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An Iraqi court sentenced to death by hanging a member of the terrorist group, ISIS, for raping a Yazidi girl. The Iraqi Higher Judicial Council media center said in a statement that Karakh Criminal Court issued the death sentence by hanging against Abu Hamam as his alias, for multiple killings, including the the rape of a girl from the Yazidi religious minority when ISIS took control over most of Ninaveh province, north of the capital, Baghdad. The plaintiff said ISIS offered her as a gift to Kasabia, as reward for his injury in one of the battles with the Iraqi security forces. Recalling, that on August 3, 2014, armed members of ISIS rolled into the Sinjar mountain region and the neighboring towns and villages. They killed men and women, young, elderly and children with mass executions including slaughter and shooting and buried them in mass graves that are still being discovered. Girls and women were captured and taken as slaves and were exposed to horrendous forms of torture, violence, and rape without excluding child girls. (Al Diyar, March 3, 2020)
 

With the support of the Canadian Embassy in Beirut and the presence of NCLW president, Claudine Aoun Rukuz, Fighters for Peace organized a national conference on Friday entitled, ‘The role of women in building peace and reconciliation – UN Security Council Resolution 1325’. This event highlights the prominent role of Lebanese women in promoting state and societal security. On the occasion, Rukuz said that during the October 17 Uprising, women were actively engaged in political changes that were taking place through their wide participation in protests where they had an essential and equal role on par with men. Rukuz described above UN Resolution as a golden opportunity to attract various stakeholders, including the government, the ministries, public departments and civil society, in addition to donors, to the end of implementing a realistic and operational 4-year action plan to achieve gender equality.(NNA, February 28, 2020)

The ISF General Directorate announced in a statement on February 29, that the Anti-Human Trafficking and Morals Protection Bureau at the Judiciary Police has received information on international and foreign mobile numbers facilitating the sex work of girls sent to Lebanon for this purpose. These girls reportedly are provided with sex clients in exchange for a sum of money. Accordingly, as a result of close surveillance, the girls, numbered 10, mainly from the Ukraine, Russia and Romania, were located and arrested inside hotels in Hamra and Sodeco neighborhoods of Beirut. The hotel rooms were searched and cash as well as money transfer bills were seized. Upon investigation and interrogation, the suspects admitted to what was attributed to them and were referred to the competent judiciary, the ISF statement concluded. (Al Mustaqbal, February 29, 2020)
 

A video went viral on social media last week of a mother wailing over her dead daughter from outside the fence of a house in Deir Qanoun Nahr, Tyre. The mother was not allowed to reach her daughter’s grave built by her Ex-husband inside his residence to prevent her from entering. Recalling, that this mother has been prohibited from seeing her deceased child girl for almost two years. According to the area’s residents and neighbors, the couple had their marital disputes. And, the father of the girl, Ali Ismail, forbid his Ex, Lina, to see her own daughter, who was found killed by a gunshot last December under mysterious circumstances. In protest over the continued suffering of women by the bigoted Jaafari Courts rulings, the National Campaign to Increase Age of Custody for the Shiite Sect staged a sit-in on Saturday in front of the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council in Beirut with the theme, ‘The Outrage of Mothers’. Demonstrators chanted slogans like, “Corruption, corruption, inside inside religious turbans” and “Make the Court’s fence taller, for mothers will soon mount the barricades”, demanding the raise of the age of custody. (Al Akhbar, March 2, 2020)
 

Within the framework of the International Feminisms Festival in Beirut prepared jointly by several institutions, including the French Institute, (https://bit.ly/388helW),  Cinema Montaigne at the French Institute hosts a full program of films under the title, ‘Women Activists in Cinema’. The event which runs until March 4, is carefully chosen by Nadi Li Kul Al Nas club. Speaking to Al Akhbar daily, the director of the club, Naja Ashkar, pointed out that the selected screenings well match our main vision which salutes bold and independent, as well as author films. Ashkar stressed diversity as the key feature for the titles which highlight the role of the Lebanese and Arab woman in public life with the participation of men, and her personal concerns and struggle against occupation. For the complete list of films, kindly visit the following link: https://bit.ly/2PDVasW). )Al Akhbar, March 2, 2020(