News updates

The Arab Federation of Professional Women-Lebanon Branch organized last Friday its first general assembly at the conference hall of the Tripoli Chamber of Commerce in the presence of the branch president, Nariman Jamal Ghanem, members of the administrative board and heads and members of the attending sectors. The meeting discussed the work strategy of the new organisation aiming at promoting the business of professional women and at strengthening their roles, in addition to empowering rural women in the most disadvantaged and remote areas across the country. The assembly also discussed various tasks and organizational matters related to the following fields, legal, social, education, tourism, health, information, comprehensive development, culture, banking, institutions, scientific research, politics, financial planning and external relations. In conclusion, a work program for the next period was drawn which included the official launching of the Arab Federation to be held in Lebanon. (Al Mustaqbla, January 23, 2016)

 

A group of young Lebanese men and women under 30 were chosen by Forbes, the leading business magazine, as pioneers in generating capital. Rami Rahal and Laura Mary Baz followed Usama Ammar who in 2014 made big accomplishments between New York City, Paris and Silicon Valley and was dubbed as one of the controversial figures in the French startup companies. For more insight on the subject, L’Orient Le Jour spoke to Baz, 26, who said that she has become one of the competitors in global finance, boasting that she heads a team managing billions of dollars at the London-based Vitol oil corporation. Vitol, Baz clarified, owns a power plant in Britain, two oil refineries in Germany and Switzerland and has bought all the Shell gas stations with their logistics equipment inside Australia and Africa. Likewise, the 29-year old Rami Rahal talked big about realizing his NYC dream where he contributed to the startup of the ‘Blue Cloud’ computing project and succeeded in raising some USD67 million over a period of 4 years only. Rami, from the Beirut suburb of Baabda, studied mechanical engineering at AUB and continued his postgraduate studies at Columbia University in NYC where he settled. (L’Orient Le Jour, Al Diyar, January 23, 2016)  

 

In its feature yesterday, As Safir daily highlighted the story of a woman from the south, mother of a disabled child, who in 1996 opened the first floor of her residence in Aita Shaab to receive people with special needs and later founded her association that cares for similar children. The newspaper said this bold initiative by Da3ad Sroor witnessed and expansion having succeeded in drawing financial contributions from individuals, embassies, private enterprises and community organizations, resulting in the construction of a fully-equipped modern school that meets the requirements of children with special needs. However, during the Israeli aggression of 2006, a large part of the edifice was damaged, As Safir reported, but added, that the determination and steadfastness demonstrated by the southern woman enabled her to repair the school and reopen it. Today, the school hosts some 130 children from Bint Jbeil, the suburbs of Tyre up to Marjeyoon. Da3ad told the newspaper that she was pleased with her achievements, particularly in some cases where she personally helped girl graduates to integrate in society by becoming either teachers or dressmakers, while boys went on to work in mechanic workshops or barber shops. On the other hand, Da3ad criticized the absence of specialized public educational curricula for students with special needs, pointing to difficulties in their integration in public and private schools. She emphasised the need to develop public awareness and reinforce a culture within schools that embraces students with special needs. (As Safir, January 21, 2016)

 

In coordination with southern women associations, the UNIFIL’s Gender Unit celebrated an open day yesterday devoted for ‘Women, Peace and Security’ at Bassel Assad’s cultural center in Tyre. In this respect, the coordinator of the gender action group in Tyre, Hadiyya Abdallah, outlined the recommendations that call for addressing gender issues and creating support groups, in addition to organizing awareness workshops on the subject for both men and women. Similarly, the Bint Jbeil coordinator, Nada Bazzi, noted that stereotypes about women and their achievements need to change through relevant campaigns and the appointment of women in decision making positions, notably in the public sector. Sabah Abu Abbas, the coordinator for the Marjeyoon action group pointed out that the limitations forced on women because of outdated social traditions undermines their power to build a social network, and consequently weakens public capital allocated for their potential contributions. In conclusion, the UNIFIL General Commander, Luciano Portolano, said in his intervention that despite the slight progress in observing the United Nations resolutions on women, peace and stability, there are still loopholes that need to be addressed. And while he pointed to a significant rise in sexual and gender-based violence particularly in societies witnessing conflicts or post conflicts around the world, he said the participation of women in conflict resolution and in peace-building is still relatively low. Portolano also underlined the importance of implementing the above recommendations, including the creation of the necessary mechanisms for the active implementation of the Global Women, Peace and Security Agenda as shown by the various women’s groups. (An Nahar, January 22, 2016)

 

In its edition of January 19, the Daily Star published a special feature on the continuous suffering of migrant women domestic workers (MWDW) and foreign workers in general in Lebanon since the issuance of the regulatory order in 2014 by the Directorate of the General Security. According to that recent order, GS has halted the renewal of work permits for foreign workers of the third and fourth categories, namely the under-paid MWDW and agricultural and industrial workforce, who gave birth in Lebanon, and for their children, thus resulting in their deportation. In an interview over the phone with a Sri Lankan MWDW mother of one child, the newspaper cited Rouhini’s lament over her banishment after 20 years of residency in Lebanon. Rouhini who is described by her neighbors as a peaceful person was deported alone leaving her husband and girl behind while the GS continue to refuse to grant her a visa to reunite with her family. To be noted that the decree which was not officially endorsed and yet is being widely implemented despite the noble efforts by ‘Insan’ human rights organization to resolve a number of deportation cases. The Daily Star concluded by pointing out to the unfair sponsorship (kafala) system which remains in effect and which reinforces the mistreatment of foreign workers. (Daily Star, January 19, 2016)

