News updates

After the discovery of the human trafficking mafia inside Chez Maurice and Silver super night clubs east of Beirut, ( http://www.lkdg.org/ar/node/14941), and the liberation of 75 Syrian girls, a squad from the Anti-Human Trafficking Bureau at the Judiciary Police Unit, arrested last Saturday a new network in Kesrwan area of Safra. The network is said to exploit Syrian refugee girls with coordination and facilitation by their spouses. The above Bureau detained some11 felons, including three women and their husbands, two other women and three men who are accomplices with the primary suspect in the first case who is still at large. Furthermore, As Safir newspaper disclosed today that the Anti-Trafficking Bureau has acted upon a call it received from a civil activist and following a post on social media mentioning the Safra network. (As Safir, Al Diyar, An Nahr, June 12 and 13, 2016)

 

In its issue of Saturday, An Nahar daily shed light on the work of Nivine Maktabi, the daughter of the legendary carpet family, who has sought to restore and revive the old craft. Recalling her beginnings, Nivine told the newspaper that following the death of her father, and being the eldest in the family, she decided to carry on with her dream in the world of men. She headed to London to major in business administration, social affairs and women empowerment, besides her study of the history of carpets and textiles at the Sothebys World Auctions House. This, Nivine expounded, introduced her to local and international associations in Lebanon working in the field of women empowerment, while at the same time she continued to work and expand the family carpet business. To this end, Nivine opened a workshop in the Bekaa region of Arsal.  The workshop is run by women who also weave shawls with designs reflecting the beauty and magic of the Orient. Nivine wanted to present quality carpets which are also affordable, and selected for that reason herbal colors for a final modern artistic craft, An Nahar wrote. Maktabi chose to collaborate with Fakha and Arsal women because they are skilled in loom knitting like the carpet weavers from Iran, India, Pakistan and Turkey. She explained to the newspaper how she designs the carpet and finishes it with silk and wool. “Encouraged by the United Nations refugee aid program, I had the chance to visit Arsal two months back and closely witnessed and supervised the work of some 11 women aged between 20 to 50 years in order to implement any design or graphic,” Nivine boasted. To recall, that on the 10th anniversary of the opening of her shop in the heart of Downtown Saifi Village district, Nivine Maktabi showcased a collection of made-in-Arsal items, noting that each one two-meter carpet takes around a month to complete. On the occasion, one woman weaver from the Bekaa town gave a live hand loom performance. (An Nahar, June 11, 2016)

 

The president of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture for Tripoli ‎and the North (CCIA-T), Tufic Dabbussi reiterated last Wednesday his ‎determination to support the distinctive role played by the Club for Women in ‎Business in Lebanon (CWB) especially that it complements the efforts of the ‎Chamber in empowering local women to seize Arab and global presence. Daboussi ‎who was speaking during his meeting with a delegation of the Club headed by ‎Carmen Zgheib underlined the need to facilitate women’s access to the productive ‎circles by easing the challenges they face in everyday business world. He pledged ‎to cooperate and coordinate whether in partnership to help succeed the ‎forthcoming international conference under preparation by the Club, or in any ‎other relevant undertaking that places Lebanese business women centrally on the ‎world map. For her part, Zgheib outlined the different activities planned for ‎launching next fall, and emphasized the significance of holding an international ‎forum that gather around 500 women from the Arab and foreign countries. (Al ‎Diyar, June 10, 2016)‎

 

While women advocate groups compete in holding conferences and talks to promote women participation in public affairs, the reality remains largely unchanged, dominated as always, by a male chauvinist mindset that refuses the right of women to freedom of expression. To this effect, An Nahar daily revealed in its issue of June 2, that the recent municipal and mayoral elections in the Tabaya, Saida, has prompted 7 cases of divorce in the southern town because the involved wives challenged the political views of their husbands in the electoral process. Speaking to An Nahar newspaper, one elections list supervisor confirmed the news, saying there have been informal cases, two of whom have been addressed, and three other remain unresolved.

