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New eatery in Ashrafieh for oriental dishes

7-3-2019

In its issue of today, L’Orient Le Jour spotlighted an enterprise run by Lebanese American author and culinary blogger, Methani Kaa’di. The eatery serving traditional dishes from Lebanon and the Levant was inaugurated this past October in Ashrafieh, Beirut. Speaking to L’Orient Le Jour, Kaa’di said she returned recently to Lebanon which she left more than 15 years ago travelling between the US and the UK. Her passion for cooking started in her teen years which she spent in her village, Baskinta in the Matn area. There, she learned to appreciate nature and the fresh taste of rural products, besides being influenced by the preparation of homemade mouneh, including confectionaries, kishk, tomato paste, applesauce and others. Kaa’di told L’Orient Le Jour reporter that she left Lebanon years ago to get to know her American mother’s homeland. She worked first in real estate and then in the restaurant industry, where she started archiving her Lebanese family’s recipes in a special file, besides her interest in the Oriental, Turkish, Iraqi and Farsi kitchen. In 2008 she launched her first blog, ‘Dirty Kitchen Stories’ which received great hits that promoted her as a famous cooking expert. She contributed to the writing of several cookbooks and has signed two books herself. In 2009, Kaa’di moved to the UK where she created the ‘Food Blogging Conference’ that brings together food bloggers from around the world. (L’Orient Le Jour, March 7, 2019)

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President Aoun for gender equality in all fields

7-3-2019

President Michel Aoun called yesterday on Lebanese and Arab women to engage more in politics after having established themselves in social, humanitarian, technical and creative arenas as well as in liberal professions. Aoun, who was speaking to participants at the first Innovative Arab Women Forum 2019, said Lebanese women have made remarkable progress in many fields, stressing that the Constitution does not discriminate between the sexes. He pressed the need to achieve gender balance across all areas. Aoun praised the presence of four women ministers in the new cabinet at the head of central ministerial portfolios, and called for realizing gender equality in all arenas. To note, the above conference opened March 5 in Beirut during a ceremony organized by Diwan Ahl Al Qalam to mark the International Women’s Day. On the occasion, the head of the Diwan, Salwa Khalil Ameen, appealed to all creative Arab women, each in her own discipline, to not limit their choices to restrictions drawn by society. For her part, the former Egyptian housing minister, Mushira Khatab, said without empowerment of women and awareness of their full rights, no progress or advancement will happen. To close, honorary shields where bestowed upon a number of participants. (Al Diyar, March 7, 2019)

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Inspiring documentary story on a Palestinian woman refugee

6-3-2019

In its issue of today, L’Orient Le Jour highlighted the wide success achieved by the documentary, ‘Sufra’, portraying the life of the Palestinian refugee, Mariam Shaar, a Borj Barajneh Camp resident. The film depicts the entrepreneur’s struggle to overcome the challenges to set up her special catering and food truck business, ‘Sufra’ and expand it with a group of female refugees within the camp. To recall, the documentary, produced by American actress and feminist activist, Susan Sarandon, was screened in Beirut on Monday in the presence of Sarandon. Shaar, who grew up in Borj Barajneh refugee camp (housing around 50,000 Palestinian refugees), wanted to study journalism to write about the predicaments of marginalised groups. The precarious economic situation of her family, however, forced her to drop out of high school in search for work. Shaar worked for 10 years as a kindergarten teacher, and at the same time volunteered in the administrative work at the UN agency operating within the camp. In 2006, she was offered the position of president of the Women Program Association, active in the camp, which was the first turning point in her entire life. Shaar sought to help women inside Borj Barajneh camp trying to find them convenient jobs. But in 2012, she was introduced to the venture philanthropy organisation, Alfanar, which backed her in launching Sufra catering whose compelling success prompted Sarandon to produce a film about it. Noting, that Sufra today recruits more than 30 women in the catering business. (L’Orient Le Jour, March 6, 2019)

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Saudi women: Appointments in senior posts but persistent societal abuse

6-3-2019

Following the announcement of her appointment last February as the first woman ambassador to Washington, (c.f: https://bit.ly/2NLqzHN), the head of the General Sports Authority in the Kingdom, Prince Abdel Aziz Bin Turki al Faisal, announced the setting set up on March 2nd of the Special Olympic Federation while appointing Princess Rima Bint Bandar Bin Sultan as its chairperson. Recalling, that Rima has served as head of women’s affairs at the General Sports Authority and has contributed largely to the development of women’s sports. Meanwhile, after the obstruction of some Saudi diplomats this past February two Saudi sisters at Hong Kong Airport during their flight attempt to Australia, the two sisters, still stuck at the Airport, protested to BBC their fragile legal status and a possible deportation to their country. They spelled out their fear of capital punishment, pointing out that they have been subjected to abuse by male members of the family. To note, Human Rights Watch has earlier documented several cases of Saudi women who attempted to escape from their families in the past few years, but who were forced to return and thus faced repercussions. According to the latest data available at the Saudi ministry of labour and social development, published by AP, around 577 Saudi women have tried to flee since 2015, and the number is believed to be higher, as most of the families do not report the incidents, AP said. (Al Diyar, March 3, 5, 2019)

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Sheikh Al-Azhar’s remarks on polygamy draw wide debate

