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As part of the national campaign, ‘A Meeting with Nurses in Every Casa: Participate, Explore, Know’, the Lebanese Order of Nurses organized last Sunday its 12th and last gathering at the Imam Sadr Foundations in the southern port city of Tyre. The event was held under the sponsorship of the Health Ministry’s Primary Health Care Department in cooperation with the Tyre municipality. On the occasion, the head of the Order of Nurses, Nuhad Yazbek Dumit, underlined the roles accomplished by male and female nurses as, “mentors, teachers, academics, organizers, researchers and examiners working within a homogenous team and guided with effective and meaningful communication.” The director of Imam Sadr Foundation, Nijad Sharaffedin, for his part, said that with the technological and scientific advancement in all fields, including the health sector, the role of the nurse has naturally expanded from health care to education, participation in development of comprehensive health care plans and research, and coordination of the roles of health workers, patient follow-up and treatment supervisory tasks. It should be noted that the meeting created an opportunity for participants to communicate with nurses and learn about their profession through free health check-ups and awareness info about diabetes and blood pressure, as well as mother and child health in addition to leisure and educational activities for all family members. (Al Mustaqbal, August 1, 2016)

 

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Lebanese Forces member, MP Elie Kairuz, submitted last Friday a draft legislation revoking Article 522 of the Penal Code which provides for end of all prosecution against a sexual assaulter if he marries his victim. (Section 7 of the Penal Code/ on crimes of obscene or abusive nature). The proposal, according to Kairuz, is aimed for the physical protection of a woman, her dignity and physical safety, and subsequently, amendment to the current legislative criminal justice system (represented by the Penal Code), becomes mandatory to end all discrimination against women. The said law proposal centers on the text of Article 522 which orders “the end of prosecution and suspension of punishment of the aggressor in the incident of a true marriage between him and his victim.” The preamble or explanatory statement of the draft indicates that halting the prosecution of the assailant justifies the impunity for other criminals, particularly that the said article involves all felonies specified in Chapter One that are sexually-related, notably rape, kidnapping or immoral acts, and as such, no perpetrator, accomplice, intervener, instigator or partner in the crime is discharged. The above proposal considers that the “present text applied on cases of abuse of women by either force, violence or deceptive persuasion, in fact applies to acts that pose a serious aggression against a woman’s dignity, as well as against her physical, psychological and moral integrity". Therefore, the proposal goes on, “any alleged marriage between the aggressor, or one of the aggressors if they were many, and their victim, does not constitute a compensation or solution to the violence suffered by the woman as a result of the assault.” (Al Akhbar, July 30, 2016)

 

As part of the ‘youth empowerment and socio-psychological support of Palestinian children’ program, the Palestinian Human Rights Foundation (SHAHED) conducted last week a training session in the southern city of Tyre on methods of early childhood development. The 2-day workshop, funded by UNICEF, targeted a group of kindergarten teachers and a number of women social workers in the domain of child protection, with demonstrations and input from trainer Maha Hudruj. At the end of the course, the beneficiaries received a certification of participation and a set of toolkits that help in working with children. (Al Mustaqbal, August 1, 2016)

 

The National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW) launched yesterday its second annual report on the development of the action plan for the national strategy for women in Lebanon (2010-2021) completed in cooperation with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The report outlined efforts deployed so far by the public sector, civil society and international organization to realize the above objective and detailed the projects executed during the year 2014. The report criticized the partial approach in the legal and legislative performance of organizations in their attempts to remove discriminatory provisos against women embedded in national laws, as these demands, according to the report, remain limited to adjusting specific legal articles without tackling the law in a comprehensive manner. The report also detected a remarkable decline in the number of organizations pressuring the government to lift its reservations on the CEDAW agreement (Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women). In education, the report pressed the need to issue decrees absolute for the Law of Compulsory and Free education, and to eradicate all gender stereotyping especially of women in textbooks. In economy, the report urged banks to stop all discrimination practices against women in respect to their right to open a bank account for their minor children. (An Nahar, Al Mustaqbal, July 29, 2016)

 

The “Ma3akom” Charitable and Social Association organized yesterday a cultural exchange trip to Arz Tanurine and Balu3’ Bal3a’ areas in Lebanon as part of the ‘English Program for Women 2016’ funded by the Public Diplomacy Section at the US Embassy in Beirut. The program which aims at teaching English for women in Lebanon also seek to socially empower them in order to become active members of their community. During this cultural day, the US Embassy Cultural Advisor, Rose Lindgreen, met with various women who have assembled from Fnaydek, Mashtah Hassan, Ali Nahri and Majdala. Day activities included English language educational games that promote the use of the English language among the participants. In conclusion, Ghina Usta Alush, director of the project, outlined some of the social and development undertakings carried out by the beneficiaries upon their return to their villages, namely: the clean-up of the Qamu3a Plain in Akkar, a visit to an elderly nursing home in Zahleh, a visit to an addiction rehabilitation association in Jounieh and Byblos, the implementation of activities for children on Eid-el-Fitr in Baddawi, a project in support of a local association located in Fakha, Beqaa, the procurement of wall clocks for a Hussayniyeh in Nabha, the provision of support to a mother and her 3 daughters with special needs in Majdala, and finally, flower planting and clean-up of the town square of Shaath village in the Beqaa.  (Al Mustaqbal, July 28, 2016)

 