In the same vein, the National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW) concluded yesterday a seminar entitled, ‘The role of the media in human development and the realization of gender equality, working methodologies for the development of the language and change of stereotypes.’ The 2-day meeting comes as part of the EU-funded ‘Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women in Lebanon’ initiative. The covered topics included: the role of the media in altering stereotypes about women during media interviews; participation of women in public matters, decision making and political life, as well as methods of development of the media language to observe gender sensitivity. Participants finally pressed for the need to enhance the role of women across all realms and support them in the media by exposing the various development, social and political activities they undertake. (An Nahar, June 2 and 9, 2016)

 

The percentage of municipal seats won by women in North Lebanon rose to 5% compared to 3% in Akkar, 3.5% in Mount Lebanon, 2.6% in Beirut, 2.8% in South Lebanon, 1.4% in Nabatieh, and only 1% in the Bekaa thus making North Lebanon the highest in terms of women’s representation and participation.  An initial review of results of the elections which were held on May 29, North Lebanon scored highest in terms of women participation in Koura (15%), Zgharta (14%), and Becharreh (13%) whereas the other remaining Mohafazat did not exceed 10% such as Jezzine in South Lebanon. The percentages of seats won by women scored 9% for Koura, 7% for Zgharta, and 6% for Becharreh whereas it did not exceed 5.2% in the Metn Caza of Mount Lebanon.  Koura scored the highest in terms of women’s participation and winning as 15% of candidates were women of whom 61% women thus scoring 9% of the total seats.  Tripoli scored the lowest percentages with 9% women candidates of whom 12% won this constituting 1% of the total seats 

According to the data published on the electoral portal of the Ministry of Interior (elections.gov.lb/), the overall number of candidates in the South was 5939 candidates, including 539 women, out of whom 242 winning women at a rate of 4%. The distribution came as follows: Koura: 654 candidates, including 97 women, 59 winning women (9%); Zgharta: 537 candidates, including 74 women, 38 winning women (7%); Becharreh: 236 candidates, including 31 women, 16 winning women (6.7%); Batroun: 563 candidates, including 55 women, 28 winning women (5%); Akkar: 2839 candidates, including 215 women, 68 winning women (3%); Minyyeh-Danniyeh: 918 candidates, including 50 women, 13 winning women (1.4%); Tripoli: 192 candidates, including 17 women, 2 winning women (1%).

 

 

The director of Civil Development Programs at the Hariri Foundation for Sustainable Human Development, Dima Hassan, wrote a feature in the Daily Star newspaper on the role of women in economy highlighting the importance of empowering women to play their key role in entrepreneurial economy. In her introductory note, Hassan cited the outcomes of a study by McKinsey Global Institute which has shown that the participation of women in the global labor market can add as much as USD 28 trillion to the global annual GDP by 2025. It pointed out that the female economy if well invested could create an economic boom, and this will reflect on their children and families. Despite efforts by some women to prove themselves in the business world, yet a great number of them remain marginalized in the labor market and face challenges that impede their productive capacities, Hassan wrote, adding that women are still not given rightful opportunities to prove themselves adequately. With only 50% of them participating in the formal work sector, Hassan stated, it is still a big waste of numerous talents and potentials that could save national economies worldwide. While she underscored the effective role of women in the entrepreneurial world, Hassan made a point that men still outweigh them in the innovation, operation and sustainability of projects, as reported by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, which added, that women have globally 40% fewer businesses than men. Finally, Hassan stressed the responsibility of all components of society towards the empowerment of women to enable them to use their full potentials. She noted that the emphasis on boosting startups and SMEs is not enough; rather there should be a comprehensive approach that will give women access to markets. (The Daily Star, June 8, 2016)

 