5-3-2019

The Grand Imam of Al Azhar, Ahmad Tayeb, said on March 2nd that polygamy is “unjust for women” and is not founded in the Islamic religion. Tayeb who was speaking in an interview on the state-run TV, explained that polygamy requires fairness, and if there is no fairness, it is prohibited to have more than one wife. Justice, Tayeb maintained, is not subject to practice, in the sense that, a husband can take a second wife on condition they are treated equally, otherwise he will resort to divorce. This is not the issue. Just the fear of not commit to a fair treatment, is forbidden. Al Azhar comments sparked heated debate creating waves of both support and condemnation on social media. And while Egypt’s National Council for Women welcomed the influential cleric’s fair approach, a large number of traditional Sunni sheikhs in Egypt and the Arab Gulf countries demanded his resignation for allegedly misinterpreting the word of God as stated in the Quran. Subsequently, Tayeb on the next day issued a statement clarifying that he was not calling for a ban on polygamy, noting that his words were taken out of context and that he will never declare anything contrary to al Sunna (tradition of the prophet) or Quranic verses. On the subject, the executive director of Nazra for Feminist Studies, Mozn Hassan, called on the Egyptian government and parliament to reconsider the legislation regulating marriage and personal status matters in the North African country. These laws, she said, go back to 1920 and cannot be applied on our current times. (Al Diyar, March 3, 5, 2019)

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Violence against women, homicide in Baalbaq

5-3-2019

Local media reported on March 2 that the ISF State Security squad in Baalbaq found the body of a Syrian woman refugee, Hala Mhamad Ahmad, 15, tossed in a cloth with bruises on face along the road of the town of Housh Tal Safiya. This comes one week after the discovery of the body of an Ethiopian migrant domestic worker washed ashore the Antelias coast east of Beirut. Civil defense rushed to the scene and transferred the body to the Baalbaq government hospital after the forensic doctor revealed the victim’s death was the result of a severe blow on the head with a sharp object. Investigation was opened into the murder, pointing to the possible involvement of the husband, A.M, Syrian national, in the killing. Reportedly, two hours after the discovery of the body, State Security units in Baalbaq-Hermel arrested the suspect who admitted to killing his wife with a sharp wooden object which caused deadly injuries to her head. (Al Mustaqbal, March 2, 2019)

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Women's drama Festival in Tyre, poem collection by a woman inmate in Tripoli

4-3-2019

The Istanbouli Theatre and Tiro Association for Arts announced on Friday the launch of the participating drama in the first edition of the International Women Monodrama Festival 2019 to be held from March 8 to 12, 2019. The event comes to mark the International Women’s Day and celebrate the female and femininity, while accentuating a woman’s strength in Arabic on stage and artistically. The festival will be held on the Lebanese National Theatre in Tyre, in collaboration with the ministry of culture and Tyre Municipality. On the sideline, the first conference for theatre in Lebanon will be held to discuss the crisis that theatre is facing in the country and the need to break the federalism of culture, as well as the role theatre in raising awareness and stimulating change. It will also host a seminar by the League for Lebanese Women’s Rights and the Mothers Welfare Association, on the role and aspirations of women in society, in addition to a craft fair by the Southern Woman’s Association. On the other hand, Zarifa Diab, an inmate at the Central Women’s Prison in Qobeh, Tripoli, signed on February 28 her first poetry collection she completed behind the cells. This cultural event is first of its kind to take place at a Lebanese prison, noting that the signing was called upon by the ministry of culture and the Charity for Reform and Rehabilitation. (An Nahar, March 2, 2019)
 

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Beirut women's march against child marriage

4-3-2019

The Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering (RDFL) and the National Coalition for Protecting Children from Child Marriage, organized a march on Saturday to raise awareness on the issue of child marriage marking International Women’s Day, which falls on March 8 of every year. The demonstration, held under the banner, ‘The younger, the more dangerous’, took off from Al Adlieh area toward Riad Solh in downtown Beirut, to step up the enactment of a bill which makes 18 the minimum age for marriage. Participants hoisted banners which read, “Stop the marriage of children” and “Lawmakers, a child is entitled to security”. The head of RDFL, Leila Mroweh, pointed out in a statement, that the march is aimed to pressure legislators to approve fair civil laws that ensure the rights of women and girls and provide legal protection for them against the most horrendous form of violence, exploitation and trafficking, which is early (child) marriage. For his part, PSP leader, Walid Jumblat, tweeted on the occasion, “The lives of minors, boys and girls, should not be put at stake. The PSP, hence demands the legislature to enact a law that prohibits marriage before the age of 18.” (Al Diyar, Al Mustaqbal, March 4, 2019)
 

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Nine jailed in the UK for sexually harassing teens

1-3-2019

A British court issued a jail sentence to nine men who raped and abused two teenage girls living in a children’s home in Bradford, BBC reported. The Bradford Court heard the details of the abuses which started after the girls moved into the home back in 2008. The culprits were convicted and given jail sentences of 18 to 20 years. During the trial, which lasted more than six weeks, prosecutor Karma Melly said the gang had taken advantage of the girls while they were still 14, indicating that some of the defendants were appallingly violent and used force, drugs and alcohol to sexually exploit them. Others, Melly said, created a manipulated relationships to facilitate the sexual abuse. For her part, one of the women, 25-year-old Fiona Goddard, said she decided to reveal her true name waving her right to anonymity. “Victims of abuse are victims. There is nothing to be ashamed of,” Goddard said. (Al Diyar, March 1, 2019)

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Professional cooking courses in Tripoli

1-3-2019

The Association for the Development of Tripoli and Mina (Inmaa’) is organizing free cooking courses starting March 8 and until April 12 at its premises in Tripoli. This comes as part of the activities aimed to serve the community and promote the advancement of Tripoli and Mina, according to a statement by Inmaa. International cooking expert, George Debs, who represented Lebanon at several international platforms, will run the workshop, providing beneficiaries with the latest developments in the field, the statement said. (Al Diyar, March 1, 2019)

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