Subscribe to newsletter

Custom Search 1

You are here

Home

News updates

Tokenism: November 4, “Lebanese Women’s Day”(!)

18-5-2017

The Minister of State for Women’s Affairs, Jean Ogassapian, stated that the Cabinet of Ministers agreed in its regular session held yesterday to his request to mark the fourth of November of every year “a day for the Lebanese woman”, and to instruct relevant government agencies to extend all means of support to strengthen Lebanese women’s status in all areas including supporting them to achieve high positions locally, regionally and internationally”. In a conversation with The Daily Star newspaper, Ogassapian emphasized that the November 4th date was chosen because on that date in the year 1952, the Lebanese government signed a decree granting women, for the first time, the right to vote and run for elections. (Al Mustaqbal, AnNahar, L’Orient Le Jour, May 18, 2017).

Share on

Fair Trade Day on May 21

17-5-2017

Fair Trade Lebanon (FTL) is getting ready for the May 21 fair trade day under the campaign’s motto, ‘because trade can be fair, be part of Fair Trade Day celebration’ at St. George’s convent in Roumyeh, Qleiyat, from 12 PM until 5 PM. The FTL head, Samir Abdel Malak, explained to Al Markaziya electronic portal the importance of the event at this stage, especially that it coincides with the World Fair Trade Day (WFTD) organized by over 300 states carrying the banner, ‘World Fair Trade Organization’. Abdel Malak clarified that the aim of the day is to support and sell local production through big cooperatives from the far south to the far north of Lebanon and motivate producers to stay steadfast in their land. He added that the association primarily seeks to promote the work of cooperatives, that embrace a large number of women engaged in preparation of assortments of traditional Lebanese dishes targeted for marketing locally and abroad. Recalling the onset of this ‘unique’ initiative back in 2006, Abdel Malak disclosed that it now sells more than 70 brands of oils, wine, thyme (zaatar baladi), in addition to an array of Lebanese appetizers. The products, he said, are processed by specialized cooperatives located in Qleyaa, Bekaa and Forzol. He finally said he expected the FTL event to attract a large number of owners of coops and producers that will spend a day with family and exchange their experiences in the field. (Al Diyar, May 17, 2017)

Share on

Sandra Mansur, the journey of a Swiss-Lebanese fashion designer

16-5-2017

The swiss-born Lebanese fashion designer, Sandra Mansur, has claimed an Arab and international repute for her distinctive pieces, according to Le Commerce du Levant. In a special interview with the magazine, Mansur said that while she did not plan to enter the world of fashion, she badly wanted to paint. But due to family impels, Sandra chose to venture into business. She received her masters degree in business administration from Webster University in Geneva, as she told Le Commerce du Levant reporter, before moving to the school of arts in the Swiss capital. And in a twist of fate, she returned to Lebanon in 2006 to enroll in Elie Saab’s school of fashion, and from there, decided to focus on a career in fashion design. To quench her thirst and gain more experience in the industry, Sandra headed to Paris where she received an M.S in fashion design from the Instituto Marangoni. Nevertheless, Sandra did not want to launch her own line from Paris but from her homeland, she told the magazine, and was staunch to enter the trade that is still largely confined to men. In preparation for her first collection, Sandra said, she applied for a USD 200 thousand loan from Kafalat Foundation that was channeled primarily for the rent of a workshop and the purchase of required sewing machinery, in addition to the employment of three women assistants to help her. The credit was not enough, Sandra told Le Commerce, for she had to buy the fabrics among other ingredients and recruit more employees, and hence, needed to rely on smart marketing tools to carry on. Despite the difficulties she faced in the beginning, Sandra boasted that she now has her own atelier in Jemayzeh neighborhood of Beirut, and has some 17 fashion assistants. Most importantly, she concluded, she has 15 points of sale in the UK and the Arab countries, and her reputation has expanded to Asia and the US. (Le Commerce du Levant, May, 2017)

