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Lebanese geneticist, first Arab woman nominee for Medical Nobel Prize

9-10-2020

Lebanese born American physician and researcher, Hoda Hibri Zoghbi is among the laureates for the Nobel Prize in Medicine for 2020, making her the first Arab woman to likely receive the award this year, An Nahar reported yesterday. Recalling, Zoghbi, born in Beirut, enrolled AUB's medical school in 1975 and left to the US one year later with the start of the Lebanese Civil War. Zoghbi is a professor at the departments of pediatrics, human genetics and neurology, and teaches neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine, Texas. She is a researcher at Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and runs Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital. She founded her own lab to discover neurodevelopmental disorders that affect children, namely RETT syndrome, that primarily affects girls in their early years. (An Nahar, October 8, 2020)

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President Macron awards MP Ezzedine the legion of honor

9-10-2020

MP Inaya Ezzedine received the Legion of Honor, the Knight degree, from French President Emmanuel Macron in recognition of her efforts during her career in the service of the public, according to a statement issued by her office on October 4. The statement said that before leaving Lebanon, the French Ambassador to Beirut, Bruno Foucher, handed Ezzedine a letter stating that Macron issued a decree on September 23 granting her the highest French order of merit in her capacity as a physician, a former minister of state for administrative development and as the head of the Woman and Child Parliamentary Committee. The award, the letter said, was in appreciation of Ezzedine’s continuous struggle for women’s political rights in Lebanon, particularly her constant demands to empower women and allow them to confer citizenship to their children. Ezzedine, through her remarkable career, is a model for young Lebanese women, the letter maintained. In return, Ezzedine thanked Macron, stressing that the award constituted an incentive to continue her efforts to achieve social justice and sustainable development in the country. (Al Diyar, October 5, 2020)

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Pregnant women suffering in the wake of Beirut blast

1-10-2020

UNFPA director, Asma Kordahi, disclosed yesterday that the Beirut port explosion has caused the displacement of about 300,000 persons, including 84,000 women inchildbearing age (15-49 years) in need of support in terms of reproductive health. Speaking to AFP, Kordahi revealed that, according to estimates, there are some 4600 pregnant women among the displaced, who require special prenatal and postnatal care. She stressed that the difficult economic conditions in the country have forced many women to rely on health centers, dispensaries and mobile clinics operated by international organizations in order to do the routine tests or for doctors’ consultations. Kordahi said UNFPA figures showed that within 7 weeks, around 600 to 700 women benefited from services provided by mobile clinics. She explained that the high demand on such clinics was not only for physical examination, but also for requesting feminine hygiene products, like sanitary napkins, especially tampons and period panties after the increase in the prices of some brands. (For more, kindly refer to the following link: https://bit.ly/36nClTR). (An-Nahar, October 1, 2020)

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Souk El-Tayyib reopens in the heart of Mar Mkhael

1-10-2020

Today, Souk el Tayyib inaugurated its new home at Mar Mkhael after a forced interruption following the August 4th Port of Beirut explosion where its main base in the neighborhood was drastically damaged, An Nahar reported. The founder of the market, Kamal Mzawak, disclosed that Souk el Tayyib will relocate to the heart of Mar Mkhael and will bring together, under one roof, the farmers’ market, Tawlet restaurant, Dekenet grocery shop. In addition to the newly introduced “Matbakh el Kell” or Community Kitchen committed to producing hundreds of free meals to needy families daily. Mzawak told An Nahar that since the start of the October 17 uprising, there was a moment where he thought of giving up and leaving the country, and this feeling, he said, was intensified after the 4th of August devastating blast. However, Mzawak went on to say, the dream was revived and we decided to carry on and rise from the dead, stressing the return will be even more powerful and resilient. He pointed out that the determination and will of the whole team consisting of scores of motivated individuals helped to complete the reconstruction works of the new souk in less than 2 months, whereas it was projected to take around 6 months. (An Nahar, October 1, 2020)

