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Lebanese woman jailed for holding on to her daughters' passports

10-5-2019

Khadija Nayef, Lebanese mother of three girls, and a divorcee since over three month, is currently detained at the Ghobeiri police station on the charge of "retaining the travel documents of her three daughters" and so as not to allow their father to take them outside Lebanon. This is not the first of such cases. Indeed, the same police station had detained Fatmeh Hamzeh back in 2016 for refusing to hand over her three year old baby to her ex according to a ruling by the Jaafari family court (https://bit.ly/2VZcyN0). Al Akhbar noted that the state has yet again mobilised to penalise women who are legally considered to be inept to take care of their children as women's role is simply to deliver children. Child custody is therefore the mandate of men regardless of their aptitudes. According to lawyer Manar Zeaiter, there is no clear legal text which allows the detention of women for keeping the travel documents of their children especially if no theft of documents was committed. Zeiater also added that even if such text existed, this does not justify detaining a woman in a police station especially that judges do have a flexibility in taking the matter under advisement. As such, Zeiater noted that judges should be more sensitive to women's issues as long as they are not breaking the laws. This, she thinks, requires courage and a contemporary understanding of the law. (Al Akhbar 10 May 2019)

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"Towards Gender Equality"

9-5-2019

The BLC bank held a conference last weekend entitled, ‘Towards Gender Equality’ stressing its importance to reach desired economic growth and sustainable development, according to CEO, Bassam Hassan. The latter maintained that women, like men, contribute to stimulating the economic cycle in the country. Similarly, BLC marketing director, Maya Margui, pointed to ‘We Initiative’ program kicked off by the bank to empower women economically, emphasizing its achievements in terms of employees and clientele, as well as at the level of society at large. For her part, Zeina Zeidan, chairperson of Royal Financials, outlined the steps and measures that should be taken to bridge the wage gap inside the institutions. Recalling, that the conference devoted its first session to the topic, ‘Family businesses: a hurdle or opportunity for women?’, which account for more than 85% of the private sector activity and for nearly 80% of the GDP. The second session reviewed the obstacles that impede financing of projects run by women. And the closing session discussed mechanisms that could reshuffle the boards of Lebanese firms, citing an IFC report which stated that only 4.4% of Lebanese establishments have women on their boards. (L’Orient Le Jour, May 9, 2019)

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Lebanese journalist Acil Tabbara receives News Editorial Leadership Award

8-5-2019

A senior editor at Lebanon’s L’Orient Le Jour newspaper, Acil Tabbara, won the Women in News Editorial Leadership Award for the MENA region for 2019. The second prize went to South Sudan’s Juba Monitor editor-in-chief Anna Nimiriano. Noting, that the award is granted to outstanding women newsroom editors as an initiative from the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-Ifra), supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and the Swedish Foreign Affairs Office. Lebanese laureate, Tabbara, told L’Orient Le Jour that she was pleased to receive the award and grateful to present it to the journalists, the majority of whom are women, who backed her throughout her career life. She stressed that women need inspiration to choose journalism as a profession. Tabbara, who holds a political science degree from AUB, has joined the AFP staff in Beirut back in 1986, moving to L’Orient Le Jour three years later. She has always sought to focus on the situation of Arab women, as she said. (L’Orient Le Jour, May 6, 2019)

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VAW: Syrian woman killed in Doniyyeh, missing in Ain Rumaneh

