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An all-women security squadron in India to combat violence against women

16-8-2017

In its Monday’s issue, An Nahar newspaper published news of an all-women battalion in the Indian Security Forces deployed in the streets of Jaipur, especially at bus stops, parks and universities where cases of violence against women are rampant. The job of the women-only regiment is to enforce security and law in the city located in the North of a country where 40,000 cases of rape are reported each year. In a nation that has developed a repute of a laid back attitude towards sexual harassment and violence against women, a women squadron struggles to reinforce security, according to its commander Kamal Shawkat who promised to be extremely firm in this respect. An Nahar cited figures by experts which show that reported sexual assaults are only a tip of the iceberg of countless incidents whose survivors prefer not to disclose the assault. Human rights activists note that male dominance is widely noticeable in the Indian Police with women barely representing 7%, which prevents sexual violence victims from speaking up. Additionally, police stations often harbour prejudices against the victims based on their appearances or behaviour, and in some instances, hold them responsible for bringing violence on themselves. Another reason why women rape survivors stay silent is stigma and the intense feeling of shame and sometimes, fear of revenge, from the conservative Indian society. An Nahar concluded by saying that the Jaipur Police hopes the women’s security squad will encourage rape victims to break their silence. (An Nahar, August 14, 2017)

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Tunisian President stands up for gender equality in inheritance, Al Azhar objects

16-8-2017

Al Azhar deputy, Sheikh Abbas Shouman, criticized in a statement published yesterday on his official Facebook page, the Tunisian President, Beji Caid Essebsi’s call for gender equality in inheritance. Such calls, Shouman said, are unfair to women and are against Islamic Sharia. He pointed out that inheritance is clearly divided as indicated in verses that cannot accept further jurisdiction and do not change with changing circumstances in time and place. It is one of the few topics exhaustively detailed in the Holy Koran under ‘Surat al Nisa’. Shouman’s comments came in response to Essebsi’s proposal on National Women’s Day to push for establishing gender equality in inheritance and eventually, in all arenas. Al Azhar deputy explained that in some instances women are equal to, and perhaps, surpass men, according to Sharia, which has very wisely taken into consideration the reality on the ground and the need for money of the male or female heir, or his/her affinity with the deceased, disregarding the gender, as alleged by many. Essebsi earlier asked the government to revoke a decree of the year 1973 that prohibits marriage between a non-Muslim man and a Muslim woman. Shouman in his response warned that such called-for marriages are unjust to women. The interfaith marriage, he claimed, has mostly lost the qualities of affection and cohabitation sought by marriage, because the non-Muslim husband does not believe in Islam and therefore, his Muslim wife would hate him for not encouraging or allowing her to perform the rituals of her religion. (Al Hayat, August 16, 2017)

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Yara Khoury international electronic games producer

16-8-2017

L’Orient Le Jour in its issue of August 11 highlighted the profile of French-Lebanese electronic games innovator Yara Khoury who now manages her own business. Khoury was born in Lebanon in 1986 and immigrated with her family to France two years later. At the age of 15, Khoury discovered her passion for electronic games and decided to hit the road to realize her aspiration. Khoury enrolled in the school of business in Nantes, France and got her training at the Lyon branch of the renowned American video game company, Electronic Arts Inc. EA, L’Orient Le Jour wrote. Khoury’s ambition brought her to the US to continue her higher studies at the University of Cincinnati and train at Visceral Games. In 2011, the newspaper went on to say, Khoury who was busy developing most famous e-games in the world realized that she wants to kick off her own enterprise in the field. Khoury, to recall, teamed up with the American video game programmer, Amy Hennig, for a Star Wars project. In 2016, she set up her company with the support of the US venture capital firms, Benchmark and Silicon Valley. The first electronic game of the startup will reportedly be named ‘SOS’ and published by the end of 2017. (L’Orient Le Jour, August 11, 2017)

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Hospitality vocational training in Baalbaq

