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Equality in inheritance law in Tunisia criticized by Muslim clergy

30-11-2018

Following the Cabinet endorsement of the new family law which includes provisions for equality in inheritance (https://goo.gl/Dmbyts),the secretary general of the national coalition of Islamic scholars, Ali Korra Daghi criticized in a twitter the demand for gender equality in inheritance. Daghi noted that equality in inheritance does not always result in justice.  Daghi used the verse from the Coran saying “A male shall inherit twice as much as a female”and reiterated that this is a straightforward diktat for all Muslims.   He further added that discussing this matter in the first country witnessing the Arab Spring is a humiliation to the revolutionaries who cause the downfall of Ben Ali and brought about the current president!  Overall, Tunisian citizens had various opinions regarding the new law as some felt that it safeguarded equality whilst others felt that it challenges Islamic sharia law.  (Al Diyar, 30 November 2018)
 

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Australian and Canadian Ambassadors support campaigns against gender based violence

29-11-2018

Within the framework of the 16 days campaign to combat violence against women, the Australian Ambassador to Lebanon, Rebekah Grindlay, and her Canadian counterpart, Emmanuelle Lamoureux, visited a community centre in the North and met with women who benefited from training workshops organized by the International Medical Committee as well as by Plan International. During her visit, Lamoureux noted that gender inequality is the main cause of gender based violence and insisted that women and men should work together to combat GBV and transform societal norms and traditions which reproduce inequality and suppress the voices of victims. Rebekah grindlay for her part noted that challenging violence against women is a priority for both Australia and Canada at the local and international levels. To be noted that IMC and Plan International have implemented more than 15700 session to provide advice on gender based violence to vulnerable women and girls as well as men and boys since January 2017. In addition, 20400 people have participated in awareness raising sessions on gender based violence according to a statement by both embassies who are funding this initiative. (Al Mustakbal, 29 November 2018)

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Ogassapian also criticizes condoning violence against women

29-11-2018

The Minister of State for Women’s Affairs in the caretaker government, Jean Ogassapian, issued a statement yesterday expressing his regrets with the turn of events related to the murderer of domestic violence victim, Manal Assi as the matter has now become a media circus. The statement was made in relation to a talk show aired on MTV on November 27th and which hosted Assi’s murderer, her husband Mohammad Nhayli. Nhayli was given a platform to rant about his wife’s infidelity to justify his heinous crime. A reminder that Assi lost her life in February 2014 following physical assaults by her husband. The judiciary tried to mitigate the verdict but the court of cassation issued on November 2017 a verdict of capital punishment reduced to hard labour for 18 years (c.f. ly/2E4TFQq). Ogassapian lamented that MTV chose to air this show on the occasion of the 16 days campaign against violence against women. He further called on the national council for media and information to act against a culture that condones violence against women in the media and to be aware of the negative impact that such shows have in normalizing violence against women in society. (L’orient le Jour, 29 October 2018)

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National campaign to counter sexual harassment, Ogassapian for full gender equality

29-11-2018

The Office of the Minister of State for Women’s Affairs re-launched in collaboration with AUB’s KIP project the national campaign entitled “Mish Bassita’. This was held during an event last Monday celebrating the kickoff of this year’s 16-days campaign against violence against women. The event seeks to highlight the various forms of sexual harassment in society and which exemplify violence against women. The campaign also calls for the adoption of a law to criminalise sexual harassment as per the decision of the Cabinet on March 8th 2017 and which was referred to the House for endorsement (c.f.: goo.gl/fKMVJT). In addition, the Minister of State for Women’s Affairs, Jean Ogassapian, noted in an interview with An Nahar that his Ministry is following up the pioneering work of women NGOs in order to achieve gender equality. Ogassapian reiterated that the issues of gender, equality and GBV have become more on the table since the establishment of the Ministry as these issues are now debated widely and for the first time in the Cabinet which resulted in the referral of law to the Parliament. Ogassapian noted that “we need more work to reach gender equality”. (An Nahar, November 29th 2018)

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Woman gone missing, body of another in a dumpster, dead infant in Zghorta

28-11-2018

During four days, and one week after pictures were circulated of two missing women in Shwayfat and Akkar, the General Directorate of the Internal Security Forces, under the mandate of competent judiciary, circulated on the 23rd of November, the picture of Sara Rida Berri (29) who went missing after she left her parents’ house in the Southern Suburbs locality of Sfeir on 21/11/2018. On the other hand, Al Mustaqbal newspaper stated in its yesterday issue, that Maarouf H., after strangling his wife Rashida B. to death, placed her body in a bag and dumped it in a waste sorting plant with the help of a friend. In the details, according to the killer husband, he fought with wife who repeatedly threatened to kill herself, telling her, I will finish the job. The culprit admitted to strangling his wife using a scarf and when he made sure she was dead, called his friend to help him put the body in a bag and threw her at a landfill. Also, the body of a boy infant was found yesterday in the town of Majdlaya, Zgharta. A security and forensic squad arrived at the scene for investigation. (Al Mustaqbal, Al Diyar, November 24, 27, 28, 2018)

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Racist rulings against migrant domestic women workers