8-5-2019

The ISF General Directorate-Public Relations Department, said in a statement on May 7, that on 13/3/2019, Amira Hamama, (Syrian, 50 years) was found strangled inside her house in the Doniyyeh town of Bqa’ Safrin. As a result of investigation, the Information Division successfully identified the identity of the culprit, M.A (Syrian, born in 1980). The latter who lives in Arabsalim, Nabatiyeh, has left Lebanese territory after killing the victim and stealing her jewelry, accompanied by his wife F.A (Syrian, 34 years), who is the victim’s daughter. Investigation has shown that the daughter assisted her husband in moving the stolen furniture from her mother’s house, the ISF statement said. On the other hand, the ISF announced in a statement on May 1, that Safwan Jum’a Alalo (Syrian, born in 1978) has reported to Shiyah police unit that the nephew of his brother Noor Ammar Alalo (born in 2003) has, on 30/4/2019, left his house in Ain Rumaneh to an unknown destination. The Directorate circulated a photo of the missing woman advising anyone who has information of her whereabouts to contact the Shiyah station. (Al Mustaqbal, An Nahar, May 1, 8, 2019)

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‘A White Dress Does Not Cover Rape’ winner of UN prize

6-5-2019

A White Dress Does Not Cover Rape campaign won the first prize for the international campaign category at the UN SDG Action Awards. ABAAD organization executive director, Ghida Ananai, received the trophy during a ceremony held on May 2 in Bonn, Germany. On the occasion, Anani said she is proud of the award, which first honored ABAAD and in the forefront women survivors of rape who broke the silence and sought together with the organization to raise awareness and give other women the strength to move forward. The efforts of the above campaign, launched back in 2016, has led to abolishing Article 522 of the Penal Code which protects rapists in the event of marriage of their victims, Anani maintained. She also stressed that the campaign has been a key deterrent in the face of culprits, adding, most importantly, it was a keystone to putting an end to victim blaming and changing the conversation on rape in the country, rendering rape a punishable criminal act. To note, A White Dress Does Not Cover Rape campaign has been among the finalists of 2000 campaigns representing some 142 world countries. (Al Mustaqbal, May 3, 2019)

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Marching in support of the rights of migrant women domestic workers

6-5-2019

On the occasion of May Day, and with the participation of women migrant domestic workers, Kafa, Enough Violence and Exploitation organization organized a march on the 5th of this month in support of the rights of MWDWs which kicked off from Sodeco roundabout to Mufti Hassan Khaled Park in Aisha Bakkar. Workers hoisted signs which read, “No for slavery, No for Kafala (sponsorship), Give us our rights, We came here to work not to die”. According to Al Akhbar daily, many workers who could not take part in the demonstration, showed their support from the balconies of the houses of their employers who did not allow them to join their colleagues. Workers reiterated the demands that have become a yearly call, notably: abolishing the kafala system and replacing it with fairer immigration laws, inclusion of domestic workers in the Lebanese labor law, banning administrative detention of MWDWs victims of violence, ending the detention and deportation of MWDWs who give birth and raise families in Lebanon, monitoring the work of recruitment agencies while enforcing strict punitive measures against violators, serious investigation into the deaths of MWDWs and provision of legal defense to ill-treated workers. In this regard, a group of migrant domestic workers recounted to Al Akhbar cases of exploitation, violence, harassment, beatings, verbal abuse and denial of their salaries. (Al Akhbar, May 6, 2019)
 

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Nurses’ graduation in Batroon with US support

6-5-2019

With support from the US Embassy in Beirut, the English for Nurses program celebrated on Saturday the graduation of some 44 male and female nurses and medical administrators at the Holy Family University in Batroon. Present were the US Embassy Cultural Affairs Officer, Christine Smith and the University President, Hilda Shlala, as well as representatives of Batroon hospital and the Al Yussef Medical Center and Abdallah Rassi Hospital in Halba. During the ceremony, the head of the program, Joyce Metri, praised the efforts exerted to the end of developing the nursing staff and improving their English language, thanking the US Embassy for its backing. For her part, Ruba Hamdash, said on behalf of Akkar graduates that the program has given momentum to the nurses in the area which is first of its kind, hoping similar initiatives will carry on. To close, Smith and Metri distributed the certificates among the beneficiaries. (Al Diyar, May 5, 2019)
 

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Global call against gender discrimination in nationality laws