Share on

Amal: Syrian woman and a new victim of domestic violence

16-5-2017

Amal Ali Khalil is a new victim of domestic violence in Lebanon. Khalil, 18 years, Syrian, was rushed to Tamnin Hospital in Baalbak on Sunday with bruises all over her body caused by her husband Hilal Mohamad Khalil (35 years). In the details reported by An Nahar newspaper, doctors at first sight thought it was brought about by ruthless beating to be shocked later by the findings of the clinical examination. The latter, Amal clarified, was the outcome of five long days of sadism and cruelty practiced by the victim’s husband on his wife’s body while holding her captive. The motive behind the aggression, she said, is to reprimand her for being not clean enough in her house, or rather, in the tent that shelters her and her 6-month old daughter, along with the children from her husband’s first wife, who she added, have joined in the act of torture. The information Department at the Internal Security Forces has reportedly arrested the perpetrator who confessed to brutalizing his wife using pointed objects in the town of Sareen, and was transferred to the Investigations Department in Baalbak. For her part, Amal’s mother who carried her daughter to the hospital said she has no choice but to sue Hilal (the husband), demanding that the media relay the case of Amal. This case, the mother said, should prompt all NGOs and associations concerned with the rights of women and Syrian refugees to act and put an end to the growing phenomenon of violence and abuse against women and children. (An Nahar, May 16, 2017)

Share on

International Nurses Day celebration

16-5-2017

La Sagesse University marked yesterday the International Nurses Day celebrated on May 12 of each year at the invitation of its president, Khalil Shalfun. The event was organized in collaboration with the Order of Nurses in Lebanon and the Francophone University Agency, and under the auspices of minister of health, Ghassan Hasbani. On the occasion, La Sagesse School of Public Health held an exhibition and conference under the theme: “A voice to lead, achieving the sustainable development goals’, which saw the participation of Bahij Arbid, who represented Minister Hasbani and the president of the Order of Nurses, Nuhad Dumit. The dean of public health, Professor Ramez Chaheen, pointed out to a serious shortage in nursing staff in the country in general, and in hospitals, in particular. Likewise, Shalfun stressed the need to spread awareness on the importance of the nursing profession and promoting the good impact the sector has at the level of national health. Dumit, for her part, disclosed a 3-year programme to build nursing capacities set by the Order and involving training of men and women nurses inside and outside of hospitals in order to train their peers in their localities and normalize nursing standards across the country. Arbid, in his turn, said that the development of the role of a nurse has generated vast needs for key, but still underprovided, specialties, like for example, emergency and geriatric medicine. He underlined the necessity of provision of similar disciplines to address the largest part of local needs to this effect, and always, in coordination with the Order of Nurses, the universities and the ministry of education. There is a growing need, Arbid maintained, to review the law regulating the nursing profession, as well as bridging the gap between college and vocational education in nursing. (Al Mustaqbal, Al Diyar, May 16, 2017)

Share on

Honoring headmistress of a public school in Saida

15-5-2017

Al Islah Intermediate public school in Saida organized on Saturday a ceremony in honor of its headmistress, Amal Rustom, who completed a long career in the fields of education and administration. The event was held under the auspices of chair of the Parliamentary Educational and Cultural Committee, MP Bahiya Hariri. On the occasion, the newly assigned school head, Mohamad Booz, said his job and responsibilities after Rustom “shall not be easy”. Rustom was a successful head teacher and “the sought-for model in public schools and teaching in Lebanon”, Booz maintained. He urged the ministry of education to properly and justly reward competent educators and to discipline unapt teachers. For her part, Hariri recalled her career years in Islah School. She commended Rustom’s ambitious inspirations and endeavors, who she said, has given all her love and devotion to the mission of education, and has coached generations in Saida on good articulation, kindness, co-existence and sense of belonging. At the close of the ceremony, honorary shields were handed over to Rustom, who also received honorable mention from the Educational District. (Al Mustaqbal, May 14, 2017)

Share on

Lamia Mubayed Bsat's pioneering career

15-5-2017

L’Orient Le Jour devoted a special feature last Thursday to highlight the professional and academic journey of the head of Institut des Finances Basil Fuleihan (IoF), Lamia Mubayed Bsat after being awarded the national order of Legion of Honor from the rank of Knight last April. In an interview with the newspaper, Bsat spoke about her educational achievements. She said she graduated in 1988 with a BS in agricultural engineering from the American University of Beirut (AUB). Eventually, she discovered that she is attracted more to the field of economics and development, which she studied and graduated in 1990 with an MS degree in agricultural economics and development, noting that she won Sana Najjar-Zahr award for the best student performance given by AUB. After that, she worked as a university professor at the state-run Lebanese University School of Agriculture, before settling permanently in the field of economic development. She told L’Orient Le Jour reporter that she worked for a private sector economic institution, before moving to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), where she was introduced to good governance, public administration and institutional development programs. She mentioned her contributions to a rehabilitation and modernization state institutions project. In 2000, Bsat said she became deputy head of the Finance Institute at the Ministry of Finance (later known in 2006 as the Basel Fuleihan Institute for Economy and Finance), boasting that her team is mainly comprised of women. She concluded by expressing her trust in the State and its institutions and in bringing about change in society, including a revolution in public schools, promotion of the citizens financial awareness and promoting competence in positions of responsibility. )L’Orient Le Jour, May 11, 2017(

