Subscribe to newsletter

Custom Search 1

You are here

Home

News updates

Boosting women’s access to labor market in Jordan

23-1-2019

The Jordanian minister of international planning and cooperation, Marie Kawar, announced during her presence at the Mashreq Conference for Women’s Economic Empowerment held in Beirut recently (c.f: https://bit.ly/2FL2ijK), that her government has introduced reforms which facilitate women’s access to the labor market. This step, Kawar explained, led to international recognition of Jordan’s efforts to this end through the National Committee for Pay Equity, endorsing the country’s commitment to reduce the gender pay gap. Kawar also mentioned important aspects which strengthened the economic participation of Jordanian women. She said that in legislative and legal terms, the parliament has in the past few days ratified amendments to the labor law to remove obstacles through introducing the notion of flexible working hours or flextime. Jordan also introduced paternity leave, the right to work for children of Jordanian women married to non-Jordanians, provision of a family friendly working environment through the establishment of day cares at the workplace in the private sector, and amendments on certain articles to ensure equal pay for work of equal value between men and women. Kawar pressed for the presence of women in all political, economic and social arenas, noting that Arab countries have completed significant steps towards promoting women’s rights, but that there remains a lot to be done in this respect. She said she hoped to see more partnerships, cooperation and exchange of expertise between Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan to develop policies, strategies and programs that contribute to the economic empowerment of women in the Mashreq. (Al Hayat, January 19, 2019)

Share on

Father sexually molests four daughtersin Tripoli, murder of a Syrian woman in Hermel

23-1-2019

The ISF General Directorate announced in a statement yesterday that on 16/1/2019, two sisters aged 20 and 18, reported their father to the Tripoli Judiciary police unit for raping them since they were 14. They also stated that their other two minor sisters were likely to have been sexually abused as well. The ISF statement went on to say, that the mother of the girls has admitted to having been aware of what the father was doing but could not do anything to stop him. Upon investigation with the assailant, the father (50), reportedly confessed to sexually assaulting his two daughters and abusing the other two (13 and 15 years). The girls were referred to a special association and the parents arrested and referred to the competent judiciary. On the other hand, on January 17, Amneh Mohamad Othman (Syrian) was transferred to Assi Hospital in Hermel, Beqaa after being shot in the stomach with a machine gun but died later. It was found that the husband of the victim, a resident of the Nasser Jabali refugee camp in Al Qaa area, has disappeared after the incident and could be involved in her killing. (Al Mustaqbal, January 18, 23, 2019)

Share on

Mass wedding of Palestinians in Lebanon

22-1-2019

Under the slogan ‘In support of Palestinians residents of Palestinian Camps’ and as part of strengthening ties between sister nations, Lebanon and Palestine, a mass ceremony was held on January 19 for 150 Palestinian couples, in addition to 50 Lebanese couples who were wed in the southern town of Rmeileh. The mass wedding organized by the Palestinian Authority and the PLO, is one of 4 communal wedding ceremonies, two of which were held earlier in the Occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, while preparations are underway for another to take place in Syria. On the occasion, the head of the Palestinian Popular Committees in Palestinian Camps in Lebanon, Abu Iyad Shaalan, said the ceremony eases the life of camps residents, particularly the youth. He explained that grooms were selected based on certain financial criteria proving their inability to pay for the wedding. Shaalan also stressed that the harsh economic conditions of the Palestinian people and our increasing interest in the young people, prompted the Palestinian President to hold the ceremony in order to support their steadfastness and bind them together in the diaspora. (Al Diyar, January 21, 2019)

Share on

Women top winners at Salon d’Automne for arts

22-1-2019

Five women and one man artists working across all media, from painting and installation to video, were announced winners of the 33rd Salon d’Automne Awards ceremony held on January 10th at Sursock Museum in Beirut, An Nahar reported today. Photographer, Lara Tabet, received the Sursock Museum Prize for her video ‘The river’ which expounds the threat to the Lebanese citizen’s safety and health. Emerging Artist Prize went to Noor Sokhon for her documentary criticizing the culture of shooting guns in Lebanon, and Hala Ezzedine for her portrait painting of refugees in Lebanon. The Audience Choice Award went to artist Maria Kassab for her photo ‘Le Naufrage Series’ which portrays images of groups of people drowning at sea and attempts to save their lives. The Special Jury Mention went to Balsam Abo Zoor for her paining ‘Time’ in which she tried to freeze time and alleviate its weight on man, and to Alain Vassoyan for his film ‘Broken but Not Dead’. An Nahar wrote that the fact that women won most of the prizes reflects their determination to uncover the truth about serious issues, and to highlight a distinguished dimension of the universality of humanity, as women instill their emotions in the details of their work. (An Nahar, January 22, 2019)

Share on

Order of Merit bestowed to deceased Lebanese author May Menassa

22-1-2019

President Michel Aoun bestowed upon renowned Lebanese novelist and journalist May Menassa the high ranking Order of Merit. Menassa passed away last Sunday at the age of 80. In his obituary, Aoun said Lebanon has lost one its prolific intellectual, artistic and media figures, exalting her sharp analysis and critique, and describing her as one of the leading women advocating women’s rights in Lebanese and Arab societies. For his part, prime minister Saad Hariri tweeted saying: “With the death of May Menassa, Lebanon lost a celebrated journalist and author whose literature, intellect and integrity contributed to enriching the country and the Arab culture.” Menassa is Beirut born and received her postgraduate diploma in French literature to start her career in journalism at Tele Liban and later joined An Nahar newspaper staff. Menassa was the editor of ‘Jamaluki Sayidati’ magazine and published seven novels in Arabic and two in French, in addition to a children’s book and several translations. (An Nahar, Al Mustaqbal, January 21, 22, 2019)