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Women sexual harassment: Growing complaints in the absence of deterring legislation

30-9-2020

Al Akhbar wrote today about sexual harassment, pointing to around 143 sexual harassment complaints reported to the ISF Public Relations Department during July and August, with a 104% increase compared to the same period of last years. Noting, that according to the ISF Directorate, the rate of female victims stood between 60% and 80%, and the grievances posted on social media were particularly about sexual extortion. The newspaper attributed the rise in the number of complaints to the coronavirus enforced lockdown which openly attracted a greater number of social media users. It went on to say, that despite the upsurge in the harassment cases, women victims hesitate about resorting to law. Furthermore, the detained suspects since the beginning of this year barely reached 133, and are often released on bail along with a signed pledge to not repeat their act! On the subject, “Harass Tracker” co-founder, Nai Raai, explained to Al Akhbar that the victims of sexual extortion are by far greater than the documented figures, citing WHO figures that indicate that 1 in 3 women have been harassed during their lifetime. Kafa lawyer, Leila Awada, also agreed with this, lamenting that the victim generally objects by speaking up only, but hesitates or shies away from taking her harasser to court or pressing charges against him. Awada clarified that there is no specific legal definition for sexual harassment in Lebanon, adding that, though harassment is dubbed by international agreements as a plain crime, the Lebanese laws don’t view it as such. The harasser continues to get away with just a bail. And when someone is charged with this felony, it routinely falls under the group of extortion, threat, humiliation and insult, but never as sexual harassment which is not observed by the local laws. It is worth mentioning, that the draft bill on criminalizing sexual harassment is still lying in the drawers of the parliamentary committees. The draft, to recall, is a sum up of several proposals submitted by former minister of women’s affairs, Jean Ogassapian, former MP Ghassan Mkhaiber, Madaniya association and the head of the Mother and Child Parliamentary Committee, Inaya Izzedine. (Al Akhbar, September 30, 2020)
 

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Woman performs among the rubble of Mar Mikhael

30-9-2020

Al Akhbar yesterday spotlighted the free street performance “Jude” opening on October 2 in the Beirut neighborhood of Mar Mkhael and which was recently devastated by the Port of Beirut blast. The play is adapted from “Jaz” by Koffi Kwahule, translated and directed by Alan Saadeh and performed by Dana Mikhael. Speaking to Al Akhbar, Saadeh said Jude is about a woman residing in a building that lacks the basics of decent living, but does her best to cleanse it and fails. She is repeatedly sexually harassed and eventually raped by one of her neighbors, Saadeh expounded. The play portrays as well the deep-rooted norms and traditions in a theatrical style in perfect illusion of reality, he added. Jude will be staged at 17:45 pm just in front of Bar Tartine restaurant.(Al Akhbar, September 29, 2020)
 

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Traditional mooneh in Beqaa in crisis, discussion in Tripoli on agriculture recovery

29-9-2020

Al Akhbar wrote on Saturday that the collapse of the exchange rate of the Lebanese lira against the dollar, combined with the absence of any monitoring by the authorities and the greed of merchants have forced the people of Beqaa to ditch the cost-inefficient mouneh supplies that used to be indispensable, like the Qawarma, and to cut down on other items, including jams, that have become expensive due to the soaring price of sugar. The Shanklish (a special kind of rural cheese) as well as frozen cereals and grains like green peas and cowpeas were also forsaken. On the subject, the newspaper spoke to Zeinab Sherif, from the Beqaa town of Yammooneh, who said that people are stockpiling the minimum of the winter provisions because of the extraordinary times and difficult living and financial conditions. Similarly, Raghida Masri, the president of the Cooperative Association of Zadat el Khayrat in Bednayel, indicated that the agricultural cooperatives also decided to abandon some pricey brands, pointing out that high production costs forced cooperatives to focus on producing for confirmed orders . In a related development, the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Tripoli and the North organized a panel discussion on September 22 on the “Reality of the Lebanese agricultural sector and ways to enhance it”. Participants in the event stressed a number of priorities notably the following: expand the budget of the ministry of agriculture so that it can play a stronger role in sustaining exporters and farmers; focus more comprehensively on the economic context; address the negative impacts of the economic crisis on agriculture; provide full support to farmers, namely in the northern areas, fight smuggling and dumping. (Al Akhbar, Al Diyar, September 22, 26, 2020)

