News updates

In the framework of fighting human trafficking, the General Directorate of Security Forces announced in a statement yesterday the arrest of a new prostitution ring active in Maameltein north east of the capital. The statement added that the bust was based on information involving an organized ring luring girls from Syria to travel to Lebanon for tourism and forcing them into prostitution. A number of perpetrators of Lebanese and Syrian nationalities have admitted to the charges and that they worked for a Lebanese procurer facilitating prostitution in exchange for money. Citing the confessions of those arrested, the statement said negotiations with clients were conducted over the phone, websites and social media. A number of cell phones were also confiscated as these were used by the ring in addition to a quantity of cash. Suspects were referred to the competent judiciary as the hunt for the rest of the ring members continues, the statement concluded. (As Safir, Al Mustaqbal, November 3, 2016)

 

The Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Saida and the South signed yesterday a memorandum of understanding with the Lebanese American University (LAU) to train the staff of the small and medium enterprises (SME), owners of startups and students to better serve their community. To this end, a number of training courses will be organized within the framework of the Continuing Education Program at LAU under the supervision of the University’s faculty. On the occasion, the Chamber’s president, Mohammad Saleh, underlined that the objective of educational and work advancement has remarkably changed, pointing out that challenges should be addressed through the continuous update of information and the promotion of skills for workers at SMEs. The signing of the above MoU, Saleh maintained, will strengthen joint cooperation in the field of training targeting owners and workers of startups and students as well. For his part, LAU President, Dr. Joseph Jabra, drew attention to the present challenges, particularly in the creation of opportunities in education and job promotion for those who “have jobs but do not have the luxury of enrolling in a course at the university to boost their skills in a fast changing world.” (Al Diyar, November 2, 2016)

 

As part of its partnership with Hayya Bina and the American Embassy, Sawa Association for Development organized last week a ceremony during which it distributed certificates to women who completed a 6-month English language course. The event was held at the municipal hall of Majdal Anjar under the patronage of Mayor Saaed Yassin and the presence of Sawa director, Nawal Mdalalli as well as beneficiaries. Mdalalli on the occasion congratulated women participants for their serious efforts to acquire knowledge. For her part, Rawya Mdalalli, the supervisor of the project, underlined its importance in empowering women through acquisition of educational skills and promotion of their role in the development of their town. (Al Mustaqbal, November 1, 2016)

 

In its edition of today, The Daily Star newspaper featured the phenomenon of women lawyers in Ramallah, who presently almost outnumber their men colleagues. The newspaper spoke to two women in the legal profession and advocates of women’s issues in a world still dominated by patriarchal mindsets. Lawyer Rima Shamasneh underlined her struggle for gender equality through helping women claim their rights. Khulud Faqih, a woman judge at the Sharia Court of Palestine, also revealed to the newspaper, her compassion for women issues, particularly in relation to right to divorce, alimony and children custody. On the other hand, the head of the Sharia Court of the “West Bank”, Mahmud Habash, told the Daily Star that Shamasneh’s pleadings in court, like other fellow women advocates, might very well “contribute to the breakdown of society, because women and men are different in nature, and therefore should be ruled by different laws,” as he claimed. Similarly, Sheikh Mahmud Faqih, the imam of the town mosque, said that while he respects lawyer Shamasneh and her colleagues, yet he does not agree with their demands for equal rights in marriage and divorce. He said he is against the presence of Faqih in a sensitive position, “for a woman who cannot ask for her own divorce is no help for other women who want to divorce.” In conclusion, the Daily Star, citing a study by Pew Research Center, indicated that only one third of the Palestinians support the right of women to seek a divorce. (Daily star 31 October 2016)

 

A study on gender equality for 2016 published by the International Economic Forum this week has shown that progress in narrowing the gender gap in the workplace is significantly slowing down, and pointing out that economic equality between the sexes will not be realized before the year 2186. The Geneva-based forum extended the expectancy of gender equality 53 years, after it noticed chronic gender imbalances in salaries and positions. This affected the pace of progress which slowed down considerably to reach a peak in 2013, the study explained. Women around the world have received little over half the wage earned by their men colleagues, despite the long working hours and a level of participation in the labor market representing two third of the participation by men, the report indicated. Differences were more visible in some regions, notably in high income countries in the MENA region. The gender gaps in health and education have almost disappeared but were still “very wide” in terms of economic participation and political empowerment. In this respect, the study went on to say, the political representation of women stood at less than a quarter of that of men, stressing that the “number of women in senior positions is still far too low.” Only four countries, the report expounded, boast equal numbers of both sexes on legislative boards, as well as in high-ranking or managerial posts, despite the fact that the number of university graduate women in 95 countries equals or beats the number of men. To note, Lebanon which is among the 144 states covered by the study, came 135 in gender equality, with Iceland and Finland topping the list and Yemen and Pakistan coming last. For the complete report in English, kindly visit the following link:

:http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GGGR16/WEF_Global_Gender_Gap_Report_2016.pdf

(Al Mustaqbal, October 28, 2016)

 

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The third edition of the Mediterranean Future Women Program- FAM, announced this week that it is receiving applications for participation in the special training program for young leaders on issues related to gender equality. The program aims at promoting personal and professional capacities of young women aged between 25 and 35 years and coming from countries of the Southern Mediterranean Basin, namely, Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and Palestine. The program which is implemented by the Paris Institute of Political Sciences and supported by the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International Development, also seeks to develop a Euro-Med network for the promotion of gender equality. The two-week event (May 9-19, 2017) will target around 22 women from the civil, political, business, culture and media fields who will have the opportunity to meet various academic, political, media and art leading figures. For info on how to apply, please visit the following link: http://blogs.sciences-po.fr/womed/2016/10/17/fam2017-ouverture-de-lappel-a-candidatures-3e-edition

(L’Orient Le Jour, October 24, 2016)

 

For some time now, the concern of civil society associations has been focused on the issue of participation of women at all levels of public life. In this framework, a number of events were held last week emphasizing the role of political parties in supporting women’s involvement, particularly after the latest municipal elections have demonstrated the political factions relinquishing of that role. Maharat Foundation and Hivos International organized a workshop to launch a study prepared by the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections (LADE) entitled, ‘the presence of women in the electoral  media and municipalities 2016’. The study which was funded jointly by the European Union and Hivos, indicated that politicians and officials and administrators involved with organizing and management of the elections file are the least concerned about the participation of women in public life. It pressed the need to “reconsider the stereotypical images of men and women”, with emphasis on the role of the media in the emancipation of women to this effect. While Zeina Helu, LADE secretary general, drew attention to a persistent decline in women’s political participation in 2016, civil activist Ali Slim, outlined the findings of the study. He pointed out that women in Lebanon only occupy 3.1% of the total parliamentary seats, while women voters make up 51% of the total number of voters. Similarly, Lubnaniyoon association held a meeting on Friday in the presence of representative of political parties in order to plan for a women’s revolution on all the Lebanese territories. The aim of the uprising is to introduce a fair women’s representation quota in the electoral laws. Participants warned to boycott upcoming elections in case the government did not respond to this demand. In the same vein, a delegation of the ‘Women in the Parliament’ alliance, led by Taline Taurikyan, Rima Dinnawi from YWCA and Randa Yassir director of Smart Center, visited last Saturday Zafer Nasser, the general secretary of the Social Progressive Party (PSP) to discuss the ‘Parties Nominate Women’ (project coordinated in the name of the alliance by YWCA). Nasser underlined the PSP’s support and cooperation to the end of promoting women’s political role. (Al Mustaqbal, L’Orient Le Jour, October 22 and 24, 2016)

 

In partnership with the Swedish Organization for International Development, Diakonia, Dar el Amal Association organized a seminar last Saturday for employees and administrative staff in the private sector in Zahleh and the Beqaa on the social reintegration of released women prisoners in society. The event held at the premises of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Zahleh was organized in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Affairs and the General Directorate of Security Forces. In her opening address, Dar el Amal officer, Huda Qara, pointed out that the association has since 1996 been providing the three main women prisons in Baabda, Tripoli and Zahleh with the necessary equipment, and the women inmates with the social, medical, legal and mental support they needed. The association, Qara stated, arranges educational and professional training workshops to help those women acquire the skills they need for post-prison work life. She concluded by drawing the attention of the government, as well as the private and public sectors, to their obligation and role in the protection of human rights without any form of discrimination. For his part, the commander of Zahleh jail, Lt. Colonel Imad Beydun, described the painful reality of women prisons in Lebanon as a result of the overcrowded old buildings that lack proper recreational spaces, in addition to the shortage of personnel, apparatus and adequate funding. During the seminar, the owner and director of Shomu3 shop, Rana Salameh Kfuri, who teaches women inmates the art of decoration, spoke about her experience in this field. “A profession is on the one hand, the beginning of recuperation of the woman inmate’s life and her liberator from the past misery during imprisonment as well as a tool for empowerment, on the other,” Kfuri maintained. To close, two inmates gave live testimonies of their suffering after their release and the stigmatization and rejection by society that did not give them the opportunity of finding a decent job. (L’Orient Le Jour, October 22, 2016)

 

Within the framework of promoting the rights of women in Lebanon, ‘Say No To Violence’ Association called for the participation of Lebanese women in all kinds of sports and providing them with a safe and supportive environment, particularly in communities that consider sports a field for the empowerment of girls and women. The association underlined that women’s involvement in sports activities is significant for their physical and social development, especially for girls, noting that sports also contribute to enhancing self-awareness and self-respect. In this respect, the association commended the achievement of the Lebanese international champion, Rula Khaled, who came second in Thai Boxing at the  Asian Olympic Beach Games held in Vietnam. (Al Diyar, October 23, 2016)