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In the presence of some 50 businesswomen from Lebanon, Cyprus and Greece, the minister of state for the economic empowerment of women and youth, Violette Safadi, sponsored on October 12 the signing of an agreement for economic, trade, cultural and touristic exchange between the Lebanese League for Women in Business (LLWB) and the Cypriot and Greek Unions for the Empowerment of Women. On the occasion, the LLWB president, Carmen Zgheib, pointed out that the agreement comes as part of the economic, cultural and touristic empowerment of Lebanese women through the different programs launched by the League. She said LLWB has signed similar treaties with women unions in Switzerland, Spain, Georgia, Tunisia, Morocco and Jordan to enhance the role of women in Lebanon. For her part, Safadi underlined efforts by her ministry to support women in business, describing the above agreement as a corner stone in advancing the position of the Lebanese woman locally and globally. (NNA, October 12, 2019)
 

Following the appointment of a Christian woman at the top of the highest authority (https://bit.ly/327Q6Bf), the transitional Sovereign Council officially appointed yesterday the first female chief justice and attorney general of the country’s judiciary, the Sudanese News Agency (SUNA) reported. The 11-member council named judge of the Supreme Court, Neemat Abdallah Kheir, as chief justice and Taj al Sirr Ali as attorney general, SUNA said. Neemat’s appointment is part of the new ruling council’s ambition toward gender balance in senior positions, particularly since Sudanese women were on the front line of the uprising that toppled former President Omar al Bashir. Neemat, from the Jazira province city of Kamlin, has joined the judiciary in the eighties of the past century. She served in the Court of Appeal and in the Court of First Instance before she was promoted as a judge in the Supreme Court. She is reportedly one of the founders of the Sudanese Judges Club, not affiliated with any political party, and has participated in the sit-in in front of the Army’s General Command. (Al Akhbar, October 11, 2019)
 

On the International Day of the Girl Child which falls on October 11 of each year, Save the Children organization issued a report yesterday entitled, “No, I don’t: abolishing child marriage in Lebanon”, urging the Lebanese Legislature to enact a draft bill to end child marriage in the country. The organization also called for setting the minimum age of marriage at 18, pointing out that the proposal put forward by the Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering has been pending for two years to be reviewed by the Parliamentary Committee for Justice and Administration. The report advised finding appropriate services for children and households that promote education and increase awareness on the unfavorable consequences of early marriage. On the occasion, Save the Children country director, Allison Zelkowitz, said it is time for the Lebanese parliament to pass the bill to prevent the marriage of underage girls. She pointed out that Lebanon is one of only 12 countries that still allow this harmful traditional practice, warning it is high time to change this. (NNA, October 10, 2019)