Share on

Scrapping sponsorship (kafala) system to boost Arab economies

12-5-2017

A recent report published by the International Labor Organization (ILO) has shown that reforming the present sponsorship system, known as ‘kafala’, which regulates the temporary migration of laborers in the Middle East shall have significant benefits. These include, improved working conditions, enhanced meeting of the needs of employers and boosting the national economy as well as labor market productivity. The ILO report entitled, ‘Employer-Migrant worker Relationships in the Middle East: Exploring scope for internal labor market mobility and fair migration’, argues that visa sponsorship gives the sponsor (kafeel), as "owner" of the work and residence permit, significant power over the lives of non-national workers, an imbalance greater than what is seen in normal labor market situations. Accordingly, the report adds, this renders human rights violations a natural phenomenon, and more, a way of life enforced on migrant workers (particularly migrant women domestic workers, who become controlled by their employers in the finest details of their lives.) Violations start from undefined working hours in return for barely one-third of the minimum wage (by virtue of Lebanese law), the deprivation of their weekly day off, racist hate talk and physical, mental and sexual abuse, which in some cases build up to acts of murder). The ILO report went on to explain that sponsorship arrangements in the Middle East have been largely criticized due to the imbalanced employer-migrant worker relationship which could develop into a form of forced labor. It based its conclusion on observations of the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations on Forced Labor Convention, which define forced or compulsory labor as "any act or service exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the person does not voluntarily submit", that is to say, slavery. For the full report, please visit the following link: http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---arabstates/---ro-beirut/documents/publication/wcms_552697.pdf

Share on

Rab7ha Eidi good will ambassador for Live Lebanon

12-5-2017

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Live Lebanon Initiative announced yesterday the appointment of Rab7ha Eidi as its Goodwill Ambassador for her contribution to fundraising projects in support of disadvantaged communities in the country. During the appointment ceremony at the office of UNDP Resident Coordinator, Philippe Lazzarini, Eidi made clear that she never sought to do something that was good to be rewarded in return. “Therefore I am grateful to receive an honor that reinforces my zeal,” Eidi said. It should be noted, that Eidi is the founder of ‘Dar al Hanan’ association, Al Sadr Foundation in the USA and Canada, as well as Mashgara Medical Center and language school. She is also a former member of the Lebanese Honorary Council in Toledo, Ohio, in addition to being a member of the Women's Association for Cultural Events and the René Moawad Foundation (RMF) in Washington. In a parallel line, Eidi has many undertakings targeting local communities. She started her humanitarian endeavor in 1982 with organizing fundraising campaigns, particularly for helping low-income students get to US colleges, as well as provision of medical aid in Bekaa and Beirut, up to raising donations for reconstruction works in the wake of the Israeli aggression against Lebanon in 2006. Eidi has also won numerous awards, notably the US Congressional Medal of Honor for Expatriates, and just last week, received a prize from Lebanese Foreign Minister Jibran Bassil for her humanitarian work at the Lebanese Diaspora Energy Conference in Beirut. (Al Mustaqbal, May 12, 2017)

Share on

Graduation ceremony of female students at Raml Zarif Public school

12-5-2017

As the school year drew closer to its end, Raml el Zarif co-ed public school held a graduation ceremony for middle school female students organized by its head, Zeina Atr, under the auspices of Beirut Educational District, Mohammad Jamal, and the presence of a number of headmasters of Beirut schools and graduates’ parents. On the occasion, which saw musical and theatre shows by students, Atr stressed the significance of education as a mission and not a profession, praising efforts of teaching staff to bring their students to where they are today. And in an address to the graduates, Atr maintained that by planning and perseverance, they can realize their aspirations and goals. For his part, Jamal, expressed gratitude to the school’s administration and faculty on the progress achieved on the level of educational success and extracurricular activities. (Al Diyar, May 12, 2017)

Share on

Pages


Subscribe to RSS - News updates