Share on

American women march against Trump

21-1-2019

Protests by American women against President Donald Trump’s policy continue. Women marched in hundreds of US cities on Saturday marking the second anniversary of demonstrations joined by millions of protestors one day after Trump’s inauguration in January 2017. In collaboration with the grassroots coalition, ‘March On’, ‘Women’s March’, a non-profit American organization organized the rally in Washington DC, with many similar events in other cities. The purpose of the marches, according to the organizers, is to campaign for policies on raising the minimum wage and access to reproductive and healthcare and voting rights, among other matters. These demos represent an opportunity to celebrate the gains made during 2018 elections, where more women were elected to the US Congress than ever before. (Al Diyar, Al Mustaqbal, An Nahar, January 15, 21, 2019)

Share on

Canadian support to women and youth economic empowerment

21-1-2019

The minister of international development, Marie Claude Bibeau, has announced a USD 10 million contribution in support of the economic empowerment of women in Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, according to the official website of the Canadian Government on January 18. As such, USD 10 million will be spent to implement national women’s economic empowerment action plans and another USD 10 million to train women and youth on labor market vacancies and skills. Bibeau pointed out that the training project in Lebanon will be implemented in partnership with Mercy Corps to promote women’s access to jobs through the provision of labor market-driven skills and financial training. Canada, Bibeau added, shall continue to support Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq in their efforts to remove roadblocks impeding the development of women and girls in order to improve their lives and the lives of their families and communities. (Al Mustaqbal, January 21, 2019)

Share on

Women's economic participation in Mashreq countries remains low

21-1-2019

Participants in the Mashreq Conference on Women’s Economic Empowerment held on January 19th as part of the Arab Economic and Social Development Summit in Beirut, voiced their concern about the low level of economic engagement of women in the region, namely in Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan. The closing “Beirut Declaration” statement however, praised the accomplishments achieved in above countries in the past few years, in terms of women’s access to health and education. To recall, the conference, organized by the World Bank, the League of Arab States and the governments of Lebanon and Canada, with representation of the Iraqi and Jordanian governments, aims to support stakeholders in addressing restrictions to women’s participation and enhancing their access to economic prospects. In this respect, the Lebanese government pledged to work to achieve the following: raise the rate of women’s participation by 5% in the workforce in the next five years, improve the legal framework to the end of promoting women’s economic contribution in the private and public sectors, increase the rate of female recruitment in the private sector, facilitate the access of women to entrepreneurship, increase the number of women-led and owned SMEs, implement a comprehensive awareness campaign to highlight the importance of gender equality and finally, change the prevalent attitude towards women and their participation in all areas. During the conference, NCLW president, Claudine Aoun Rukuz, stated that increasing the contribution of women to economic integration necessitates the creation of a protective environment sustained by revision of the laws that influence this participation in the public and private sectors. These include the laws on sexual harassment, protection of women and family members from domestic violence, end of child marriage, as well as the labor and social security bills. Prime Minister Saad Hariri for his part, saw that the shy representation or absence of women in the Arab labor market means the absence of half of society, and hence, a definite loss or deficit in GDP, growth, productivity and competition. (Al Mustaqbal, Al Diyar, January 21, 2019)

Share on

Rap song to fight violence against women

19-1-2019

L’Orient Le Jour on January 12, highlighted the rap song ‘Hakki’, winner at the annual regional arts competition organized on December 25 by the LAU’s Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World (IWSAW) and ESCWA on the occasion of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based-Violence. The song, which is written and performed by the rapper and activist from Baalbaq, Ali Awada, speaks of a young girl wishing to raise a family and live a happy life only to end up as a victim of domestic violence. It is a sad story portraying the situation of many women in our society, Awada explained. The song, he said, is inspired by real life, and aims to raise awareness in Baalbaq on gender and women’s rights. “It embodies the principles I believe in,” particularly those related to gender equality. Unfortunately, women have only claimed a fraction of their rights so far”. The song targets the macho stereotype of the physically and verbally abusive man, undermining the social perception that condones such behavior. Awada finishes the song with a direct attack on socially acceptable definitions of masculinity: “You are not a man when you deprive a woman of her rights”, and addressed women saying, “You are half the society, claim your rights, dignity and freedom.” (L’Orient Le Jour, January 12, 2019)

Share on

B. Hariri and C. Aoun discuss draft laws on women

18-1-2019

The head of the National Committee for Lebanese Women (NCLW), Claudine Aoun Ruquz, met the head of the Parliamentary Education and Culture Committee, MP Bahia Hariri, and discussed with her the draft bills prepared by NCLW on women’s rights. The discussion also tackled the different educational matters submitted to the parliamentary committee and ways to promote women’s status at all levels, with focus on education. (Al Mustaqbal, January 17, 2019)

Share on

Pages


Subscribe to RSS - News updates