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Zainab's homicide : A horrific crime crying for non-male biased justice

24-9-2020

Last week, a horrific crime shook the Burj Barajneh neighborhood in Beirut’s Southern Suburbs, when Zainab, 14, was found dead in an abandoned apartment in the area, to find out after examination by the forensic that she was set on fire. A security forces report, meanwhile, pointed to three young men who were involved in the brutal murder. The reported motives are many, including one which suggests that Zainab was sexually assaulted by three criminals before being burned alive. Another hinted at an accidental killing of the teenage girl who was present at the apartment at the time of the fire. Other stories involved an argument which developed between Zainab and one of the suspects who beat her and ended with the tragedy when she resorted to another person for protection. Regardless of the motivations behind the crime, Al Akhbar newspaper wrote that the story of Zainab brings to mind many cases where imputing the victim becomes stronger than the act of murder itself. According to lawyer Manar Zeiater, the female victim is always blamed in most cases of homicide where the perpetrator is a male. In this scenario of similar repeated crimes, the equation becomes as follows: the victim who is a woman is generally overlooked and the perpetrator receives all the empathy based on the intentions which drove him to commit his murder, Zeiater explained, adding, in Zainab’s case, the equation becomes the following: the reputation, honor and righteousness. (Al Akhbar, September 24, 2020)

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Detained Saudi rights activist on hunger strike

24-9-2020

The family of detained Saudi women’s rights activist, Loujain Hathloul, announced on September 1 that their daughter went on hunger strike in one of the Kingdom’s prisons following a visit to her cell after she spent two months in incommunicado detention. Recalling, that Loujain, 31, has been arrested in May, 2018, alongside 10 female human rights campaigners and other dissidents (https://bit.ly/2G1gaIi). In the details, Loujain’s sister, Lina, disclosed last Monday to the British newspaper, The Independent, that her sister’s health was deteriorating due to her hunger strike which she started when she learned that she will prevented from meeting or receiving calls from her family. Loujain, Lina said, has been in solitary confinement for 8 months now and is not known if or when she will get a fair trial or be freed. Prison authorities are forcing Loujain to eat and have summoned a team of doctors to this effect, threatening to tube feed her at the hospital. Lina pointed out that the condition of her elder sister has been going downhill. They want to suppress and hush her, she said, but added, at some point, they will have to release her, albeit they can’t stand to let go a strong woman. (Al Diyar, September 24, 2020)

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Women of Iran: Ministry apologies for unintended gender discriminatory booklet, women group perform in public

23-9-2020

The Iranian education ministry’s removal of illustrations of girls from the cover of a math textbook, sparked a wide controversy and uproar among social media users In Iran, with many dubbing it as flat gender discrimination. In reaction to the criticism, minister Mohsen Haji Mirzayi, apologized, saying it was an unwanted act to remove the image of girls, and will correct it. For her part, the Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, Masoumah Ibtikar, said that people’s concerns were legitimate, girls cannot be ignored, stressing that there was no intent to discriminate against women. On the other hand, An Nahar daily featured a musical event by a four-women band, Dingo, in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, remarking that the scene applauded by the audience is still uncommon in Iran. It cited the former director of the Music Department at the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Sahar Taati, as telling AFP that no law in Iran forbids public singing by women, however, most clerics believe that female singing is “haram”. Women can sing to mixed audiences if two or more women sing together, or a female solo singer was accompanied by a male singer, Taati explained. (An Nahar, September 17, 18, 2020)

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