The Holy Spirit University-Kaslik School of Business and Commerce Studies organized last Friday an entrepreneurship competition  aimed at promoting the spirit of initiative amongst students and encourage them to translate their creative ideas into innovative development projects. On the occasion, the head of the School Communications and Student Exchange Department, Tina Habib, announced the opening of the ‘Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation’ in partnership with the University of Cleveland and the Lebanese Central Bank, which has so far supported many youth undertakings. For his part, the School’s Dean, Professor Neemat Azouri, pointed out that the contest represents the first stride towards the innovative world of entrepreneurship. At the end of the ceremony, participating students presented their projects in front of a jury committee.  These included the following:

a) Converting waste cooking oil into biodiesel: Students sought to produce new sources of energy, like for example, biodiesel, in order to replace conventional petroleum products. This invention attempted to generate biodiesel.from wasted cooking oil

b) U +: is an application catering to school students. It includes a database for various electronic portals of the different universities, their activities and the services they provide.

c) Seek & Match: is an application related to services in Lebanon which tries to match demand with service providers. (Al Mustaqbal, June 7, 2016)

 

The Palestinian Museum inaugurated last May 25, an exhibition named, ‘Streaks of Threads: the Palestinian Embroidery in its Political Context’ at Dar El-Nimer for Arts and Culture in Beirut. The show which is the first for the Museum outside the Palestinian territories will stay open until July 30. The original concept goes back to the late Leila Mikdadi Kattan renowned for her charity works in support of the Palestinian cause and Palestinian institutions and who worked hard to restore and revive the traditional Palestinian dress embroidery. The exhibition covered numerous creative works for Wadad Kawar and Malak Husseini with emphasis on the customary fashion of the Palestinian towns and villages that most reflect the historical roots and steadfastness of the Palestinian people to their land, despite all the attempts by the Israeli occupation to steal their heritage. The show also included paintings and artworks portraying the history and culture of Palestine before the Naqba in 1948. In this respect, Al Akhbar Lebanese daily maintained that the Palestinian embroidery cannot be interpreted outside the framework of the Palestinian women’s struggle. At the outbreak of the First Palestinian Intifada in the eighties of the past century, the newspaper said, the national flag was safely persevered in the traditional Palestinian dress, which prompted the Israeli authorities to unwaveringly campaign against its legacy. (Al Akhbar, June 7, 2016)

 

 

The Social Relief and Welfare Association in Saida- Muwassat organized a graduation ceremony yesterday for the 24th group of students of the affiliated Sidon Technical Institute for Young Women. The event was held at the Institute’s premises in the southern capital and was sponsored by Saida Mayor, Mohamad Saudi, in the presence of a group of public figures. On the occasion, Muwassat President, Arab Kalash, underlined the Institute’s determination to follow up its mission in educating young women in the various vocational disciplines and helping them participate in the development of their own city. Saudi, for his part, pointed out to the principle of partnership which is key to the success of the Association and which relies on the social and institutional efforts and the work of members of the Saida community. Saudi added: “Taking a tour inside the different departments of the institute one can clearly find that young women are true partners of the Association that took them in, trained them, and created for them new job opportunities so that they can improve their income and contribute at the same time to the accomplishments and successes of the Association itself”. (Al Mustaqbal, June 7, 2016)

 

The Women Heart Health Center (Yaduna-WHHC) association launched the guiding principles for Lebanese women to observe in order to prevent cardiovascular diseases that have proven to be the primary cause of women mortality in the country and worldwide. During a press conference last week, the WHHC nutrition specialist, Ziad Arabi, highlighted the aim of the prevention section at the organization which is to raise women’s awareness on necessary tools that guarantee healthy daily life choices. These, he explained, cover healthy diet recommendations that advise for a reduced intake of added sugars, saturated fats and sodium chloride, while concentrating on a variety of nutritious foods, like, vegetables, fruits, cereals, low-fat dairy products and fat-free meats, in addition to protein and oil rich foods. (Al Mustaqbal, June 5, 2016)