14-8-2017

The Lebanese Organization for Studies and Training (LOST) in Baalbak concluded a hospitality training workshop with the participation of 15 young men and women. During the closing day, LOST director, Dr. Rami Lakkis, stressed the importance of similar empowering events which help trainees acquire an income generating profession that secures an adequate standard of living for their households or enables them to start their private enterprises. The project invigorates the community with specialized and competent human resources expected to contribute to the development process, Lakkis maintained, pointing that these ongoing courses will benefit new groups, that will be trained by distinguished graduates from the current course. To note, the 5-day course comes as part of ‘Bina’ project funded by the Bavarian government in Germany. (Al Diyar, August 14, 2017)

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Small grants to Palestinian and Syrian refugees

14-8-2017

In her arts and culture column in Al Mustaqbal, journalist Pamela Kesrwani highlighted yesterday the small grants program promoted by Basma wa Zeitoona civil society organization (news: https://goo.gl/zF5LZ1). To know more on the subject, Kesrouani interviewed director of programs, Hiba Daher, who explained that in an attempt to empower Syrian and Palestinian refugees, Basma wa Zeitouneh launched in 2015 its ‘small grants’ program aimed at training a targeted group on entrepreneurship principles. Accordingly, graduates can access financial loans that can eventually help them develop their skills and beat poverty. Since the kickoff of the first stage of the program, the lives of many people who joined the program have changed, Daher maintained, pointing to the 46-year-old displaced Palestinian-Syrian woman, Basma Mansur, who fled from Syria to live in Shatila camp of Beirut. Mansur, Daher said, applied for a loan to open a shop that sells grains, herbs and other food products, and has now brought about the change she long awaited restoring her once-lost hope and eagerness to achieve more. A year from opening her store, Daher boasted, Mansour is working on expanding it by introducing additional brands. The program, Daher mentioned, targets women (75%) and men (25%) aged between 18 to 55 years and is now operational in other camps and regions across Lebanon. (Al Mustaqbal, August 13, 2017)

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Italian Order of Knight to Mary Semaan, director of Semaan Galery

14-8-2017

The Italian Ambassador to Beirut Massimo Marotti handed the Order of Knighthood for Lebanese engineer, May Semaan, director of La Galerie Semaan in Hazmieh. During the ceremony held at the ambassador’s residence in Naccash, Marotti praised the distinguished achievements of Semaan who succeeded in maintaining one of Beirut’s outstanding furniture ventures. He also commended the young start of Semaan as an engineer for the family business where she braced her passion for design and the Italian culture to become the manager of an Italian design landmark in Lebanon. The Order of Star of Italy, Marotti noted, is a sign of recognition for Semaan’s accomplishments and endeavor to promote Italy’s designs in the country. (Al Mustaqbal, August 14, 2017)

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9th prostitution ring uncovered in Jezzine

14-8-2017

Nine cases of women trafficking rings were uncovered since the beginning of the year, the latest last Friday. General Directorate of the Internal Security Forces (ISF) statement announced the arrest of four persons at a tourist resort in Jezzine, South Lebanon. The identified suspects, R.T (Lebanese woman, born in 1994); K.J (Lebanese man, born 1958) and M.K (Syrian man, 1993) were detained for drug use and the facilitation of prostitution. Cocaine and hashish that were in their possession were seized, in addition to an amount of cash needed to procure drugs and sustain sex work, the ISF statement said. The chief dealer H.Y (Lebanese man, 1972) was also captured and admitted taking drugs from a supplier in Beirut’s southern suburbs. (Al Mustaqbal 14 August 2017)


Previous related news:
New prostitution ring uncovered this time in Nabatieh!
Since 2011 Syria is a country of origin for women trafficking not just for transiting
Family prostitution ring uncovered in Tripoli

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Arab Women in Computing conference in Beirut

