News updates

As Safir daily newspaper published on February 6, an interview with music composer and professor at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, Rula Baaqline, highlighting her successful musicology career. As such, Baaqlini stated that she studied the history of music for 10 years at Saint Joseph University and another year at Notre Damme University and was recommended by her advisor to follow up musical composition in the United States. She applied to New Orleans University and received a scholarship.  She later moved to Texas Tech University where she got her doctorate degree in composition and returned to Lebanon in 2012. Baaqlini told the newspaper that a person who does not make it in his/her country, can never succeed abroad, noting that she is not well known in Lebanon because the public here is no longer a fan of classical music. “Musical composition is often classified as a male profession,” Baaqlini added, “and women composers or orchestra conductors are only an exception.” “When I first said I wanted to become a musical composer, nobody took me seriously,” she said, adding: “in Lebanon it is difficult to be a woman, and even more if you want to become a composer.” Finally, Baaqlini expressed her hope to be recognized one day as an international composer who thrived to develop a fusion of classical and oriental music. (As Safir, February 6, 2016)

 

The Labor Ministry in coordination with the Arab Labor Organization (ALO) organized yesterday a seminar entitled, ‘The Arab Working Woman and Emigration’ under the sponsorship of Minister Sajaan Azzi and the participation of ALO director, Fayez Matiri, the General Trade Union Chief, Ghassan Ghosn. Also present were delegates from some 13 Arab countries and representatives of local and regional labor unions. On the occasion, Dr. Iman Khaz3aal, who represented Minister Azzi, pointed out that Lebanon strongly identify with all issues of concern to the Arab World, including labor, and particularly women workers. He noted that Lebanon is a country that exports and imports labor and where women form are an active and essential element in society.  Khaz3aal lamented the high drain of Arab talents in the absence of a structured approach to benefit from them inside their countries. Matiri, for his part, emphasized that immigration has become more visible nowadays amidst the regional political turmoil which has negatively impacted life, work, income and all prospects of ordinary Arab citizens forcing many to face single-handedly their social and economic problems by relocating to other Arab or foreign countries. Matiri also noted that the phenomenon of emigration has mostly affected women, while pressing for an urgent regional and international solution to the current crisis. Finally, he warned that growing unemployment in the source countries, especially among the youth and most precisely among educated women, requires urgent and comprehensive solutions. (Al Diyar, February 11, 2016)

 

In a special feature published yesterday, Al Hayat daily newspaper underscored the numerous accomplishments by Lebanese women in the various professions to the point where they have become a role model in the Arab countries, while highlighting the heightened tensions within the households resulting from women’s success. Quoting an internal source from the Personal Status Court, the newspaper pointed out to the growing cases of divorce associated with the outstanding professional achievements of women particularly when surpassing that of their husbands. The source went on to say that some of the infidelity cases can clearly be traced to the above situation especially when the husband starts feeling inferior to his partner. For more insight on the subject, Al Hayat interviewed a number of people concerned. Fadi for example, stated that his wife’s behavior towards him changed after her promotion to the position of director of a branch of a well-known bank as she started to earn twice his salary. He added that: “eventually I could not put up with the new situation and decided to leave home and file for divorce,” while at the same time acknowledging his narrow-mindedness. “As her financial contribution to household expenditures increased, as well as her extra household commitments,” he went on to say, “I found myself more and more unable to cope with the situation.” In conclusion, Al Hayat recommended that couples in similar situation should seek psychological assistance quoting therapist Nadia Samaha who said that a stable marital relationship depends on being able to deal with the success of married women. (Al Hayat, February 11, 2016)

 

In coordination with UNESCO Regional Director in Beirut, Hamad Humami, MP Bahiya Hariri launched the first anniversary of the Outreach and Leadership Academy (OLA) which is the result of a partnership between the Lebanese American University (LAU) and the Hariri Foundation. The event was hosted at the historic building of Aisha Um Al Moo2mineen School in the Old Saida neighborhood, and brought together a number of artisans and merchants, in addition to young beneficiaries who completed a series of training workshops organized last year by the Academy. The event also witnessed the inauguration of the ‘entrepreneurship incubator’ which was set up in cooperation with UNESCO and funded by the Finnish government. On the occasion, Hariri underlined the main purpose behind establishing OLA center which is to contribute to educational justice in Lebanon through the extension of opportunities and the development of students’ capacities. “Everyone is gifted but needs orientation to express and enhance his/her talents,” Hariri noted. She said that the problem lies in the nature of the public educational system and that the Academy seeks to intensify training courses to counter the educational injustice. 

(Al Mustaqbal, An Nahar, February 11, 2016)

 

A joint survey conducted by Bayt.Com and YouGov cautioned against the high rates of unemployment among the youth in the Middle East and North Africa, showing that nearly one third of college graduates (29%) are jobless, including 43% female graduates and 59% fresh graduates (between 18 and 24 years of age). The study was carried out in collaboration with ‘Injaz Al Arab’ non-profit youth education organization which is the regional bureau of the international ‘Junior Achievement’ foundation. The outcomes of the poll indicated that while the overwhelming majority of young people leave college unprepared for employment, it also revealed that around 80% of fresh graduates covered by the questionnaire maintained that the educational institutions did not orient them towards adequate employment choices. The survey unveiled that very specific industry sectors in the region attracted young people. It pointed out that about two thirds of respondents lacked sufficient knowledge to contemplate a job in the hospitality, aviation or media industries, as less than half of those believe these sectors extend good opportunities only to enhance the career life. When making a decision about a job, the results have shown that salaries (59%) and long-term career prospects (46%) constitute the two major factors influencing students/graduates' decisions. Furthermore, the poll indicated that salaries are more important to men (61%) than to women (54%) and finally underscored the need for an awareness campaign to help the youth improve their perceptions/and expectations to adjust with reality on the ground. (Al Mustaqbal, Al Diyar, February 8, 2016)

