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The harsh economic and security conditions afflicting neighboring Syria, have pushed Syrian women to venture into once inaccessible domains. In a bold and unprecedented move, ten women nationals received driving licenses to drive public buses in the country. This step has set off a series of reactions on social media, particularly that the profession requires toil and vigor and is normally restricted to men. Hala Assi, the administrative supervisor at Dar Al Farah school, is among those who received the driving permit. She explained that driving a bus is part of her responsibility as a mother to protect the children and keep them safe, both physically and psychologically, in case of emergency, particularly in the current circumstances. “The idea was brought up collectively as a means to promote the culture of initiative, participation and to bring about a genuine positive change in society,” Assi said, adding that the situation in Syria has forced a recognition of the need for women in society at parity with their men peers. Driving vans is one of many occupations the Syrian woman has had the guts to enter and excel in despite the enormous difficulties. Likewise, Safaa Arafat, another daring driver, from the same school, boasted that the initiative has won the government’s backing and cooperation. For his part, the Syrian Deputy Transport Minister, Ammar Kamaleddine, while commending the female drivers’ distinction in the theoretical and traffic safety related tests, noted that they underwent a special training program on the transport of school children and the driving of buses and microbuses intended for public transport. It should be noted, that the whole team of women above are certified supervisors at Dar Al Farah school. With this venture, Syrian women would have challenged the stereotype patterns of the male dominant society. (As Safir, July 19, 2016)

 

Two days following the mitigated three-year imprisonment sentence against the killer of wife Manal Assi, the capital of the North, Tripoli strongly attacked the attitude of the father who dropped his personal rights against the three rapists of his underage girl, “as if nothing has happened.” In this respect, the Tripoli Bar Association President pledged to continue the legal battle in the case of the girl until the end, while supporting at the same time the grandfather’s request for the custody of his granddaughter. In the meantime, while the girl’s laywer, Mohammad Hafzah, maintained that dropping the personal right does not “negate the nature of the rape incident,” the defendants’ attorney requested the release of the three young men, and is awaiting the decision of the judge on his appeal. On the subject, the Lebanese Center for Human Rights filed a notice last week at the public prosecutor discriminatory denouncing ‘Kalima Online’ electronic portal for publishing confidential news related to the above case and disclosing the full name and address of the victim. Meanwhile, the wave of condemnations is mounting against the recent mitigated pronouncement by Beirut Criminal Court in the case of Manal Assi. To this effect, As Safir newspaper recalled that one of the key underlying foundations for the passing of the domestic violence law was to deny all “angry abusers” the right to justify violence against their spouses (and other female members of the family). Incriminating the deceased wife, Manal, with adultery has backslid Lebanese society ten years, to the time prior to annulment of the so-called ‘honor killing’ law. In the same vein, Kafa Enough Violence and Exploitation called for the widest participation in the sit-in that it plans to organise tomorrow Wednesday at the Justice Palace to protest the above mitigated verdict. )As Safir, Al AKhbar, The Daily Star, July 19, 2016)

 

The mitigated 5-year imprisonment term for the killer of wife, Manal Assi, pronounced by the Criminal Court of Beirut last Thursday, while charging the victim with responsibility for allegedly unlawful conduct towards her husband, ( http://bit.ly/2amjtWE) has aroused a wave of condemnations to this effect. KAFA Enough Violence and Exploitation organization said it believed the five-year term was a gift handed by the court to the culprit, describing the verdict as totally absurd. “It completely disregards the ethical and logical considerations and human rights principles that our legislations are still a far cry from,” KAFA noted, and “How cheap the lives of women in our country have become,” it concluded. Likewise, lawyer Manar Zuaiter maintained that “the woman magistrate (Helena Iskandar) who issued the sentence has given herself the powers to morally judge a woman killed by her husband.” This, Zu3aiter lamented, while completely ignoring the circumstances of the crime, the judge also overlooked the fact that the killer husband was known for his violent behavior which makes him a real threat to society. Zu3aiter also revealed the act of betrayal of the husband, and his marriage to another woman, questioning whether the act was morally acceptable. Similarly, a number of jurists agreed that the above sentence was unfair and reinvigorates the notion of ‘honor killings’ through Article 252 of the Penal Code. The latter states that the victim’s family by dropping its personal right is acknowledging that the pronounced verdict is a ‘crime of honor’. This, legal experts pointed out, makes a decision to appeal almost impossible, given the male chauvinist mentality behind the act of relinquishment of the personal right. (As Safir, Al Akhbar, Al Mustaqbal, July 16, 2016)