 

American-Mexican actress of Lebanese origin, Salma Hayek, called on the Lebanese government to reconsider the right of Lebanese women married to non-nationals to transmit nationality to their family members especially that Lebanese women have demonstrated their skills and capabilities. Hayek was speaking at an honoring ceremony held in Mexico City and organized by the Lebanese Club there. She expressed pride in belonging to the Lebanese migrant community.

 

As part of the USAID funded programme entitled: ‘Promotion of Local Communities Initiatives and Participation of Women in Local Development, the League of the Sons of Beirut completed last Friday the first phase of the ‘Art of Healthy Cooking’ training project which was run for the Network of Mothers Against Extremism, which was supervised by professional Chefs Mohamad Cherif and Fatima Ghabra. Speaking on behalf of the above League at the closing ceremony, Mona Itani outlined the different stages of implementation of the project, which included training workshops aimed at developing women’s cooking skills, and for preparing special diets catering to hospital patients. Furthermore, Itani added that several lectures were delivered by experts in the areas of sustainable human resources development and educational psychologists and that is to improve the mother-teen relationship, as well a to develop other personal skills, and expand women’s knowledge of their rights so as to counter domestic violence. (Al Mustaqbal, January 16, 2016)

 

The Lebanese pioneer women’s rights defender, Anissa Rawda Najjar passed away on ‎Wednesday at 103 years of age. Najjar received the “Commandor” medal of honor at her 100th ‎anniversary by then President of the Republic Michel Suleiman and was also honored by the ‎Ministry of Communications which issued a stamp carrying her name and picture. Early in her ‎life, Najjar fought in defense of human rights and women’s rights, in particular, crowning her ‎struggle with the formation in 1953 of the first of its kind rural development community in the ‎Arab world, ‘Village Welfare Society’, to promote and support rural women through enabling ‎them to become economically productive. She also established a number of clinics and schools ‎and sought to set up a rural institute that educates women (Madrasat Al Maraa Al Masoula). ‎Najjar has been one of the earliest Arab women journalists where she published and wrote in ‘Al ‎Ahliyah’ newsletter back in 1931 when she was still a student. In 1963 she was appointed editor ‎in chief of ‘Al 3urwa Al Wuthqa’ magazine before she became secretary of the Druze Orphanage ‎and the Lebanese‏ ‏Council for Women respectively. She contributed to the founding of the ‎Lebanese League for Good Housekeeping and partook in numerous conferences in Lebanon, the ‎Arab region and the world, and was honored at over 20 social, educational and cultural occasions ‎‎.( An Nahar, As Safir, January 15, 2016)‎

 

Harassment of girl students in Tripoli, in the North, has increasingly become an issue of concern among girl students and their parents. The Daily Star reported yesterday the arrest of a group of young men following allegedly accused of harassment following complaints lodged by girl students against unidentified male bikers. In this respect, a security source told the newspaper that the Internal Security Forces under the command of Tripoli’s Brigade Colonel Abdel Nasser Gamrawi are patrolling the areas on the entries of schools. The source added that a number of harassers have been referred to competent authorities and their bikes confiscated, amidst the welcome and satisfaction of parents and locals. (Daily Star, January 13, 2016)

 

The Court of Appeal in Beirut headed by Judge Janette Hanna has substantiated the right of a person in changing his/her gender at the Census Department as a respect for his/her psychological, gender, moral and social status. The decision taken on 3/9/2015 by the Court comes in response to a request by a woman who wanted to change her status to male at the Census Registry. Earlier, the Single Judge in Beirut in charge of personal status records repealed a lawsuit pleading gender transition at the relevant Census division despite a confirmation by the medical doctor that the patient, the plaintiff, suffers an irreversible mental and sexual behavioral disorder with nil possibility to salvage her feminine biological parts.

In its detailed verdict, the Court of Appeal maintained that the appellant has since birth suffered from gender disorder and has possessed male physiognomies as well as psychological, emotional and behavioral male characteristics. She has received a medical report pointing out that “her determination to undergo a sex transition operation is based on a level of maturity that allows her to go ahead with the procedure”. Moreover, the woman judge admitted the suffering of the appellant noting that sex change was “the outcome of a medical operation needed to relieve a life-long grief”. The Judge also supported the “essential and natural right of an individual to receive the treatment that alleviates his/her psychological and physical ailment and no one can deprive him/her of this right,” she said. The Court of Appeal went even further putting forward the right to respect and protect one’s private life. The Judge made clear that “correcting the errors at the Census Department necessitates a consistency with the truth, meaning that the identity should accurately reflect the status of its holder.” Accordingly, “the correction cannot be restricted only to the material error made at the time of registration while excluding other cases where the identity is not consistent with reality.” (Al Akhbar, January 14, 2016)