 

The president of the Lebanese Business Women association, Laila Salhab, announced during a press conference last Saturday the birth of the Arab Union for Productive Households and Traditional and Artisan Industries. Present at the event were Tufic Dabbussi, Chair of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Tripoli and the North, Ghassan Azar, representing Elias Aoun, President of Editors Syndicate, in addition to members of the constituent body and press people. (Al Mustaqbal, February 7, 2016)

 

BLC Bank is organizing the fourth consecutive training session for women economic empowerment.  This new session, which is the second to be organized together with the Global Banking Alliance targets new members of the Global Women Banking Alliance and who wish to set up new banking programme for women or institutions seeking to develop units and programmes.  The event will convene over three days (between 3 and 5 February) with regional and international participation from Britain, Holland, Uganda, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Kosovo and Egypt.  Participants will familiarize with curricula used for women’s economic empowerment in addition to the role of financial institutions in designing financing and related programmes targeting women through setting and constructing interactive platforms which allow the launch of packages and financial products that are useful for women in businesses and for small and medium enterprises.  On this occasion, the CEO of BLC bank, Maurice Sehnaoui, noted that the position of the bank as the first financial institutions in the Middle East to join the GBA equip it to carry out study and training cycles on the fundamentals of banking programmes targeting women. The assistant general manager of BLC and the head of the GBA, Tania Musallem noted that the new session is an important opportunity for exchanging ideas and showcasing banking programmes targeting women.  This, she added, will facilitate the mobilization of new banks into this vital sector. (Safir, Diyar, and Moustakbal – 4 February 2016)

 

The campaign ‘Do Not Contradict Yourself, Think it Over’ launched recently by Kafa, enough violence and exploitation, revealed some very disturbing facts about the level of racism against migrant woman domestic worker (MWDW). The campaign showed that nearly 51% of the Lebanese people consider the domestic worker who babysits their children as ‘unreliable’; 41% accuse her of having ‘mental issues’; 36% believe that she is ‘stupid’ although she does all the house work and 27% say she is ‘not clean’ while they let her cook and clean for them. The organization based its campaign on a national study conducted in coordination with the American University of Beirut and Anti-Slavery International with the support of the International Labor Organization. The survey which targeted a group of women and men employers, studied mainly the level of knowledge in legislations regulating the employer-domestic worker relationship. In describing the purpose of the above campaign, Kafa said the following: “By pointing at inconsistencies, we are asking employers to think over their perceptions /practices and challenge the dominant prejudices related to class and racism, and challenge their misunderstanding of the current legislations. Kafa said the first phase of the campaign included the production of an awareness film which illustrated the low level of knowledge regarding the work contract. Furthermore, the study revealed the following: only 50% of the Lebanese give the helper a day off (as per the mandatory contract provisions), 24% allow her to leave the house on holidays, 40% do not give the worker her salary regularly while 94% confiscate her passport and finally 44% of employers mistakenly believe that the contract duration is 3 years, while in fact it is only one year. (An Nahar, Al Mustaqbal, February 3, 2016)

 

Amnesty International (AI) published on Tuesday a new report that sheds light on various forms of exploitation, particularly sexual harassment, suffered by Syrian women refugees as a result of plummeting aid from international donors, coupled with the tightened restrictions imposed by the Lebanese authorities. Entitled, ‘I need a safe place: Syrian women refugees uprooted and unprotected in Lebanon’, the report was released two days ahead of the key donor conference for Syria which will be held in London to urge greater financial assistance from the international community. The AI report quoted Syrian women who said that they were taken advantage of by people in positions of power, including real estate owners and employers, and even from police officers.” A great number of those refugees said they struggle to meet the high cost of living in Lebanon and to afford food or rent which puts them at a greater risk of exploitation. Whereas, the strict measures adopted by the Lebanese government have left many of them unable to renew their residency permits, thus living illegally in the country and therefore reluctant to report abuses.

In conclusion, Amnesty International made three key recommendations that will presumably immediately improve the lives of many women refugees. Firstly, it urged the Lebanese government to facilitate the renewal of residency papers for those women; secondly, it appealed to the world’s wealthiest states to meet their commitments by instantly increasing the financial allocations in support of refugee host countries in the region, including Lebanon; finally, the organization urged countries of the world to share greater responsibility in resettling more refuges.

(For full report: https://www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/i_want_a_safe_place_lebanon_report.pdf) .(Daily Star, L’Orient Le Jour, February 2, 2016)

 

In coordination with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Trade in Saida and the South organized yesterday a training workshop for rural working women, and entitled: ‘You Are Half the Society, Join Us to Expand Your Dreams’. This training activity was held as part of a program in support of those women cooperatives in the South involved in food processing. The workshop tackled a number of topics, notably: methods and significance of marketing rural products, namely: the review of various marketing channels, cost and price analysis; awareness on food safety specifications; ways for enhancing the quality of products, and finally, the causes, sources and types of food pollution. During the workshop, the head of the agriculture department at the Chamber, Rola Kar3uni, underlined the importance of cooperative work in rural development, while her colleague, agriculture engineer, Hania Chahal, gave another lecture on the same topic. In conclusion, Joelle Ajeel, the director of the food testing laboratory in CCIT of Saida & the South, underscored the importance of food testing in order to safeguard public health safety. (As Safir, February 3, 2016)