 

Related news: 

Criminal Court of Beirut pronounces an unfair sentence against killer of his wife Manal

Lebanese legislations promote sexual assault, torture and domestic violence

 

Despite the fact that Labor Minister (MoL), Sajaan Azzi, is one of the fierce defenders of the inhuman sponsorship (Kafala) system, that reinforce human enslavement, and notwithstanding his refusal to legally approve the formation of the trade union of migrant women domestic workers (MWDW), the Lebanese Ministry of Labor reminded in a statement issued on Friday the Lebanese of the need to observe principles of human rights and to apply the provisos of relevant labor laws in dealing with migrant women domestic workers MWDWs on Lebanese territories. These conditions, the statement mentioned, include “provision of a decent working environment and residence with the employer family, as well as protection of any potential risks the MWDWs might experience.” The ministry said it attaches great importance to compliance to the above principles by households who have a live-in domestic worker, “as that reflects our respect to humanity”, warning of taking appropriate measures against any violating party. (Al Diyar, July 16, 2016)

 

In collaboration with Promundo organization, ABAAD association launched yesterday the ‘R Program’ aimed at creating a sustainable behavioral pattern among boys and men to promote gender equality in Lebanon. The name as it tells in Arabic is derived from ‘man’. It is a way to encourage the male sex to break gender stereotypes and to start questioning the traditional inferences of the concept of masculinity, and hence participate in ending all forms of discrimination against their women partners. The program is built on a strategic training methodology to capacitate the youth through raising awareness and seeking to replace gender patterns, particularly in matters related to non-violent sexual and reproductive health rights, abuse and gender equality. It is also based on the ‘Programme H’ (working with young men) that has been applied in some 22 countries in the framework of plans to end violence against women. It should be noted, that ABAAD, winner of the ‘Womanity’ award, has adapted the program to be consistent with the Lebanese context, while taking into account the emerging issue of refugees. The program targets young men aged between 18 to 24 years living in marginalized communities and brought up in areas of conflict and are pigeon-holed as male chauvinists, with one aim to sensitize them on relevant approaches that help restrain misled notions of gender discrimination and male violence. The program is divided across many aspects and includes interactive workshops, as well as discussions and games that address the traditional bringing up of men and women and its impact on society. (Al Mustaqbal, July 15, 2016)

 

Two years following the death from excessive brutality of Manal Assi by her husband at their house in a Beirut neighborhood, the Criminal Court of Beirut, headed by Judge Helena Iskandar, issued yesterday an unfair mitigated 5-year imprisonment term for the killer, while charging the victim with responsibility for allegedly “unlawful, demeaning and shameful conduct”! The Court judged that the riders for a mitigated verdict are fulfilled in this special case of the defendant. It maintained that as the prosecution party has dropped all personal rights, and taking into account the circumstances of the incident and the defendant’s standards of living and owing to his provision for his two daughters, the court has unanimously decided to sentence the culprit to death, reducing and reduced the punishment to 7 then to 5 years in jail while deducting the period in detention. The pronouncement is expounded in a 45-page text entailing facts of the crime and testimonials of the defendant and witnesses. It also recalls the chronological settings of the atrocity which, according to the victim’s sister, included beating using fists, a pressure cooker and a glass bowl. The court ruling was reportedly based on the fact that the husband, in shock to find his wife on the phone with her lover, got aggravated and furious at her dishonest behavior. And as proven to the court that the murderer suffers emotional tantrums, the court found the stipulations of Article 252 of the Penal Code are vindicated in the case of the defendant, and therefore he is eligible to benefit from a mitigating sentence.   (Al Mustaqbal July 15, 2016)

 

Related news: 

A man defenestrates his wife in Bshamoon while the trial of husband of deceased Manal Assi is postponed 

 