28-11-2018

In its issue of November 26, Al Akhbar daily wrote about racial discrimination by the Lebanese Judiciary against migrant domestic workers. It cited samples of final verdicts issued by judges against MWDWs, such as: “We condemn the defendant, born in 1983, African national (…)”; “We order the referral of 38 Sri Lankans of the Bangladeshi nationality (…)”. The newspaper highlighted two main issues pertaining to the above rulings. The first is related to the terminology still used by the Judiciary, and the second is the pre-sentencing and conviction forms. Those patterns used by judges in similar cases lack basic information like the name and nationality, which are often replaced by the case number or the date of birth of the migrant worker. The nationality in most cases is “African”, Al Akhbar noted. Lawyer Qassem Karim said that upon protesting to one of the judges over the pre-printed versions of verdicts, which are full of racist vocabulary, the judge answered him, “it is work pressure”. The newspaper related stories of the suffering of migrant domestic workers, mentioning Juliana who returned penniless to her country after six years of work in Lebanon. Juliana, who lived in a confined cellar, isolated from the outside world and from the family she worked for, was paid for 11 months only, Al Akhbar wrote. She said she put up with all this torment hopeful of seeing her kids one day. After a while, she started to suffer physical and mental complications but was never treated, which forced her female employer to return her to her country. On the other hand, the National News Agency reported that Ethiopian migrant worker, Gitta, (25) was found hanging after being strangled with a scarf at the house of her employer in Zawtar Sharqiyeh. The employer is currently in Turkey for business. Security forces arrived at the scene for investigation. (AL Akhbar, L’Orient Le Jour, November 26, 28, 2018)

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Silicon implants threaten women’s health

28-11-2018

A recent study has revealed that silicon implants could increase the risk of arthritis, endometriosis and even skin cancer among women, Al Diyar reported on Saturday. The study, which is the biggest on breast implants to date, was conducted by a team at the MD Andeson Cancer Center at the University of Texas, Houston. It covered 100,000 female patients between 2007 and 2010, including 80,000 women who underwent the surgery. The remaining percentage had saline implants using silicon bags filled with sterile saline solution. Researchers have found that women who underwent silicon surgery had a higher chance of developing serious health complications, including rheumatoid arthritis and Sjogren syndrome, which is a disorder of the immune system characterized by dry eyes and mouth, in addition to the possibility of skin hardening and stiffness of chronic connective tissue. Researchers also found that women who underwent silicon surgery were at risk of stillbirth, the death of the fetus in the womb after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The study has shown that those women had a higher risk of skin cancer, about 4 times higher than women who got saline implants. (Al Diyar, November 24, 2018)

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ICT & learn English for women empowerment

27-11-2018

The ITU Arab Regional Conference opened yesterday in Beirut under the theme: ‘ICT for Women’s Empowerment’ in collaboration with the Arab Women Organization (AWO), Internet Society (ISOC), World Bank Group and the Lebanese League for Women in Business (LLWB). During the conference, the regional director of ITU office, Ibrahim Haddad, stressed the importance of information technology for achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) as well as for women empowerment. For his part, the World Bank regional director for Mashreq, Saroj Kumar Jha, emphasized the role of IT and internet in economic development and in creating jobs for the youth. Similarly, AWO secretary general, Fadia Kiwan, pointed out that the organization is keen on transferring technological skills to Arab women to facilitate their access to the IT labor market. On the other hand, the US Ambassador to Lebanon, Elizabeth Richard, attended on Saturday a workshop for Teaching Women English – TWE program implemented by USPEaK organization. The program offers a six month course of English language, cultural activities and skills workshops for women of various social and economic backgrounds, a statement by the US Embassy said. The US government has, through the Bureau of Public Affairs, invested nearly USD 3.9 million in the said program since its inception in 2008, thus allowing some 8800 women to learn the basics of English, the statement added. (Al Mustaqbal, November 26, 27, 2018)

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Darina Saliba, President of UNESCO International Center for Human Sciences

27-11-2018

Darina Saliba Abi Chedid won last week the presidency of the International Center for Human Sciences in Byblos of UNESCO after a competition with 22 contestants from different countries. Abi Chedid to recall, holds a degree in political science from LAU (2000) and has completed her postgraduate studies in international relations from the same university. She then pursued her higher studies in international and European law from Paris-Sud University and earned a PhD in law from the same university. She is a lecturer at several universities in Lebanon and France. (Al Mustaqbal, November 26, 2018)

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Amendments to reinforce domestic violence law in Lebanon

27-11-2018

On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, 10 lawmakers forwarded a draft bill to the Parliament aimed at amending the Domestic Violence Law No. 293/2014. The draft was announced during a press conference yesterday in the presence of the head of Kafa Organization, Zoya Rouhana and NCLW members. The MPs to recall are: Ibrahim Kenaan, Edie Abillama’, Estphan Dweihi, Paula Yacoubian, Taymour Jumblat, Sammy Gemayel, Shamel Rukuz, Michel Mousa, Nazih Najm and Nawaf Mousawi. Rukuz explained that the penalties included in the present law are far from being a serious deterrent, pointing to the new draft law which embraces 11 amendments that cover all the aspects of the law. Similarly, while Rouhana hailed the parliamentary blocs for backing the proposal, Faten Abu Chakra said the NCLW has submitted the draft through the justice ministry, hoping it will soon be ratified. At the end of the conference, Kafa distributed the text of the amendments notably the following: Redefining the family, redefining domestic violence, criminalizing domestic violence, adopting the principle of the specialization of judges in cases related to domestic violence, protection of women, inclusiveness of children in protection regardless of the age of custody and finally, reserving the right of the mother victim to accompany her children. You can find the full amendments on the following link: https://bit.ly/2ByBlN4. (Al Mustaqbal 27 November 2018)

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