11-8-2017

The American University in Beirut (AUB) hosted yesterday the fifth annual international conference on Arab Women in Computing (AWIC) in the presence of the minister of state for administrative development, Dr. Inaya Izzedine, AUB president, Dr. Fadlo Khoury, and a concerned audience. The conference seeks to support Arab women in various disciplines of computing to create connections with the global environmental system for technology and enable them to achieve their professional aspirations. On the occasion, AWIC head, Sana Odeh, noted in her speech that in Lebanon there is a “large number of talented female higher degree holders but who are jobless.” Khoury, for his part, pointed out that the underrepresentation of women in the computer industry labor market “should not surprise us, it should disturb us.” Generally, in Arab countries, Khoury stated, “we notice a parity between male and female computer science graduates, but not in Lebanon, not yet.” Likewise, Izzedine stressed that education today cannot be separated from communications, information technology and the global information network, pointing that the current global trend promotes the integration of computing and IT into the curriculum. “Observing the great challenges our region faces in these fields, we should not be satisfied with this,” Izzedine said. The 3-day conference will see a number of speakers and panelists in the fields of technology and computer sciences and will include interactive and guidance sessions, technical workshops, vocational training for all levels and a professional exhibition for participating companies. (Al Mustaqbal, August 11, 2017)

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Amendments on law protecting women from domestic violence draw Islamic objections

10-8-2017

The cabinet approved on August 2 a draft law aimed at amending Law 293 on protection of women and family members from domestic violence which was first submitted by President Michel Aoun from outside the council of minister’s agenda. While the final amendments to the new law have not yet been published, LBC news channel reported that the law forwarded last April is the outcome of joint efforts between the ministry of justice and Kafa organization. The most important provisos of which are, the adoption of a clear definition of the concept of domestic violence; making domestic violence a specific criminal offense with punishable consequences to all its aspects, including, intentional or non-intentional killing, sexual exploitation, arbitrary detention or seizure of freedom and physical abuse; adoption of the principle of specialization of courts and judges in domestic violence cases through assigning judges in all regions to receive grievances. On the subject, Al Diyar newspaper today cited informed sources as saying that the prime minister is facing wide resistance from some Islamic circles for signing respective domestic violence and forced marriage of children laws. These sides claim that said laws interfere with Islam’s beliefs and will end the jurisdiction of spiritual courts in the country. Furthermore, Al Diyar mentioned that criticism is targeting the Sunni PM because he did not consult with the religious establishment or with the heads of the Sharia courts. For the full draft of the law No. 293/2014 on domestic violence, prepared conjointly by the justice ministry and Kafa, kindly visit the following link: : http://bit.ly/2ftpJCf (Al Diyar, August 9, 2017)

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E-awareness campaign against sexual harassment in Lebanon

10-8-2017

Following last November’s ‘Not Your Ashta’ campaign to raise awareness against sexual harassment in Lebanon, (c.f https://goo.gl/uNH8Zf), the American University of Beirut’s ‘Knowledge is Power’ (KIP) project, in partnership with the office of the minister of state for women’s affairs, launched a new campaign under the name ‘Mesh Basita’ (Not Okay). The campaign (from July 31 to August 15) seeks to push for a heightened public awareness and a comprehensive legislation to address the issue. On the subject, Al Mustaqbal today wrote that had it not been for the videotape which went viral that exposed harassing of the wife of a ministerial advisor in an elevator by so-called ‘human monster’, the news would have not reached each and every house in Lebanon. However, Al Hayat went on to say, the news which came as part of ‘wainiyih el dawleh’ episode, turned out to be part of a play accompanying the campaign. To note, the campaign inspires the public opinion, including the private and public sectors, academia circles and the civil society, to exchange images, videos and texts that show that sexual harassment is not a light matter that can be stomached, but that it necessitates a national legislative mechanism to confront it. Those interested in the campaign, are kindly invited to use the hashtag #mesh basita# across the different social media platforms. (Al Mustaqbal, August 10, 2017)

Previous related news:
Civil e-campaign and church guide to counter sexual harassment

 

 

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