3-5-2019

My Nationality is A Right for Me and My Family Campaign was present at the first Global Conference Coalition for Equal Nationality Rights held in Istanbul between April 24 and 25. The Coalition included, the steering committee of Equality Now, Equal Rights Trust, the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, UNHCR, Women’s Learning Partnership and Women’s Refugee Commission, as well as member countries in the above coalition in Africa, the Caribbean, the Middle East, South Asia and South East Asia. Recalling, that the coalition is dedicated to achieving a world where every country’s nationality law treats citizens as equals regardless of their gender. A statement issued at the end of the meeting, said that while governments throughout the world have, over the past century, taken steps to end discrimination against women, some 25 countries continue to deny women the right to confer nationality to their children on an equal basis with men. Around 50 countries still uphold gender-discriminatory provisions in their nationality laws. The statement also pointed out that the persistence of gender discrimination in nationality leads to extensive violations of human rights and unwanted suffering of affected women, men and children, including denied access to education, healthcare, employment and freedom of movement or permanent residence in the state territory, and family unity. The statement saw that, while all governments have stressed commitment to gender equality and women empowerment, their acknowledgements are largely contradicted by inaction to reform discriminatory nationality laws, noting that temporary and partial measures are not enough. But, pending reforms, governments ought to ensure that children and spouses of women citizens have access to the same services and residency rights as the families of male citizens. In conclusion, the statement urged all governments with gender-discriminatory nationality laws to accelerate enactment of reforms to uphold equality nationality rights for equal citizens, women and men. (Facebook https://bit.ly/2Ij2xVF My Nationality is a Right for Me And My Family Campaign, May 2, 2019)

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VAW: Rape attempt in Ansar, kidnapping of minor in Qab Elias

2-5-2019

The ISF General Directorate-Public Relations Division, announced in a statement on April 24 that, on 20/4/2019, a woman was spotted nude in the streets of the Nabatiyeh town of Ansar and was in a state of panic, but was protected by the town residents. Surveillance has shown that an unidentified person gave her a ride in his car from Saida, but instead of taking her to Tyre where she was heading, he drove to Ansar and tried to rape her in a deserted orchard after beating her hard, the statement said, adding the woman luckily escaped. In less than an hour, the culprit, R. H (Lebanese, born in 1980) was traced, arrested and referred to the competent judiciary where he seemed to be boozed up, the statement said. On the same day, N.H (Syrian, born in 1958) reported the kidnapping of his minor daughter Kh.H (born in 2006) by his Syrian national B.A (born in 1997) in front of her house in Qab Elias-Zahleh area in Beqaa, with the intention of forced marriage. (Al Mustaqbal, Al Diyar, April 24, 2019)

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Shutdown of website documenting assaults against MWDWs

30-4-2019

The Matn Judge of Urgent Matters, Ralf Karkabi, issued a decision on April 18 requiring the shutdown of ‘This is Lebanon’ website documenting assaults against migrant domestic workers in the country. Recalling, the developers of said portal, a migrant worker and his wife, have emigrated to Canada. The ruling was reportedly based on a petition submitted by lawyer Ceasar Jbarah (son of Jdeideh mayor in Matn area), after the website published a news heading, ‘Ceasar Jbarah, a violent man’. It included a testimony by a Filipino help who left his house last March, in addition to testimonies by two other MWDWs who worked for him, stating accounts of harassment by the family and delay in payment of salaries. On the above ruling, Al Akhbar spoke to administrators of ‘This is Lebanon’s’ Facebook page who described the judge’s verdict as demeaning to the Lebanese State which “seems terrified by the voices of migrant domestic workers and wants to suppress them.” We want to say that the sponsorship (Kafala) system has become deeply rooted in society, starting from employer families and recruitment agencies up to the higher posts in the government. For her part, Legal Agenda lawyer, Ghida Franjieh, noted that the judge’s decision is part of a trend aimed to prevent MWDWs from uncovering violations against them throughout the period of their work in Lebanon, reducing any chance of accountability for abusing employers. (Al Akhbar, April 26, 2019)
 

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