The latest decision by Al Khiam mayor, Ali Abdallah, banning the registration of women and girls in the H7aramoon Marathon (news: http://bit.ly/29WmG20) , in addition to Jibsheet mayor's decision forcing a computer shop to close at prayer times and enforcing the rule of male- females separation, and the similar decision of Aitaroon municipality to separate men and women in swimming pools, instigated a wave of condemnations amongst human rights and women’s rights circles. To this effect, the president of the Lebanese Council of Women (LCW), Iqbal Dughan, categorically rejected the above prejudiced attitude against women, describing it as “unacceptable and religiously, morally and traditionally forbidden” here in Lebanon. Dughan urged women to protest such line of thought and associated diktats, which will unquestionably backslide the country, as she puts it. For her part, KAFA Enough Violence and Exploitation communication officer, Maya Ammar, terming that Khiam mayor decision as “discriminatory, macho and conservative” and in breach of international human rights conventions, called for the immediate intervention of the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities to clarify the motives of the decision and to cancel it, in respect of gender equality. Afifeh Sayyed, the general coordinator of the Future Movement Women’s Sector also criticized the decision which brings in religious beliefs into civil issues, like sports, noting that religions are not against women practicing sports. In the same vein, Fe-Male association denounced in a statement the “unjustified and intolerable performance and rhetoric of certain municipalities,” reminding them of the principle of equality in rights and responsibilities of all citizens as observed by the Lebanese Constitution, which also admitted the right of all to full citizenship without discrimination. “Hampering the right of women to enjoy sports or enter swimming pools is downright disgraceful,” Fe-Male association maintained. (Al Mustaqbal, Al Akhbar, July 26, 2016)

 

In its edition of today, Al Akhbar daily highlighted the extent of administrative corruption within Christian religious courts that take care of divorce-related matters.  The echoes of these seem to have reached the Vatican which has prompted the latter to seriously think of setting up a special court at the Vatican Embassy in Beirut to alleviate the suffering of many Lebanese people. While reporting some of the oppressive rulings of above courts, particularly against women, Al Akhbar revealed a yet far-reaching influence these institutions have with relation to determining the custody of children, size of alimony and the proper aptitudes of either parent, among other powers that normally fall under the jurisdiction of civil courts. Notwithstanding the Vatican’s recommendations to rectify similar abuses, the newspaper unveiled the case of a woman victim who after reporting her grievance to the Holy See prompted the latter to strongly intervene in order to put an end to such mounting transgressions. In this respect, a wealthy man known to have strong relations with religious judges and influential persons at the Patriarchate has filed for divorce to the Maronite religious court. The wife, however, after 16 years together, has refused the ‘termination of the marriage contract’, and firmly opted for separation. Al Akhbar noted that while a similar file takes usually from 2 to 3 years, this special case was closed in a couple of weeks with a ruling in favor of the husband. This, the newspaper maintained, could not have been completed without the personal mediation of the chief of respective court who considered that the wife suffers from ‘irrecoverable mental illness’. In her turn, the wife brought her file and the evidences validating her spouse’s ‘religious’ connections, to Rome. But while the Lebanese religious Court reacts quickly to the recommendation of the Vatican court, this time the Lebanese dragging and stalling, has exacerbated the fears of Rome who is now aware that all pretexts of a slow email or other technical excuses are but deceptions. In conclusion, the newspaper reported that the Papal Seat is intending to forcefully intervene in this case to stop all abuses. (Al Akhbar, July 26, 2016)

 

The recently appointed mayor of the southern town of Khiyam, Ali Abdallah, has banned, based on religious beliefs, all women and girls in the town of partaking in the projected Haramoon Marathon, An Nahar daily reported last Saturday. The event, to recall, is organized in “Suk el Khan” in Hasbayya under the sponsorship and presence of the Minister of Youth and Sports, Abdel Mottaleb Henaoui. Ironically, the newspaper analyzed, Abdallah’s instructions ruled out the registration of females, only males were allowed, despite the reservation of a number of the 21-member municipal board. Remarkable in the decision, An Nahar noted, is that the mayor, while banning females from running the mixed marathon, has approved the participation of young men in the same event. No objection to Abdallah’s decision has been detected, the newspaper stated, mentioning that “the municipality’s administrative affairs are being regulated through a political and sectarian authority”, in allusion to Hezbollah Party, and this in coordination with Amal Movement. Similar other restrictive decisions were taken in the past which act to undermine diversity. (An Nahar, July 25, 2016)

 

Under the sponsorship of the Minister of Social Affairs, Rasheed Derbas, the Social Women of Kefrayya Association inaugurated last Saturday its annual fair at Kefrayya Public School in the presence of the president of the Association Nada Murad Samrut, women members and a group of concerned people. On the occasion, Tina Hanna, speaking on behalf of the Association, pointed out that the exhibition has become a yearly event looked-for by the town women to showcase and sell their creations. For his part, Sheikh Mahdi Shalak, lauding the diverse assortment of handcrafts, underlined the inspiring collective spirit which united together women from Kefrayya, Rasin7hash and Bta3bura. Likewise, Mohamad al Ahdab representing Minister Derbas, boasted the different activities run by the above association, particularly in the domain of development and women empowerment. The exposition which opened Saturday and Sunday displayed various artisan and handmade items, traditional mooneh products, jewelry, accessories, gadgets, gifts and paintings. The proceeds are earmarked for underprivileged and poor families as well as to help women become productive and build their potentials. (Al Diyar, July 24, 2016)