As part of the MENA oriented investment projects funded by the US Agency for International Development USAID, the Insure Match Capital (IM Capital) fund to support entrepreneurship in Lebanon launched recently its Seeders Masterclass for Business Angels (Seeders- MBA) program targeting individual investors. The event took place in the presence of the USAID director in Lebanon, Dr. Ann Paterson, and the participation of government representatives, business owners and entrepreneurs, investors, bankers, representatives of the private sector and involved associations, as well as deans of universities and members of chambers of commerce and business incubators. The initiative, the first of its kind in Lebanon, aims at providing technical assistance and support and improve access to finance, competitiveness and revenue growth for small and medium enterprises and startups. This helps in the empowerment of developing companies as per the creation of business opportunities, hence ensuring their sustainable social development and promoting economic growth of the nation. The selected group of investors are expected to hold a meeting every 6 to 8 weeks during which 2 or 3 SMEs will present an idea. By the end of the program, investors would have financially supported 3 to 4 ventures by pumping in projects USD 50 to 100 thousand for each. On the occasion, IM Capital general director, Dr. Nicolas Ruhana, made clear that the yearly program is anticipated to grow seeds of an informed and effective investors’ community that will eventually become an independent player in the Lebanese entrepreneurship arena. The World Bank also contributed to the program which is to be repeated every year. (Al Diyar, July 14, 2016)

 

Following the monstrous recent assault against an underage girl from Akkar (http://bit.ly/29I4W9t), As Safir daily analyzed, in its edition of today, Lebanon’s official approach to sex crimes, mainly rape, criticizing the relaxed and soft attitude of the law, the justice system and spiritual leaders towards the issue. While recalling the law related to domestic violence, the newspaper stated that while the law did not observe marital rape as a criminal offense, it only incriminated the physical injury resulting from the act after it has been medically confirmed. In this respect, As Safir focused on Article 522 of the Penal Code of the year 1943, which provides for exemption of the rapist from punishment if he married his victim, and described it as the mother of all evils. The said article, it should be noted, tackles the subjects of rape, deflowering a virgin, kidnapping, sexual harassment, forced sexual intercourse and exploiting the vulnerability of the victim. The newspaper also brought up the domestic violence related law, namely Article 503 of the Penal Code, which supports the punishment to a minimum five-year in hard labor, any person who forces a woman, who is not his wife, to sexual intercourse by use of violence or intimidation. For coercing the wife is perceived as normal from the religious perspective, the newspaper went on to say, and is exhausted by the Lebanese legislator to expedite penalizing the acts of rape. In a related vein, Human Rights Watch issued a statement on Tuesday which read: ‘Dignity Debased: Forced Anal Examinations in Homosexuality Prosecutions”. The report recorded incidences, over the past five years, of men and women who were forced to undergo anal and vaginal tests, in addition to cases of sexual assaults  of women accused of homosexuality, in at least 8 countries, including Lebanon. The organization considered such tests, “which lack evidentiary value, as a form of cruel, demeaning and inhuman treatment or an act of punishment that could reach, in some incidents, plain torture.” According to the report, the victims who were forced to undergo anal examinations stated that the tests were painful and humiliating, and some described them as one form of sexual violence. The report was based on interviews with 32 men and woman transsexuals in each of Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya, Lebanon, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda and Zambia. (As Safir, L’Orient Le Jour, July 13, 2016)

For full report, please check: (https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/07/12/dignity-debased/forced-anal-examinations-homosexuality-prosecutions)

 

Some of the local media yesterday, unknowingly or knowingly, were complicit in the act of rape committed by three young men against a minor girl from Tripoli, when they exposed the identity of the victim without consulting with her in a society whose traditions and norms condemn the victim in sensitive issues like this one. In the details, that three young men took turns in raping a 16-year-old orphan girl from Tripoli. The assailants seduced her and drove her from the house of her grandfather where she lives to Dahr el Ain in neighboring Kura, where they drugged, raped and filmed the girl to blackmail her. While keeping to herself in fear of reprehension, the underage girl finally decided to speak up to her aunt. The latter accompanied her to a gynecologist for examination and he confirmed the act of rape. The aunt reported the case to the Security Forces of Mina unit and news spread. Appallingly, some of the media aired the full name and address of the victim, which yet exacerbated the girl’s emotional trauma. The crime has rocked the northern city and the whole country, prompting an instant backlash on all the social media networks. Activists called for a sit-in at 5:30 pm tomorrow at the Justice Palace in Beirut with one main heading, ‘fight rape’. Similarly, civil associations and figures, notably the director of projects at the Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering, lawyer Manar Zeaiter, demanded competent authorities to show zero tolerance towards the savage rapists, and to override Article 522 of the Penal Code. The latter, to recall, provides for dropping the personal and public rights of the rapist, in terms of ending the tracking, punishment or sentencing of the rapist should he decide to marry his victim. Zeaiter requested maximum penalty for the offenders and provision of the proper psychiatric treatment and social assistance for the girl victim . (As Safir, Al Akhbar, Al Mustaqbal, Al Diyar, July 12, 2016)