state that does not impose the veil, but women are frequently subjected to insults, derogatory remarks, insults and sexual assaults in public places, Al Hayat wrote. Two thirds of Moroccan women have suffered violent attacks, it said. (Al Hayat, August 26, 2017)

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Emirati women in Abu Dhabi’s financial market

28-8-2017

In its edition of Saturday, Al Hayat daily highlighted the growing number of Emirati women investors in Abu Dhabi’s Securities Exchange which reached 219 thousand by the end of the first half of 2017. These women, the newspaper wrote, own close to 3 billion shares at a market value of 18.8 billion dirhams AED (USD 5.1 billion). Statistics released by the Market last Friday, revealed a hike in the total transactions of female UAE investors in the same period to AED 2.7 billion (buy and sell shares) at a growth rate of 19.4% compared to AED 2.26 billion in the first half of last year. On the subject, the CEO of Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange Rashid Ballouchi explained that the Market’s administration over the past few years has sought to promote the status of women nationals, whether investors or employees. Experience, Ballouchi stated, has shown the high level of professionalism women display in the investment arena. The market’s strategy in terms of attracting investments, he said, is not limited to male investors, but places special significance on inspiring females to invest their savings in the market. A relatively big percentage of portfolios managed by UAE women have maximized gains in the past two years due to their high efficiency, Ballouchi maintained. He also noted an increase in the participation of Emirati women in economic and investment activity in general, in the framework of enhancement of their role in the overall development process. “Many women who run large companies and institutions have achieved remarkable success, hence, the high proficiency and competence they have demonstrated in investment in the financial markets is not a surprise,” Ballouchi concluded. (Al Hayat, August 26, 2017)

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